I have to admit I'm not 100% sure that this beer is any different to this, but for now I'll add it as a separate beer and see if I can get some confirmation. I have a feeling that it might be the same, because I know for a fact I've drunk this many times before, and I would most likely have taken some notes. However, in the beer advocate db (yes I still look at that from time to time) they are listed as two different beers. I'm unconvinced. 355 mL bottle, part of a recent Half-Time purchase....
Notes on beers in the style
English Pale Ale
Samuel Smith’s
Extra
Stormbreaker
Nice color, I can do without the haze. Head is good and high, decent retention and some nice sticky lace. Nose is aromatic, and quite citrusy that might well be a function of the Sterling hops. The beer is really quite flavorful, with a few different, competing factors. There is a spicy, herbal feel about it, plus almost a lime-based citrus feel. Relatively low bitterness, rather the spice and herbal notes provide the bite. Medium mouthfeel. Pretty complex, with a decent biscuit backbone....
Premium XB
Bluebird Bitter
It's hard to describe the literal euphoria of an Englishman who is a legacy drinker, and who hasn't been home for too long, when a beer like this comes into view. I picked it up via a west coast bottle shop, unexpectedly, when I was buying some other beers, and what a thrill (and a treat) that is. Lightly chill-hazed, golden straw color, with a modest head, but decent retention and lace above average. Nice, and as expected. Nose is where things start to change. The label says "English Pale Ale...
Organic Honeydew
500 mL bottle as depicted in the BA database. $3.99 from Green's on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is an impressive, bright golden color with some lovely clarity, good carbonation, a nice, tight white head with some good retention and lace. Attractive no doubt with some great depth of orange color in the golden hue. Nice. The nose offers a little breadiness amongst the sweet malts and a hint of toasty grains. Tastes give more of the toasty grain character and a honey elements that is more on...
Hedgerow Bitter
22 oz bottle, thanks go out to Shogokawada for the chance to try this. Bottled Aug 2010, 1st Batch. Pour is a pretty light amber color with plenty of orange color. Quite hazed. A little head, a tiny bit of lace but not much retention. It looks a bit muddy. The nose does not give way to any hop character, rather it gives a simple, malt sweetness and not a great deal more. The tastes are intensely bitter in several areas. The front end is not too intense, but the middle, back end and finish are...
La Mi Dòna
$1.99 for the chance to try this at tower on Piedmont after this beer originally retailed around $5.99. An old(er) bottle, but with no discernible date on the label I feel totally justified in reviewing it. Pour has a mid brown color that looks decent and promises a touch of richness. Head and retention are not great. Nose and tastes are distinctly malty (as an English Pale often is), but it lacks much (if any) of the distinct, biscuit malts that the real thing would have. In that regard it's...
Whale’s Tale Pale Ale
12 oz can from CBX, Charleston, SC, USA. $1.99. Beautiful light copper pour with superb clarity and a nice head and decent carbonation. Despite the glass being impeccably clean, the head is not retained well and there is no lace. Clean malts and a light alcohol touch in the nose. Tastes continue the clean feel with sharp malts giving way to some middle sweetness and then a dash of hops in the ending. The aftertaste gives a pleasing and satisfying biscuit malt feel that is reminiscent of an...
Trashy Blonde
12 oz single courtesy of James all the way from Scotland. many thanks. Beer pours with an impressive rocky, white head which gives some super lace. Body is a slightly hazed, golden pour with mid to low carbonation - a smashing looking beer. Nose gives some typical sweet malts abut also a little white peppery bitterness. The beer drinks very dry with a lack of malt presence for a beer in the English pale Ale category. There is a very stout, Saaz-like, crisp bitterness which gives a little...
Williams Gold
Big thanks go out to lackenhauser. Received as part of The BA Veterans BIF. Marketed in the USA as "Scottish Session Golden Ale" which seems VERY odd since the word "session" is so abused here. I don't get it at all. 500 mL bottle, nice label. Best Before Jul 2011 which seems odd given the probable, relative fragility of this beer. Mixed feelings about this beer. Firstly I am absolutely delighted that we get a TRUE session beer (<4%), and that it's called "Session" too. Label says 3.9%. On...
Pipe Organ Pale Ale
12 oz bottle as part of my Secret Bunny package from PittBeerGirl - thanks Sara. Pour gives are very surprisingly dark, copper pour with a really poor head and no lace or retention. Nose seems somewhat neutral but certainly no offensive. Light sweetness. This is a bit of an odd beer. The beer is a very neutral, frankly fairly tasteless affair and very bland. However, the finish and aftertaste is EXTRAORDINARILY bitter and metallic, in a nasty lingering way too. Very unpleasant. Not good and...
Schlafly Pale Ale
Ha, Ha - very nearly a true session beer made by an American brewer - NEARLY! Thanks go out to DogBrick for the chance to sample this 12 oz offering. Pour has a somewhat uninspired color (a hazed, light brown/orange) but better than expected head, retention and lace. Quite sticky and more in line with a higher ABV IPA. Nose and tastes are in the English style, but both are less fruity and drier than one would expect. There isn't really the depth of biscuit malt that would would normally...
Bateman’s Combined Harvest
500 mL bottle from Bruisn' Ales at the second time of asking - I broke my first bottle from there when I was transporting it home. Pour is an alarmingly clear, apparently over-carbonated bright gold with an equally alarming (considering the number of bubbles in the body of the beer) lack of head. Lace is also scant. Nose and tastes give a grainy sweetness with some simple, English biscuit malts but not much else. Some light fruits. Great drinkability in the Atlanta heat, BUT this beer is a...
Hooky Gold
Relatively recent arrival in the USA, $5.00 from Bruisin' Ales, Asheville, NC, USA. 500 mL bottle, incorrectly in the database at 4.1%, actually 4.2%; update sent. Into the Youngs (Imperial) pint glass. Reading the bottle and knowing what I know about English beer, I am immediately suspicious of this brew for a least one reason. The name worries me since I'm expecting that this one of the relatively new (last 5 years) breed of British "Golden Ales" that have popped up. As far as I can tell,...
Michelob Pale Ale
12 oz single from Tower, Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour reveals a pretty decent, orgnge clarity and some head with a little retention. No lace to speak of. The nose seems EXCEPTIONALLY malty for a even a pale ale, and the sweetness is the abiding memory of the smell. Tastes have an upfront soapy nature (good), but fade rather badly. Sweetness cuts across the back end of the beer in a syrupy manner to leave me (and the palate) feeling a touch abused! Finish is not balanced and quickly...
T.E.A. (Traditional English Ale)
From notes: Had this on both cask and in the bottle. This review reflects the bottled version. Another classic pour which yields a small, ivory colored head without much carbonation, and a woody looking brownish body. Not much n the way of life to the pint, but it does look "genuine". Nose and taste reveal standard biscuit malts, although these seems a little muted and sweeter than some. There is a paradoxical finish that is rather dry and woody which almost has me wondering if the T.E.A....
Eden Ale
Consumed at The Britannia Inn, St. Austell, Cornwall, England. An interesting concept behind this beer - this is taken from the Saharp's web site; "The Eden Project was set up in Cornwall to promote the understanding and responsible management of the vital relationship between plants, people and resources leading to a sustainable future for all. At Sharp's we are committed to making great beer with the least possible impact on our environment. Eden Pure Ale was developed in conjunction with...
Arran Blonde
500 mL bottle, Best Before end of Jan 2008 (this is an ocassional problem at Arbor), Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. $4.99. Pour has a lot more orange color (with some cloudiness) than one would expect. Very low carbonation and floral hops, this has the feel of a cask ale. Delicious. Aftertaste has a little bitterness, but of course it is muted. Plenty of biscuit malts. The light floral notes are the overwhelming experience, and they are super tasty. Organic notes, with some...
Single Malt
Notes taken from England trip 2007. Cheers Chris! Label different to the one in the BA db. Orange, amber hue. Pour gives some nice soapy head and some simple lace. Head is small, but present. The name of this beer is related to the fact that it is brewed with 100% Golden Promise Malt that is used in whisky manufacture. The combination gives a subtle beer that is both sweet and dry(!). Typically aromatic English Pale that is dominated by the moreish, toasty, biscuit like malts, although this...
Beechwood Bitter
Served out of a polypin - notes taken from England trip, July 2007 - Cheers Chris! Pours like a typical English cask, even from the polypin. Bubbles rather than head. Dark brown pour, carbonation very light. Simple brew that has a little nut character which makes it drink a little more like a brown ale than I was expecting. Mouthfeel is simple. Good malts, sweet up front, with the mild hop character reserved for the finish. Well balanced. A little toffee and acaramel note - not huge. The name...
St. Peter’s Organic Ale
Please also see this. From notes taken in England in July 2007. Cheers Chris! Very delicate brew that is fairly consistent with the English Pale Ale style that it claims to be in. Plenty of citrus notes fill both the nose and the palate, along with some prickly carbonation - rather too much for my liking. This is an exceptionally "light" beer, and IMO it suffers a little because of it. A tad watery, I think the lack of body is the main fault. Lots of sweetness (that I like) and a very clean...
Discovery Blonde Beer
Mmm, quite why this is classified as a Pale Ale I'm not sure. Golden Ale on the label, and a golden beer in the bottle - fair enough! Yellow pour with a small, well formed head. VERY light in every department. You can tell it is a real ale - JUST - but in terms of taste, aroma and general character there is almost none. A cross between a watered down wheat beer and a lager, the beer quickly loses its way and falls into nomansland. Light, floral notes and not much else. I think that this is a...
Brooklyn Summer Ale
Attractive 12 oz single from Mac's as part of the $6.99 mixed sixer. Glad to pick this one up as a single, as I didn't really want a full complement. Attractive Blue & Yellow pastel label. Absolute golden clarity on the pour with a nice head. Virtually no lace. No hint of wheat. A bit of a strange bitter, grapefruit twang in the nose. Mildly chemical. This reminds me so much of an English IPA. Very mild hop character, but full of layers of flavorful malt. Very tasty. Not quite sure why, or...
Ivanhoe
A significantly different bottle label than the one in the BA database. The stillness and the lack of carbonation from the bottle make this perform almost like a cask ale. Despite the lack of head there still is a significant amount of lacing. I get some buttery hops in the nose, and the beer is light and drinkable. A simple, hop based medium bodied beer with very little surprise in store. This beer drinks exactly as one would expect for the style and some may call it boring, but the power of...
Stone Mill Organic Pale Ale
Updated Review 12/07 (bottle) === GREAT copper color, good carbonation. Above average head and lace. Plain simple malts – mild toast. Original Review 01/07 === $3.50 on-tap, Taco Mac, Douglasville, GA, USA. Quite light, but still a decent brown sugar golden color with nice clarity. Little head and low head retention. Some odd kind of plastic/metal taste which is persistent and annoying. Dry and hoppy finish with a little alcohol in the finish too. Some decent bitterness at the end. I was a...
Very Bad Elf
Additional notes 12/23/22 (Pictured) Fantastic head, rocky with great lace and high. Color is good without any clarity. Still oodles of malt and strong hop backbone holding it up. Still a little slick; still makes you feel the size of the beer. Original notes 01/06/07 Lovely dark orange color in the pour with plenty of initial head and some decent lace. Big hoppy, tangerine, honey and mild orange notes in the nose. Lots of citrusy, orange based fruits. Tastes are more typical of an English...
Kentucky Ale
12 oz single bottle, thanks to BEERchitect for the chance. Everything about this beer says "light". I actually like it, but if you are looking for an English Pale with good levels of bitterness and malt backbone then I think you will be a little disappointed. If, on the other hand, you would like a watered down version of the style, then this will hit the spot. Very light color (a watery orange) and a sweetish malt nose. Distinct lack of bitterness throughout the drink. Significant lack of...
WychCraft
New to GA, USA this week. Classy looking brown bottle, 500 mL Beverage Resort, Kennesaw, GA, USA, $3.99. Very pale orange pour with some decent carbonation, a small but really fluffy head and some good lacing. Looks nice. Lovely combination of hops upfront, balanced malt backbone and some classic English PA biscuit tones in the background. Full and creamy mouthfeel. Pretty dry finish but the combination still manages to give that classic buttery, baked flavor. I know that Wychwood gets some...
Old Speckled Hen
I first drank this way back in 1990/91 in various pubs around High Wycombe (Mac, Ian, Lea, Jim, Auks I hope you are all well, I miss you all very much). Amazing that I am reviewing this now after all these years so far away from the source. Odd how things sometimes work out. 500 mL bottle (clear bottle haters get your panties out of a wad), approx. $4.00 Taco Mac, East West Connector, Austell, GA, USA. Lovely burned orange color with a super head (small) with wave after wave of clinging lace....
Fuller’s London Pride
Updated notes: 07/14/2022 Fresher and in the bottle, this beer blows away the keg version that one usually finds in the USA (see notes below). The malt biscuitness is irresistible, and the beer breaks over the tongue time and time again with beautifully balanced malt notes. Light hops slightly dry things out in the back end, a classic English bitter, even if I'm not supping from the cask. Lace remains great in the glass, and the drinakbility is impossible to ignore. Original notes: 09/09/06....
Innis And Gunn Oak Aged Beer
11.2 oz clear (get over it) bottle. Great presentation. $4.99, Green's, Ponce de Leon, Atlanta, GA, USA. Light orange color with a nice head and some of the best lacing I have seen in a while. Caramel popcorn dominates the nose. Delicious. This is liquid honey! Amazingly subtlely sweet and smooth. The taste is amazing. A great balance of malt and alcohol with a drier than expected bitterish finish. I don't really get the oak barrels in the taste, but there is a huge vanilla flavor imparted to...
Pendle Witches Brew
500 mL bottle from Riverside in Chattanooga, TN, USA. Different label than the one depicted in the BA database, this is the purple and gold one on the brewery web site. Slightly hazed orange honey pour with a small white head and some decent lacing. Suprisingly some persistent carbonation too. All the attributes that one would expect for the style are there. Creamy mouthfeel with oodles of bread based malts. Hops are in the background perfectly married with the sweeter nuances. A little drier...
Denver Pale Ale
I like the presentation (the labels) on the Great Divide range - simple and striking, especially the colors. Pale orange pour with not much head or lacing but it does leave a nice thin film on the surface of the body. Fine bubbles of carbonation persist. Sweet grass in the nose. The tastes are rather soapy in their hop nature. Good malt and hop balance are the keys to the success of this beer. Despite the balance there is a small bitter hop finish that lingers and warms. As it warms the hops...
Summit Extra Pale Ale
Very straightforward decent quality brew. Some good carbonation on the pour with an attractive, but lighter than expected amber color with a little chill haze. Enjoyable malt backdrop with a fairly dry, hop taste cutting across the malts in the mouth and in the finish. A little citrus in there too, and the beer is a decent thirst quencher. Nothing special, but a nice steady, solid performer. Not a style that I can ever get very excited about, but this is a decent tasting beer. Thanks to...
Pedigree
Classic English Pale Ale, although, in England this is usually simply going to be referred to as "Bitter" by most folks, it has a classic pale orange body, with some cloudiness, lots of sediment, a small head and some lacing. Rounded, soft malts in the mouth with a dry, but creamy hop finish. Obvious session qualities. As expected, mild bitterness is the featured experience. Burton water comes through strong and the combination of Fuggles and Goldings meld beautifully. Not a patch on a...
Young’s St. George’s Ale
Classic English session ale, which, out of the the bottle is delicious, but I suspect from the cask would be stunning (I have no idea if this is available in cask form, but if not it should be). Fairly pale orange body, with some nice carbonation, a huge head and some lovely lacing. It looks very inviting. Great body and very flavorful. The malts are large, upfront and creamy. Perfectly rounded in the mouth and a slightly (very slightly) bitter finish. I could drink gallons of this, and if you...
Double Dragon
16.9 fl oz, large stubbie bottle with an attractive and distinct red, green and gold label depicting the Double Dragon logo. “The National Ale of Wales” – that, I have serious doubts about, but there you have it. 4.2 % ABV. Aroma has thin malts and not much else. It’s a pale orange pour with a small, white and creamy looking head. Head fades quickly to a spotty film with no lacing or retention to speak of. Lots of malt up front, even to the point of giving a rum like, sweet taste. Average...
Hen’s Tooth
This, my BA friends, is one very, very interesting beer. It captures all the characteristics of a really nice English Pale Ale, adds a little cask or "Real Ale" character and pumps up the ABV for both of those styles at the same time. All of this in a bottle as well! Typical pale orange pour, typical lack of sustainable head (cask characteristic) and typical organic grassiness in the nose. All coming together to complement one another, this is reminiscent of a Home Counties pub in more than...
Samuel Smith’s Organically Produced Ale
550 mL, dark brown, sturdy looking bottle, so not quite a full English pint, but almost there. Pours to give a nice soapy looking thin head, a golden orange body and a hint of chill haze. The nose is made up mainly of sweet hops. As expected a mild flavored beer, with a low-profile hop tang, a dryish mouthfeel and some lovely, classic English malt balance. To go with the hops we have a hint of walnuts of all things, and a very refreshing drinkability. Reminiscent of a cask beer in most ways,...
St. Peter’s English Ale
Additional notes 06/28/23 This is a bit confusing in terms of what beer this is. Time to do some research. THis version is called "Organic English Ale" (pictured), BUT comes in at 4.8%. As you can see below, the beer called simply "English Ale" is listed at 4.5%. The to add to the problematic nature of things, there's this also at 4.5%. Some of the confusion may be due to mistakes tin the American-centric beer advocate database back in the day, but relabeling, new marketing and changes of ABV...
Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Pale Ale
Beautiful crystal clear copper colored pour, with a small off-white head and some lacing. Soft, sweet malts dominate what little aroma there is. The aroma, of course, improves with warming. Very malty all the way through which is not necessarily out of character for an English Pale Ale that tend to (with the exception of the IPA's) steer slightly away from the hop emphasis we see so often in the USA. Lovely smooth drink with a wonderful cream/bitter lingering finish and aftertaste. Also...
Coopers Sparkling Ale
Pale orange appearance, but throw in the sediment from the bottle conditioning and you get something that more resembles a cloudy Wit. Small head that doesn't really hang around. Interesting aroma of honey and alcohol, really quite nice. A little sting from the carbonation, which seems high, and from some hop bitterness, but it smooths out pretty quickly to be an easy drink. Mouthfeel is OK but the carbonation is a little OTT and the finish is dry with some bitterness. Malt balance is in...
Black Sheep Ale (Special)
Very light appearance, with a thin and wispy/bubbly head. Not a dense frothy one, rather something that was very light. A little acidic in the nose and the initial tastes. Some fruity, hop bitterness is apparent too. The beer is what I would describe as "mildly hoppy and light". Relatively low ABV makes this drinkable, and classically "English Bitter" in style. The lightness, the drinkability and the general feel of the beer had some definite cask characteristics. Only one let down, a...
Goliath
Love the presentation, this looks like it is going to be a monster of a beer, but pans out to be something quite different. Pours the color of tea with a tiny bit of mild added, a sort of cloudy, copper/orange color. There was a heck of a lot of yeast sediment in the bottle that gave the beer a certain opaque quality, but when it poured it seemd clearer in the glass than in the bottle. Definite, mild yeast aroma and taste. A little biscuit in there and a very slight, hop, dry finish. If you...
Dominion Ale
04/08 === A lot more drinkable on draught - $4.25 for the 16oz pour at Taco Mac, Douglasville, GA, USA. Thin, pale color with some lace, but the head is very wispy and has no depth. Simple, light caramel sweetness and refreshing. Not much to report here, but significantly better on tap han in the bottle for me. Original Review 06/05 === I didn't care for this much. Elaborate description of the beer on the rear label - I like that, but it compared itself to Bass that I think is a stretch. Hazy...
Golden Promise Organic Ale
Pretty unusual find this one, I got it in TN and I'd never seen it in GA before. Bar staff were also confused by it so I'm guessing this was a recent addition to the line-up. Elaborate label, different to the one in the database picture and lots of crappy , advertising guf about its organic greatness!? Pours a very attractive golden color - so far so good in relation to the name - but gave a pretty small head that I only managaed to invigorate by constantly topping up from the bottle into my...
Whitbread Pale Ale
I note this appears to be contract brewed in the USA and it is certainly significantly different to how I remember drinking it maybe 10 years ago at home (England). Perhaps that's as a result of the stateside brewing, or maybe just changes in the beer over time, but in any case this beer has changed since I last drank it. Very nice looking pour, with a distinctly amber body and a full, lingering head with some nice lacing. This is a good looking beer. Very much more malty than I remember it....
Royal Oak Pale Ale
Dark, reddish body with a substantial off-white foamy head. Some swirling yeast in the body that settles quickly to give a great looking brew that tempts the senses. Definitely has a warm feel about it, both in the appearance and the aroma. A distinct toasty smell with some hops. Very full in the mouth with the malts coming through strong to give balance. I was surprised at how dry the finish was. Much more so than I remember from drinking this in the past. A new recipe or some other departure...
Fiddler’s Elbow
First thing to note here is that this came in the brown glass bottle so it looks as though Wychwood have finally given in. Looks like the label has been slightly re-designed too to give it a fresh look. Lovely, clear pale golden pour, but a slightly disappointing lack of head and lacing. Bags of fruity malt aroma and a solid hop backbone give this beer a nice balance. Some acidity too. Mouthfeel above average, but not in any way substantial. Refreshing with a dryish hop finish that shows...
Brooklyn Ale / Pennant Ale ’55
Amber red pour with little or no head to speak of. No lacing. Mainly malt in the nose and the body, with a little hop bitterness coming through. Balanced, but very uninspiring. Quite plain. Insufficient carbonation for me, making the whole experience a little flat. Mouthfeel rather too thin for much more than average ratings. Nice jazzy striped bottle (different to the one pictured). Not one of BB best efforts.
Young’s Waggledance Honey Ale
As usual, very solid offering from Young's. Definitely a good looking beer with plenty of the golden honey that you get in the taste reflected in the appearance. Light color and frothy head promise refreshment and that's what you get. Certainly the honey taste does come through strong, especially in the finish. Lots of sweet notes underlie this brew which is its strength. Definite sense of lightness and freshness about it. Spring/Summer possibilities? Aroma's are malt honey and taste reflects...
Double Barrel Ale
Elaborate and informative labels, looks classy. This definitely felt more like Pale Ale than an Amber, with its pale orange appearance, mild lacing and decent head. Not much nose to speak of, but a little bit of citrus hoppiness present. As others have observed, a dry hoppy character that had definite tea flavors noticeable. The tea thing was really quite obvious to me. A little gassy, with carbonation slightly above average, but a clean dry finish without the astringency that some hop based...
Saranac Pale Ale
Pale orange, small rocky head, with some lacing. Some lively bubbles continue to rise in the glass. This means the head retention is quite good and the lacing is pretty good. Some up front bitterness, with each mouthful ending with a sharp citrus or grapefruit bitterness. Clear copper body. Neither the initial bitterness nor the secondary citrus lasts for long. In fact the beer fades quite quickly to another also ran. Obviously superior to the macro brigade, but otherwise a somewhat...
Coopers Original Pale Ale
Taco Mac, Marietta, GA, $4.75. Unusual this, and fairly average to boot. Pours like an unfiltered, bottle fermented wheat, tasted like a sour lager, calls itself a Pale Ale, what gives?? I usually like the yeast sediment to be added to my glass with the beer, but on this ocassion I wish I hadn't. Rather than getting an attractive, classic cloudy look, I got a nasty, murky pond water effect. Didn't look good at all. The smell was lemony, almost to the point of seeming artificial and the initial...
Samuel Adams Pale Ale
$7.99 Six Pack, Save-Rite supermarket, Douglasville, GA, USA. I don't seem to see the Sam Adams Pale Ale around very much and perhaps that is a distribution issue or the fact that it seems to me to be a very mediocre brew. Everything about this beer screams OK, but nothing more. Decent appearance, slightly orange with some head and lacing. The aromas and the tastes are all very mild. A very weak malt backbone with some dryish, very mildly bitter hops, it's all too uninspiring for me. The beer...
St. Peter’s Golden Ale
$2.99 Arbor Place Beverage Depot, Douglasville, GA. St. Peter's does it again with this beautifully flavorful yet light beer. This is beer gives a combo which I find so difficult to find. A real tasty, hoppy, perfectly balanced brew that feels truly refreshing and drinkable. Pours the golden color that the name promises, with a beautiful head with stacks of lacing throughout the drink. Malts start the taste experience but this quickly gives way to perfectly balanced bitterness. That bitterness...
Tetley’s English Ale
$5.99, four-pack, Corks, Marietta/Smyrna, GA. It looks good and you can drink a lot of this stuff, but the nitro cans (smoothflow) are simply a pale shadow of real Tetley's. I am biased, because after you drunk the real stuff only yards from the brewery in Leeds pubs, you are unlikely to be impressed by a nitro-can clone. It's such a shame that a great beer and a great brewery feels the commercial pressure to go down this route to produce beers that are simply inferior to their roots. Quite...
Abbot Ale
Another example of a super keg beer being completely neutralized by putting in a nitro-can. The stuff in the can is virtually unrecognizable in experience to the original, which in this case is a step back. OK - what can you say about these nitro brews? They all pour to give beautiful, perfectly formed pints, they are all super-smooth and they are all really drinkable (like milkshakes), but so what? All the character of the Abbot is lost in this commercialization process. Shame. There is still...
Bass Pale Ale
Here's my problem. Growing up - as a young lad in the early drinking days - when my father was trying to show me the ropes, we would often go to pubs where Cask Conditioned Bass was kept. My father would never let me drink anything else but that stunningly magnificent brew. Many years later we come up to date, I am confronted by a label that says Bass, and I see the famous (oldest in the world I believe) red triangle trademark, but what's in the bottle bears no resemblance to those halcyon...
Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale
Poured an orange color with a huge, foamy head. The foaminess of the head was such that, combined with the somewhat "thin" pale ale taste, the experience was somewhat "soapy". The ale itself was a little on the dry side for me, and although a fairly authentic English Ale experience, not one of my particular favorites. It looked good and tasted above average, but the mouthfeel to me was disappointing for this brewery and style.
Scarecrow Ale
Orangey in color with a nice level of carbonation leading to a decent, persistent head, with some good lacing. A very clean taste, that I found very refreshing. Particularly noticeable was the distinct and persistent aftertaste that was hoppy with a nice bitter twang. A little cloudy on standing that made the brew a little less attractive than I would otherwise have liked. A simple, drinkable beer that I would be happy to recommend as unremarkable but quite acceptable.
Boddingtons Pub Ale
$7.09 for 4 pack Publix supermarket, Carrollton, GA. Pours a pale orange color with a somewhat transparent look. The head works very well in the nitro can, being produced consistently and instantly. It remains in the glass all the way to the bottom of the beer and even persists after the beer has been consumed as a layer at the bottom of the glass. The brew itself, whilst average in most respects, is incredibly drinkable. A creamy experience, with a bitter aftertaste are the highlights. Very,...