Review: Sun Dance

Greene King Sun Dance from Greene King / Morland Brewery
Rating: B-

Appearance: Golden honey in color, quite bright, with a thin white head. Some lacing.

Smell: Crisp and sweet, with some light citrus notes.

Taste: More citrus, with some honey malt. Fairly light, all around. Finishes clean and pleasant enough.

Mouthfeel: Light-medium body, carbonation fits the style.

Drinkability: Not quite refreshing, but not too "filling," either. A light lunch kind of beer.

Review: Etoile d'Or

Etoile d'Or from Marks & Spencer
Rating: C+

Last beer from the M&S "Beers of the World" pack - glad it's finally over!

Appearance: Highly carbonated, light golden in color. Poor head retention, despite the addition of "wheat protein," according to the ingredietns. Some lacing.

Smell: A pleasant spring/mineral water aroma at first, sweet corn coming out as it warms, but a fairly light and inoffensive lager.

Taste: Fairly crisp and clean, a big improvement on the last beer in this pack. Corn is there, but not distracting. Bitterness is fairly well-balanced for the style.

Mouthfeel: Light-medium body, prickly carbonation. Fairly clean finish. No unpleasant aftertaste.

Drinkability: For the style, not bad. Given what the rest of the pack tasted like, I had been expecting the worst. Firmly middle of the road. Certainly not what one expects, or hopes for when he hears the words "Belgian beer."

Review: Castillo Cerveza Especial

Castillo Cerveza Especial from Marks & Spencer
Rating: D+

The penultimate beer from the dodgy Marks & Spencer Beers of the World pack, Castillo is a "truly classic example of Spanish beer..." at least according to the label.

Appearance: Pours a very clear golden amber, with lively carbonation. Thin white head with mediocre retention. Some lacing.

Smell: Very light aroma. Corn and a vaguely medicinal note. Smells slightly artificial in some way...

Taste: According to the label, I should look for "authentic Spanish flavour." Not sure what Spain tastes like, but to judge from the beer, it's somewhat vinous, slightly too sweet, with a non-descript bitterness that falls flat on the tongue. Corn comes out more and more as it warms.

Mouthfeel: Light-medium body, prickly carbonation. Unpleasant aftertaste.

Drinkability: Might just be the worst of the pack so far. Avoid.

Review: Jester's IPA

Jester's IPA from Batemans Brewery
Rating: C+

Appearance: Red-tinted leather color, fairly clear. Lightly carbonated, with a thin, fine-bubbled head. Some retention, good lacing.

Smell: Interesting Christmas spices in the nose, but fairly flat smelling. Hints of caramel and biscuit.

Taste: Fairly hoppy, in a very English way - earthy and herbal. Hints of Christmas spices again, a touch of diacetyl, and a slightly acid finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, lightly carbonated. Slightly slick.

Drinkability: Interesting, especially the spice note, but the sum in this case is less than its parts. In fact the slightly cidery/acidic finish had me worrying that this might have been sitting on tap too long, as this is a slow time for the bar in question. Not a big fan.

Review: Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale

Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale from Black Sheep Brewery PLC
Rating: B-

I received this as a going-away gift from a friend. I love the name, and according to the label, it's "tempered over burning witches," too!

Appearance: Attractive honey color, quite clear, with lively carbonation. Big fluffy white head, with good retention. Very nice looking in the glass.

Smell: Soapy at first, giving way to some grain, nut, and herbal hops. Not a hint of burning witch, alas.

Taste: Light fruitiness at first, with a solid backbone of bitterness. Subsequently takes a turn to very hard mineral water. Interesting roastiness at the finish, but an astringently bitter aftertaste. Improves as it warms, the maltiness fleshing out and covering the mineral astringency.

Mouthfeel: Light-medium body, highly carbonated, with a very slight diacetyl slickness.

Drinkability: Looked great, smelled okay, tasted less okay. Still, worth getting (and keeping!) for the label alone.

Review: Ashadha

Ashadha from Marks & Spencer
Rating: C

This is the second of the dubious Marks & Spencer "Beers of the World" pack that I am giving a try.

Appearance: Pale straw in color, very clear. Lively carbonation forms a big white head with good retention and lacing.

Smell: Lagery, slightly soapy. Not nearly as corn-filled as the first M&S beer from this pack that I tried. Smells somewhat green, if that makes any sense.

Taste: Very clean. Fairly well-balanced, but boring. Crisp, acidic finish. A slight corn tinge to the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Light-medium body, moderately carbonated.

Drinkability: An improvement on the other beer, for sure, but still just a thirst-quencher.

Review: Birra d'Oro

Birra d'Oro from Marks & Spencer
Rating: C-

This is the first of the dubious M&S "Beers of the World" that I'm giving a try. Since it's supposedly an Italian beer, I poured it into a Peroni half pint glass. According to the label, it is brewed in Piedmont and is "light, and freshing, ideally suited to Italian food." It also, according to the ingredients list, contains maize.

Appearance: Bright golden in color, quite clear, with very effervescent carbonation. Fluffy, white, two finger head with good retention. Leaves attractive lacing on the glass. Looks nice, at least.

Smell: Canned creamed corn is the dominant aroma, with some spicy hops underneath.

Taste: Matches the aroma, primarily sweet corn, but well-balanced by bitterness. Finish is sparkling mineral water. Lingering, bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Light body, highly carbonated.

Drinkability: This is a thirst quencher, but that's about it. Mediocre.

Review: Golden Newt

-She turned me into a newt!
-A newt?
-I got better...
Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Golden Newt from Elgood and Sons Ltd
Rating: B

Surprised to see I'm only the second reviewer of this beer on BeerAdvocate...

Appearance: Rich golden amber in color, quite clear, with a fluffy white one-finger head. Moderate retention, some lacing.

Smell: Fragrant, with floral hop notes and ale fruitiness on top of a biscuity/grainy malt backbone.

Taste: Well-balanced: bitterness is solid. Full of juicy fruit and biscuity malt notes, but finishes on a clean, dry note.

Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation, light-medium body. Slightly objectionable aftertaste lingers.

Drinkability: Above average for the style.

Review: Ushers Founders English Ale

Ushers Founders English Ale from Thomas Hardy Burtonwood Limited
Rating: B

Appearance: Pours a red/ruddy color, clear, with a nice tan head. Little retention, but nice lacing.

Smell: Rich and malty, with roasty and sweet caramel notes. Herbal and spicy hops beneath.

Taste: Toasty and roasty malts, with some caramel sweetness on the middle, on a backbone of earthy English hops. Not bad. Balanced, but tilted toward malt. Slightly nutty as it warms.

Mouthfeel: Light-medium body, good carbonation. Clean finish, unobjectionable aftertaste.

Drinkability: A nice malt-focused English beer, sessionable at 4.7% abv, but could be quite filling.

Review: Little Creatures Pale Ale

Little Creatures Pale Ale from Little Creatures Brewing Company
Rating: A-

Presentation: Cute logo of a cherub holding a foamy mug on label and the cap, comes in a 12 oz bottle.

Appearance: Poured into a Leffe glass, appears a hazy amber color, with a one finger off-white head. Lively carbonation, but mediocre head retention and little lacing.

Smell: Aroma is reminiscent of a proper American Pale Ale, something I haven't tasted in too long, living on the other side of the Atlantic. Resiny, juicy hops on top of ale fruitiness. Citrus and pine both come to mind, though the former is more dominant. A bit of candy/sweet malt underneath.

Taste: Sweeter and maltier than I was expecting, based on the aroma, but balanced with a solid bitterness at the back of your tongue. Very well balanced. On the palate, hops are more earthy than citrusy. Faint biscuit notes emerge as it warms. Juicy hops at the middle, before a clean finish.

Mouthfeel: Lively carbonation. Medium body, but not syrupy. Velvety texture. Very long finish, but clean and refreshing.

Drinkability: This is a highly drinkable beer, the best Australian beer I have had to date and a breath of fresh air for me, personally. Very refreshing, sessionable.

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.

Review: Brakspear Oxford Gold

Brakspear Oxford Gold from W.H. Brakspear & Sons plc
Rating: B

This is a beer that is quite proud of the fact that it is is organic! I count ten times that it mentions the fact on the label...

Appearance: Honey in color, appropriate for a beer with a bee on the label. One finger attractive white head. Not quite clear. Attractive.

Smell: Fresh, light, almost lagery aroma at first when cold. Target and Goldings hops specified by the label. Underlying honey/candy malt notes and hints of "wet towel" if that makes sense, but not in a bad way.

Taste: Herbal hops dominate, on top of a sweet "honey" malt backbone. Not sure whether this is better off categorized as an English Pale Mild Ale (as it is on BA) or a bitter.

Mouthfeel: Lively carbonation, medium body. Slightly more syrupy than I might prefer. Bitter, hops aftertaste.

Drinkability: Refreshing and quaffable. At 4.6% abv, sessionable.

Review: Dark Star Sunburst

Dark Star Sunburst from Dark Star Brewing Company Limited
Rating: B

Appearance: Out of a cask, appears bright and light. Aptly named, it looks quite "sunny" in the glass. Smallish head, and poor retention, but decent lacing.

Smell: Refreshing hop aroma, but fades quickly and is thereafter replaced by a (somewhat boring) light honey note, which I often associate with bitters.

Taste: Fresh hops, nice, slightly sweet, solidly bitter backbone. Honey and citrus notes.

Mouthfeel: Light-medium body, good carbonation for style

Drinkability: Nice and sessionable. Another good brew from Dark Star.

Review: Greene King Ale Fresco

Greene King Ale Fresco from Greene King / Morland Brewery
Rating: C

Sampled at The Granta in Cambridge.

Appearance: honey in color, quite bright. Minimal carbonation and head retention, some lacing.

Smell: light, English hops with some slight citrus notes. Ale fruitiness, and an odd chlorine note reminiscent of a swimming pool. Some graininess as well.

Taste: Light in flavor, even for the style. Moderate bitterness. Somewhat surprised that it's 4.5%, tastes lower. Some residual sugar. Ale fruitiness is subtly present. Hops are earthy but non-descript.

Mouthfeel: somehwhat watery, and a little too flat and warm, even for a British real ale.

Drinkability: mediocre, not enough flavor to be served so warm and flat.

Beer Suggest Reviewed

Lifehacker profiled Beer Suggest a few weeks ago, and I created an account to poke around and share my thoughts on what the new site has to offer.

To be honest, I don't see the value added. It seems like Beer Suggest is trying to be Beer Advocate but more Web 2.0. The primary differences between Beer Suggest and the currently dominant Beer Advocate and Rate Beer seem to be the addition of tags, a wiki and a "related beers" suggestion area. That said, Beer Suggest has many fewer beers in the system, with far fewer reviews. Since the content is all user-generated, I suppose I partly have myself to blame for not adding to it, but it's likely that most prospective users are already active and "invested" in BA or RB, and it is dubious whether tags and suggestions will be enough to convince active users to re-review and re-submit the information and content they have already supplied once. Furthermore, BA is a community, not just a resource, and that would be difficult to duplicate.

Healthy competition for users is good, and will keep feature innovation and responsiveness to user demands strong, but proliferation of different sources runs the risk of reduplicating effort or increasing search costs for the information you need.

I gave the new site the benefit of the doubt for being so young, and decided to wait and see how it developed, but stopped in again today and found that little has changed. Granted, it's still early, but I think I'll stick to BA. I think the real value of this site new site will stem from putting pressure on the big two to upgrade their capabilities, not from drawing away users and becoming a third competitor.

Review: Williams Gold

Williams Gold from William Brothers Brewing Company
Rating: B

Those who know me will understand why I saw this and had to buy it. Label indicates that it's brewed with seven different malts, and suggests vanilla, fruit, grapefruit and orange.

Appearance: Poured into a CAMRA nonic pint glass, displays a honey/apple juice color. Not quite clear. Nice two finger head that leaves nice lacing, but has average retention.

Smell: Light biscuit notes and floral hops. Fresh, green hops that suggest pine. Not particularly fruity, but I might just be able to agree with the vanilla note suggested by the brewery.

Taste: Citrus rind, herbal hops. Hops are fresh and oily in character. Mineral finish. Does not come across as "light," despite the low alcohol content.

Mouthfeel: Slightly oily mouthfeel, light-medium body, finishes on a bitter note, with a lasting aftertaste. Carbonation is right for style, but I wouldn't mind a bit more.

Drinkability: Fairly drinkable, good overall. At only 3.9%, potentially sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

Review: Tesco Bière Blonde

Tesco Bière Blonde from Brasserie Saint Omer
Rating: D-

Someone left this in my refrigerator after a party I hosted, and it's setting off all kinds of warning bells. Apparently it's contract brewed "Exclusively for Tesco" by Brasserie de Saint Omer.

• Green bottle? Check...
• Grocery store own-brand? Check...
• Not only that, discount grocery store brand? Check...
• 2.8% alcohol? Check...
• Corn and caramel coloring on the ingredient list? Check...
  

Am I a masochist for opening this? At least it's only a 25cl bottle! How bad can it be?

Appearance: Poured into a Leffe blonde glass, shows a golden straw color, with a one finger white head that fades astonishingly quickly. Does not look super effervescent. Filtered clear.

Smell: Corn and DMS dominate. Some French and Belgian beers have a "farmyard" aroma but this is not what that is supposed to mean! Smells like canned corn. No trace of hops in the aroma.

Taste: Not as bad as the aroma, mercifully. Light, corn & grain flavors dominate, with a bitterness that is reminiscent of tonic water. Tastes like there was just one early (cheap) hops addition in the brewing process. It's like they mixed the liquid at the bottom of a can of corn into a glass of tonic. Not as bad as some macro lagers, but objectionable to be sure. At 2.8% ABV might be useful as a thirst quencher, but Gatorade is healthier and water would taste better.

Mouthfeel: Super light body, like sparkling mineral water except it doesn't taste as good. Carbonation is average. Lingering aftertaste of over-boiled bitter hops and over-extracted grain.

Drinkability: I now understand why it comes in a 25cl bottle. Even that is more than I want to drink.

The brewery's other products don't seem to have fared much better in Beer Advocate reviews. I suspect the guys who put together this Youtube "commercial" for Bière Blonde put in more effort than Tesco's ordering and QA guys did when arranging this contract brew.

Review: Cock N Bull Story

Cock N Bull Story from Concrete Cow Brewery
Rating: B+

One of my favourite beers of the Cambridge Beer Festival this year. Tough call on the style. Brewer describes it as an "amber ale" but is distinctly English, not American... biscuit reminds enough of Fat Tire for me to classify it as an American Amber.

Appearance: orange honey color, thin head.

Smell: biscuit and grain, reminds me of Fat Tire

Taste: fruit, biscuit, solid bitterness but lacking discernible hop flavor.

Mouthfeel: light-medium body, carbonation fine considering it's coming from a cask.

Drinkability: high, this one is quaffable!

Serving type: cask

Reviewed on: 06-10-2008 10:50:22

Review: Alligator American Style Beer

Alligator American Style Beer from Ascot Ales
Rating: C+

Reviewed at the Cambridge Beer Festival.

Appearance: honey color, not quite clear, small head with no lace

Smell: light aroma, ale fruitiness but not the intense "grapefruit, lychee and orange hop flavors" that the brewer-provided description promises.

Taste: what a letdown, after seeing the name I thought a British brewer had attempted to make a true APA but it seems I was mistaken. Little discernible hop flavors.

Mouthfeel: good body, unfortunately probably the high point of this beer.

Drinkability: for all its faults, fairly drinkable

Serving type: cask

Reviewed on: 06-10-2008 10:47:04

Review: New Model Ale

New Model Ale from Ufford Ales Ltd.
Rating: C

"brewed specially for the 35th Cambridge Beer Festival," where I sampled it. Clever name plays off of Cambridgeshire's native son, Oliver Cromwell.

Appearance: golden honey in color, with a small head that fades without lace

Smell: light hops, grain sweetness

Taste: citrusy hops, grainy but light, uninspired

Mouthfeel: light body, undercarbonated

Drinkability: fairly average

Serving type: cask

Reviewed on: 06-10-2008 10:44:05