CoffeeBeer >> Pint Pleasures >> Previous Beer Columns >> Bottled Beers
|
Golden Champion Ale 5.0% ABV, Badger Brewery, Blandford St. Mary, Dorset - reviewed 1 November 1999) This is a fruity beer, light but strong. This is another good summer beer for a hot Sunday afternoon. The only problem with this beer was that, having only one bottle between two of us, there simply wasn't enough. |
Tangle Foot Strong Ale 5% ABV, Badger Brewey, Blandford St. Mary, Dorset -- reviewed April 1999) This is Badger's top-selling cask ale. Here's the story on their web page: "Many years ago the head brewer John Woodhouse invited the brewing staff to sample his latest creation and select a name for it. Enchanted by its unusually rounded flavour and distinctive straw gold colour, the brewers disposed of several tankards in the quest for a name. When the head brewer rose to go he experienced a sudden loss of steering, a sensation not unfamiliar to wearers of exceptionally long shoes and fell unwittingly upon the name most apt for this legendary ale." My colleague detected a distinct taste of honeyed malt; I clearly perceived little fuzzy rabbits -- clean rabbits, naturally. My colleague said it tasted like velvet -- short-pile velvet, that is, but not velveteen or velour, rather like the texture of Axminster carpet. I thought it tasted checked as opposed to polka-dotted. |
Black Sheep Ale 3.8% ABV, Black Sheep Brewery, Ripon, North Yorkshire -- reviewed 18 July 2001) "The culmination of five generations of brewing expertise," it says on the label. This is another nicely bitter bitter, just the way I like 'em. There's a nice branded-paper-style graphic of a black sheep on the label -- although it's more of a brown colour. But "Brown Sheep" doesn't have the same ring to it as "Black Sheep". Has anybody had an uncle, aunt, or cousin who was considered the brown sheep of the family? I don't think so...anyway, it's a nice brown beer with a satisfyingly black bitterness. |
|
Riggwelter Strong Yorkshire Ale 5.7% ABV, Black Sheep Brewery, Masham -- reviewed April 1999) This is what it says on the bottle: "Riggwelter: from the Old Norse; rygg-back & velte -- to overturn. When a sheep is on its back and cannot get up without help, local dales dialect says it's rigged or riggwelted." Sheep or no sheep, this beer has a frumpy taste. There's a distinctly roasty hops flavor, but isn't it malt that's supposed to be roasty? The flavor takes the shape of a donut with a vacancy in the middle. It tastes like a roasty motel with nice panelling in the rooms but lousy water pressure. Not to mention it's way too carbonated. |
Farmers Gold 5.0%, Bradfield Brewery, High Bradfield, South Yorkshire -- reviewed 31 May 2009) All I can say about this beer is Yum! And I say that Yum! in the same way as I might say it drinking Farmers Blonde. This beer slides down sooooo easily on a snowy night which is a bit scary for 5% beer. But the fear is reduced by that 5-percent-glad-I-don't-have-to-walk-home-from-the-pub-in-the-icy-slippery-slush feel. |
Golden Special Bud 5.8% ABV, Brampton Brewery, Chesterfield, Derbyshire -- reviewed 24 January 2010) A strong bottled version of Brampton's Golden Bud, this packs that wonderful Brampton OOMPH! taste that is a great experience after weeks of snow and a long day at work. It offers a chewy bitter and an amber-tinged nuttiness with a gorgeous background aura. This beer brings lively fire-warmed pub chat directly into the home. |
|
Old Goat 8.0% ABV, Cropton Brewery, Pickering, North Yorkshire -- reviewed 24 January 2010) This strong brew is smooth yet full-bodied and like velour on the tongue. It's not "goaty" at all, at least in classic beer-tasting terms. The goat on the label is wearing spectacles, so he's obviously a more distinguished goat, the type that could relate charming stories in a fine Yorkshire accent about dining on shoelaces. Ah yes, the tales of his youth when he clambered about in the Dales! "Ay, tha knows, it were in t'winter of '48. Ol' Billy, he were a right tough goat!" |
Trafalgar IPA 6.0% ABV, Freeminer Brewery, Coleford, Cottswalds -- reviewed 1 November 1999) Located in the Forest of the Deans, this seven-year-old brewery bottles twenty percent of its beer. This particular selection features Maris Otter barley and choice grade Worcester Golding hops. But enough about ingredients; let's talk about taste! This is an OOOHH! beer! As I was picking up my glass in the kitchen I heard this "OOOHH! OOOHH! OOOHH!" bursting from the lounge where my tasting companion was taking his first sip. Mmm, yes, this is a fine brew! It has a golden colour, a delightful hoppiness, and the flavour of a spectacular sky with big, billowy clouds covering the entire grayscale, like a pleasantly cool, crisp, fresh breeze as you ride alone in your convertible, your favourite song on the radio... |
Harvey's Ouse Booze 6.5% ABV, Harvey & Son Ltd, Lewes, East Sussex -- reviewed 16 April 2001) I received a sample of this strong pale ale from an acquaintance who'd visited the Harvey Brewery after it suffered a huge loss after flooding in October 2000. This ale was produced with the malt left fermenting while the flood waters raged beneath. It's very red in colour, almost like an Amontillado sherry. Mmmm, it brought to mind walls and walled-in corpses, not floods. The first taste was surprisingly innocent for the strength, unlike the executioner it could prove to be. It was a very pleasant drop. It's good to know that if a brewery floods all is not lost... |
|
T.E.A. 4.2% ABV, Hogs Back Brewery, Tongham, Surrey -- reviewed 18 July 2001) This beer was the Silver Medal Winner in the Great British Beer Festival of 2000, not to mention the Best Bitter Gold Medal Winner. I have yet to try this on cask, but out of the bottle it poured well, imparting a fine quality bitterness, good for soothing a downtrodden spirit. As I downdrank my sample I noticed the label says "For the taste of yesteryear still enjoyed today." Well, as far as I know, this is today, not yesterday, although we're all living a fraction of a second in the past, so who's to say? Also on the label is "Best drink of the day." Mmmm, now that coffee time's over, yes! I heartily agree! This is a good traditional English bitter, precisely as it says on the label. Everything claimed is correct. It is not wrong. This is an honest, true, right, normal perpendicular beer, not the least bit crooked -- a straight beer for eccentric tongues to use as a roadmap. This is a clearly-posted beer, no detours -- so you'll be home in plenty of time for tea. |
Crop Circle 4.2%, Hopback Brewery, Salisbury, Wiltshire -- reviewed 31 May 2009) This is brewed with barley and wheat malts, maize, and Pioneer, East Kent Goldings, Spalter, and Saaz hops -- and coriander. It does what it says on the bottle. It's a delightfully hoppy, bitter, spicy, golden ale. To be a bit redundant I would say it's very very ultra satisfying. |
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier 5.1%, Märzen, Urbock, Germany, reviewed 23 March 2005) Our friend Ali let us sample some of this unique Bavarian smoked beer. This strikes me as a good camping beer. Better still, a good beach party beer! It's dark and smoky but surprisingly light and pleasant, and would be very warming around a roaring fire while reclined on those canvas beach chairs, the waves roaring in the background with the smell of plankton from the glowing red tide... |
|
Old Speckled Hen 5.2% ABV, Morland, Abingdon, Oxfordshire - reviewed 1 November 1999) This fine beer, from the second oldest brewery in the UK (established in 1711), has a long taste, very bitter, and it tingles the tastebuds with a tantalizing tannicness (Or is it tannicity?) It has a great aftertaste, too, as if it were wearing an ankle-length leather coat. This tastes nothing like a beer named after a geriatric chicken; in fact it was named after a car, an unusual speckled vintage MG. |
Dragons Head 4% ABV, Orkney Brewery Ltd, Stromness, Orkney, Scotland -- reviewed 12 August 2007 Now this is a proper dark malty beer, with a good chocolaty head, a chocolaty character, and complicated flavours. This is a dark beer to make you think. If you like malty stouts, definitely try this one. |
Skull Splitter 8.5%, Orkney Brewery Ltd, Stromness, Orkney, Scotland -- reviewed 12 August 2007) This is definitely a barley wine, with a touch of coke syrup -- although this impression comes from my childhood when I still liked Coca-Cola. My friend Ali claims it tastes like Bass No. 1, which was the very first barley wine to be mass produced. Please go with Ali's description, because it was his beer and I wouldn't want to see anybody do something horrible like mix it with rum. It's very attractive from the top view into the glass as well. |
|
Raven 3.8%, Orkney Brewery Ltd, Stromness, Orkney, Scotland -- reviewed 12 August 2007 This beer distinctly says "toast": not as in "Cheers" but as in "buttered wholemeal nutty toast". |
Ruddles County Classic English Country Ale 4.7% ABV, Ruddles Brewery, Abington, Oxfordshire -- reviewed 1 November 1999 Now this is a proper dark malty beer, with a good chocolaty head, a chocolaty character, and complicated flavours. This is a dark beer to make you think. If you like malty stouts, definitely try this one. |
1698 Celebration Ale 6.5% ABV, Shepherd Neame, Faversham, Kent -- reviewed April 1999 This is very much like a traditional IPA. Very good, but a tad melancholic, like a tragic movie star who is a truly fine actor but nevertheless has faced many disappointments in life. But who am I kidding -- this could easily be an Oscar winner. |
|
Bishop's Finger Kentish Strong Ale 5.4% ABV, Shepherd Neame, Faversham, Kent -- reviewed April 1999 What else can I say about Bishop's Finger? This is a FINE beer! Fine! Fine! Truly fine! Yes! A real beer in a bottle! Yes! YES! This is a DAMN FINE BEER!!!!! Need I say more? |
Land of Hop and Glory 4.5% ABV, Spire Brewery, Chesterfield, Derbyshire -- reviewed 24 January 2010 This is a good crispy hoppy quaff that stimulates the Hops part of the palate. Does hops stimulate the mind? I think it does. Along with oily fish and gingko biloba, hops is a brain tonic. (If used in moderation, of course; otherwise expect a good deal of creative twaddle.) |
Old Dick 5.2% ABV, Swale Brewery, Sittingbourne, Kent -- reviewed April 1999 Naturally I couldn't resist trying an Old Dick. It's a Beauty of Hops 1997 silver medal award winner, but I'm afraid Old Dick came too soon! The opened bottle spewed forth foam, with a head like an ice cream float. It was slightly sour, otherwise tasteless like -- yes, like an old dick! (And don't ask me how I know; I'm only guessing! Okay?) |
|
Orkney Blast 6.0%, Swannay Brewing Company, Birsay, Orkney, Scotland -- reviewed 12 August 2007 This beer tastes like a rich floral bubble bath. |
Northern Light 3.8% ABV, Orkney Brewery Ltd, Stromness, Orkney, Scotland -- reviewed 12 December 2007 This beer tastes like hoppy toasted grapefruit -- if you could toast a grapefruit like a piece of bread, that is. It was quite nice and cooling, welcomely cooling, even on such a suddenly brisk and windy day. It brought to mind a lovely crunchy ripply orange scarf wrapped around my neck, which I would have appreciated just then. |
St Magnus Ale 4.5% ABV, Swannay Brewing Co, Swannay by Evie, Birsay, Orkney, Scotland -- reviewed 12 December 2007 This was very malty but a nicely bitter malt, like a brick red and olive green plaid as opposed to a magenta and blue plaid, which I think would taste a bit too treacly. |
|
Maltster's Ale 5% ABV, Teignworthy Brewery, Newton Abbot, Devon -- reviewed 31 May 2001 This is a potent beer with a lovely bouquet. "Mmmm", says JC Goulden, "I detect barley with a hint of pomegranate and Brazil nut." Or is that loquat and hazelnut which are tickling my palate? I can't quite place it...at least there are no seeds or shells in the bottom of the bottle. |
Innis & Gunn IPA 7.7% ABV, Innis & Gunn, Edinburgh, Scotland -- reviewed 5 December 2010 This is one of the most unusual beers I've had. Produced in a limited amount of only 64,000 bottles, this beer is aged in American White Oak casks which are hand-picked in Kentucky and shipped over to Scotland. Then the casks are locked inside a traditional Dunnage warehouse and aged for a minimum of 30 days. After blending the beer is matured for a further 47 days. What this results in is a strong hoppy beer with a fresh burst of orange and the classy oakiness of a fine California red wine -- that gorgeous wine the California vineyards don't export to the UK because they keep it for their own state. This is a truly fine beer. Fine. FINE! What a great unique character it has! I want to settle down by a roaring fire and read this beer, flicking its lovely pages with my fingers. An iPad simply would not do it justice. |
Rampant Gryphon 6.2% ABV, Wentworth Brewing Company, Wentworth, South Yorkshire -- reviewed 5 December 2010 One winter day I tried a bottle of this that had been sitting on the cellar stairs for a few months. Because this beer is actually orange in colour it makes me think of Halloween, even though it's December already, with lots of snow outside. It's sparkling and orangey in flavour as well, with that lovely rampant dose of hops. Because the word rampant has several different definitions, it makes sense that this beer demonstrates two definitions of the word "orange". I feel like a scampering catgoat, an orange striped catgoat. Bring on the snow! |
|
Whitstable Bay Organic Ale 4.5% ABV, Shepherd Neame, Faversham, Kent -- reviewed 1 January 2011 This beer is the colour of sunset over the sea -- the North Sea, obviously. It tastes of very tangy Target hops which hit the tongue like a bulls-eye. Whitstable, which is famous for its oysters and its fish market, reminds me of my time in Folkestone and makes me think of cockles, winkles, whelks, queenies, and other odd Southerners... |
Pale Rider 5.2% ABV, Kelham Island, Sheffield, South Yorkshire -- reviewed 1 January 2011 This is basically just Pale Rider, even in a bottle, which I consider to be a pale comparison to Kelham Island's easier-on-the-legs but snappier Easy Rider. |
Magic IPA 7.0% ABV, Durham Brewery, Bowburn, County Durham -- reviewed 30 May 2011 Recently Andrew and I shared a bottle of Magic IPA (7.0% ABV, Durham Brewery, Bowburn, County Durham). Just lifting the glass toward my nose I was intoxicated. My first taste was a gorgeous blast of bitter hops stroking my tongue and telling me there, there, calm down! Has it been a stressful day? You're home now, you can relax, and you can sip this 7% ABV and not worry about falling over in the pub. Andrew found it very moving -- moving down his legs with a blast of potential wobble. |
|
Excelsior 5.2% ABV, Ossett Brewery, Ossett, West Yorkshire -- reviewed 28 August 2011 Andrew and I shared a bottle of this beer. The description on the bottle was promising: "Pale and Well Hopped" with a graphic of the Cascades, as Cascade hops is used. This beer does indeed has a grapefruity hoppiness, but sadly it's a bit lacking in character and would taste much nicer if it were bottle-conditioned -- so we felt as if we were standing on a drumlin rather than a mountain peak. So it's close...but no cigar. |
Conquest 5.7% ABV, Acorn Brewery, Barnsley, South Yorkshire -- reviewed 28 June 2011 and 12 February 2012 2011: This beer has a lovely bitterrrrrufffruff bite, perfect for washing away the long exhausting workday and the weather that was attempting to be like summer but failing miserably. For a not-bottle-conditioned ale this has great character. It's like meeting someone with a bubbly personality and instantly taking to them. We're talking charisma! 2012: This bottle had a very interesting and almost shocking first impression of orange honey. There's a map of the Philippines on the surface of my glass, not that it's really relevant. I feel like I'm swinging in a hammock in Mindanao amid orange blossoms buzzing with industrious bees. I suppose I should take off my suit of armour so I don't scare the poor little acorns. |
Kipling 5.2% ABV, Thornbridge Brewery, Bakewell, Derbyshire -- reviewed 23 October 2011 The label on the bottle of this brew describes this as a "South Pacific Pale Ale". Since it was a hot steamy Indian Summer of a day, it seemed an appropriate beer for such weather. It's brewed with Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand. It was a shame that it's not bottle conditioned, because the burps and belches quickly swelling up, waiting to explode. But I could see Rudyard Kipling lying out under a coconut palm wearing a briefcloth with a tangy, hoppy piña colada in his hand, petting a tiger cub with the jungle behind them. Then I saw piles of pancakes -- oops, sorry: a bit of racist children's lit snuck in there when I wasn't looking. No, no, back to the tiger cub... |