BEER

A re-worked recipe based on the ol' Woolston Bitter. Changes in the malt bill and a few more hops have (hopefully) made for a more quaffable pint.

Weighing in at 4.3%, Easterly Draught is still very much a sessionable bitter. Dependable & refreshing - much like its namesake.

It was difficult to pigeonhole this one as it wasn’t really a fruit beer, but had plenty of elderberries in it.
A dark ale, it poured like a watery port. Dark ruby in colour without much in the way of a head on it. Don’t let this put you off. The aromas are subtle - cherryvite and herbal medicine.

Sweet and berryfruity, simple, clean and uncomplicated without lacking for character. May or may not keep the doctor away.

Golden Pale Ale: "This beer was difficult to pigeonhole in terms of style. It wasn’t full of malt and sprucy hops like an APA, it wasn’t restrained and full of traditional hops like Fuggles and Goldings etc, it wasn’t light enough to be a Golden Ale where only colour matters and you get a mouthful of fizzy water.

This was the 100th brew celebration beer and I tasted an advanced sample which immediately impressed me.

Pours a perfect golden amber with apparent carbonation and a white head that subsides fairly quickly. Aromas of oranges, herbal grassiness, soft breadiness and caramel malt.
Tempting. Initially sweet but then there’s a rush of orangey bitterness, tangy hoppy spruce, ginger and roastiness. So much to like about this beer.
Source: Ratebeer.com (jimthechap)

Cassels & Sons Dunkel 5.6%:

Packed full of elderflowers, this beer is Mrs Jimthechap’s favourite ever. Pours mellow yellow with a vinho verde tinge.

Described by brewer Nigel Mahoney as a ‘fast ale’, this modest strength pale ale is made with a proportion of wheat malt and pours a bright golden hue beneath a fluffy white head. The aroma offers honey, caramel and toasty malt notes along with herbaceous New Zealand hops (Rakau and Green Bullet). In the mouth the beer is light-bodied and crisp, with caramel and savoury, toasty flavours combining with grassy hops and leading into a refreshing, dry finish.

Pouring a bright golden-amber hue beneath a lingering white head, the aroma is sweetish and complex, with suggestions of honey and biscuity malt combining with floral, citrus and herbaceous notes from the hops. It’s much the same on the palate where, unusually for a golden lager, hard water (from a well that was discovered after the September 2010 earthquake) gives the beer a firm, but creamy mouthfeel.

This beer has much in common with our Lager, but is more generously hopped. Pouring a bright golden hue beneath a pillowy white head, the aroma and palate offer an attractive honey-like sweetness, with lemony and passionfruit notes from the New Zealand hops blending with the biscuit and caramel from the malts.