I’d been looking forward to this one, because Oakham’s JHB had been my favourite beer in the 52WBC so far. On the label, Oakham claim to have been the first in the UK to use Citra hops, way back in 2009. It pours light golden, with little head but some lacing down the sides of the glass. Good, fruity aroma. At first sip it has a lemony aftertaste. Very smooth and well-balanced with a refreshing bitterness.
The glass was empty before I could finish making mental notes – always a sign that I enjoyed it. 4.5/5.
I must try the rest of their range. It’s a pity that more of them aren’t available as a Pick & Mix.
11.Stroud Brewery, Budding Organic Pale Ale
Pours light brown with a small white head. Pleasant, fruity aroma.
It starts off quite sweet, but then becomes more well-balanced. I’d call it pleasant and inoffensive. 3/5.
And now on to the two bottle conditioned beers in the case. Normally I would keep BC beers in the cellar longer than this before drinking them, up to their best before date, or even beyond, as I think that they develop more flavour with time. In fact I haven’t yet touched most of the BC beers from my three previous 52WBC cases. However, I realise that many of you are logging on daily, anxious to read my latest review, so I can’t keep you in suspense any longer.
12. Breconshire Brewery, Rescue Brew
Pours mid brown. I poured it very carefully, so as not to disturb the sediment and get a clear beer; perhaps too carefully, as it’s now got no head. The bottle has broad shoulders to help retain the sediment. An appetizing, yeasty aroma that couldn’t be mistaken for a pasteurised beer.
With the first taste, bitterness grasps your tongue. Then a maltiness follows, and these seem to alternate in grabbing your attention. Very enjoyable.
I always used to leave the sediment in BC beers, but the Belgians usually drink theirs “for the vitamins”. Now I usually pour even British sediment into the glass after I’ve drunk most of it. It doesn’t taste any better than the clear beer, but it’s not bad, and waste not, want not. 4.5/5.
The Breconshire brewery was put up for sale earlier this year. Whatever its fate, I hope that they keep up the quality of beers like this.
13. Three Castles Brewery, Longbarrow
Pours dark brown with some brownish head. A yeasty and fruity aroma. It tastes richer than I was expecting, and stronger than its 4.5%. There’s also quite a strong spice in there that I can’t place (possibly nutmeg?), but not unpleasant.
So, a brown ale rather than a bitter. 4/5.
That’s the end of my reviews of this case. Thanks again to Richard for providing it and for running the 52WBC. It’s all down to opinions, and if you enjoy a particular beer, don’t worry what anyone else says. If you look at http://www.theormskirkbaron.com/ you’ll see that he and I have some very different opinions about this case. In fact, the only one that we appear to really agree about is the Oakham Citra, which was my particular favourite from this case.
A big thanks to Danny for his excellent reviews... If you'd like to guest blog one of our 52wbc mixed cases in future please get in touch: richard@mybrewerytap.com
You can sign up to the 52 Week Beer Club here, we still have a number of mixed cases of the same selection available here.
Danny, thanks for the link to the blog, glad you found them different, what would the world be like if we all liked the same thing? ;)
ReplyDeleteOur bottle of Rescue Brew was dull and lifeless, one of the problems with bottle conditioning if it's not done right.
Can't win them all, although the Oakham Citra was the clear winner - superb beer!
That Oakham Citra is the most memorable if not the best ale I've tasted this year so far. Had it in the King Billy in Nottingham and I could smell it being poured from the opposite end of the bar, gorgeous and the hop is one I'm having alot of fun brewing with myself.
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