Friday 25 July 2008

Review: Bishop's Tipple

Bishop's Tipple from Wadworth and Company Ltd.
Rating: B-

I'll freely admit it was the name that caused me to pick this one up.

From the label:
This Wiltshire Strong Ale was first brewed to celebrate the inauguration of George Reindorp as Bishop of Salisbury. A golden brew with an intriguing aroma from the delicate Saaz and spicy Styrian Goldings hops. The flavour is full but this is well balanced with hop bitterness, to give a clean finish and make for easy drinking.
Appearance: Golden amber in color, quite clear, with a thin one-finger head. Lively carbonation and a good bit of lacing, though the head itself fades away.

Smell: Delicate, floral hop aroma. Some spiciness as well. Malt is understated in the nose. Light caramel notes emerge as it warms. Delicate is the right word.

Taste: Solidly bitter. The combination of English ale fruitiness and continental hops like Saaz is a bit surprising at first, but never constitutes an identity crisis. Especially out of the bottle, the classification on BA as a bitter seems a bit of a puzzle. Bit of a metallic note toward the end.

Mouthfeel: Light-medium body, lively carbonation. Long finish, but the aftertaste is a bit wanting, simultaneously watery and astringent.

Drinkability: I must have been living in the UK too long, looking at 5.5% abv and thinking that's a lot. Still, fairly quaffable and worth a try.

1 comment:

sthgrau said...

I must have been living in the UK too long, looking at 5.5% abv and thinking that's a lot.

Nah, I used to be a big-beer only sort of guy, but that level of alcohol (8-10%) makes subtleties irrelevant quickly. Now, I would much rather be able to enjoy a higher flavor/incapacitation ratio.