Monthly Archives: May 2015

Exmoor Ales – Silver Stallion

Bitter, Exmoor Ales, My 5* Rating, Real Ale, Somerset, UK, , ,

Exmoor Ales – Silver Stallion 4.3%

Exmoor Ales – Silver Stallion

This is a celebration ale from Exmoor Ales from their 2005 25th year of Brewing. The beer is an amber ale with a fruit aroma. 
 
The taste has an initial lemon sharp start followed quickly with a pleasant biscuity sweetness,  a mild hop bitterness leading to a biscuit finish.
 
This is another and very drinkable ale from this brewery.

Brewdog – Punk IPA

Brewdog, Craft Beer, IPA, Scotland, , ,

Brewdog Punk IPA 5.6%

Brewdog – Punk IPA

This golden coloured ale starts with a strong elderflower aroma going into passion fruit, with following dry resinous notes. It also has a strong hop bitterness and liquorice hints.

This is an unusual and very much an acquired taste in a beer, which has to be tried, to be able to make up your own mind.
 
The is one of the radical ales from this succesful Scottish Craft Brewery, which has its own Brewdog pub chain. Check out your nearest Brewdog Pub and try one of their excellent beer tastings.
 
 

RCH Brewery – Thirty Five Point Bitter

Bitter, RCH Brewery, Real Ale, Somerset, UK, , ,

RCH Brewery – Thirty Five Point Bitter 4.5%

RCH Brewery – Thirty Five Point

A pale golden ale with grapefruit and malt aroma. It has a hop bitterness and hints of grapefruit.  
This ale is brewed with American Endeavour hops, which impart the grapefruit notes to aroma and taste.
 
This is a anniversary ale from RCH Brewery, celebrating 35 years of brewing from its inception at the Royal Clarence Hotel in Burnham-on-Sea to its present home in Hewish, near Weston-Super-Mare. The ale was on tap at the May 2015 Burnham Food and Drink Festival, along with other excellent ales from RCH.

The Brewing Crew – San Diego Pale Ale

Craft Beer, IPA, The Brewing Crew, USA, ,

The Brewing Crew – San Diego Pale Ale 4.5%

San Diego Pale Ale

A light amber coloured ale with rich fruit and grapefruit aromas, with hints of tropical fruit. It has a smooth, initially malt taste, followed by grapefruit bitterness from the American hops, with a hint of biscuit. 

Whilst grapefruit can be a dominant flavour from American hops, it is not excessive in this ale and it has subtle fruit notes.

This is a special brew by The Brewing Crew of Balast Point in California brewed at the Hook Norton Brewery for the Wetherspoon chain.

Goose Island Brewery – IPA

Craft Beer, Goose Island, IPA, My 5* Rating, Real Ale, USA, , ,

Goose Island Brewery Chicago IL – IPA 5.9%

Goose Island – IPA

This is a golden ale with a good strong aroma of malty hops with hints of pineapple and tropical fruit leading on to rich plum notes. It has a good warming taste of roasted light malts and fruit with a sweet beginning and middle leading to a crisp light hop bitter finish.
 
This is a great IPA, which is another of my top ales and well worth finding and sampling. 5*

Crabbies – Spiced Orange Ginger Beer

Christmas Ale, Crabbies, Ginger Beer, Scotland, , ,

Crabbies – alcoholic Spiced Ginger Beer

Spiced Orange Ginger Beer

Produced by this Scottish commercial, ginger based, alcoholic drinks company. This is a seasonal variation on their normal alcoholic, ginger based beer. It is a sweet golden beer with pleasant spiced ginger, cinnamon and orange-zest aromas. The taste has cinnamon and orange notes of Christmas pudding with a good ginger bite.
 
If your into alcoholic ginger beers this is a good seasonal version for winter and particularly Christmas.

Wickwar Wessex Brewing – Station Porter

Breweries, Gloucestershire, My 5* Rating, Porter, Real Ale, Strong Ale, UK, Wickwar, , ,

Wickwar Brewery – Station Porter 6.1%

Wickwar Brewery – Station Porter

 

 A dark red porter ale with rich aromas of malt and chocolate. A sweet very malty ale with good notes of chocolate, coffee and caramels, with a rich malt and mild hop bitter finish. 

This is one of the best porters I have tasted and has a rich warming taste without straying into heavily toasted malt bitterness.
 
A worthy winner of the CAMRA 2008 supreme champion beer.