Great British Beer Festival - 2006
Great British Beer Festival Tasting Notes....
Other Years are here: 2000/2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009.
So it seems that I was completely useless and didn’t get the tasting notes out until 2007. Hah. Oh well, better late than never. Again a big thank you to my partners in crime, the work gang plus lunrwolf, gothicat, ciyaand sethur who joined myself, aca, rjw1, billyabbott and others on the Thursday night. Special thanks and commiserations to cuvalwen who put up with my wingeing on the Friday night after all the beer had been drunk, though we ended up hovering around Vitis Wines instead and enjoying their produce!
Bartrams: Cherry Stout (4.8%)
The sensuous hints of chocolate lead to a subtle hit of cherries in this fruity stout. Very sweet and very cloying, it stuck to the palate and the not-so-subtle cherry aftertaste lingered for a while. **
Beowulf: Dragon Smoke Stout (4.7%)
Really bitter and black. Dark malts and roasted barley combine to produce a smouldered ‘chocolate’ flavour followed by a mouth embracing bitterness. I really liked this. It was black, very black, and very dry as well. It had a really deep smoky flavour which went very well with the deep malt flavour. *****
Blythe: Staffie (4.4%)
A golden beer with a sharp citrus hoppiness that has a grapefruit aftertaste. They weren’t kidding about the citrus flavour, the beer was sharp, slightly floral and had an beautiful crisp grapefruit aftertaste. ****
Brewsters: Rutterkin (4.6%)
With a golden appearance a zesty hop flavour combines with a touch of malt sweetness to give a rich full-bodied beer. This beer was incredibly sweet and thick, more of a stout consistency than a golden beer. Not bad, but the hops didn’t cut through as much as they probably should. ***
Earl Soham: Gannet Mild (3.3%)
An unusual full-tasting mild with a bitter finish and roast flavours that compete with underlying maltiness. Another one I really liked, unlike some milds it had a rich flavour,slightly sweet but with a dry finish. More the characteristic of a stout than a mild, I feel, but it worked really well. ****
Glastonbury: Golden Chalice (4.8%)
Light and golden best bitter with a robust malt character. Strong bitterness gives way to a light floral aftertaste. Another good beer, very hoppy, but sweet with it. ****
Green Jack: Orange Wheat (4.2%)
Citrus notes predominate. Gold coloured with equal hints of hop and mandarin, a dry bitterness develops as the fruit melts away. This was nice and sweet with a full flavour. Not as dry or hoppy as I was expecting. ****
Hydes: Cutty Shark (4.1%)
A true golden beer, a refreshingly light tasting summer ale with a distinctive fruity aroma. This had a clean, light taste, definitely a quaffing ale! ***
Stonehenge: Heel Stone (4.3%)
A crisp, clean, refreshing bitter, deep amber in colour, well-balanced with a fruity blackcurrant flavour. This was nice, again clean and light. It had a fruity flavour, although opinion is divided on whether it could really be called ‘blackcurrant’. ***
Triple fff: Moondance (4.2%)
An amber-coloured best bitter, wonderfully hopped with a huge hop aroma, balanced by bittering hops and malt. I should’ve learned by now that I don’t particularly like best bitters, preferring instead very light summer ales or porters and milds. While this was probably a very nice best bitter, I’m afraid that it left me cold. *
Wharfedale: Folly Gold (5.0%)
A full-bodied pale golden premium strong bitter with a bitter, hoppy and malt palate. The dry character extends into the finish. This, again, didn’t do much for me. While the taste was pleasant, it didn’t have a particularly interesting flavour and was rather too dry. *
Cider
Hecks: Kingston Black S.V. (Somerset)
This was a Gold Award Winner at the CAMRA APPLE National Cider and Perry Competition 2006 and this was entirely justified. It was an absolutely gorgeous pint, not too dry and with a very clean taste. I went back for more a couple of times! *****
Other Years are here: 2000/2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009.
So it seems that I was completely useless and didn’t get the tasting notes out until 2007. Hah. Oh well, better late than never. Again a big thank you to my partners in crime, the work gang plus lunrwolf, gothicat, ciyaand sethur who joined myself, aca, rjw1, billyabbott and others on the Thursday night. Special thanks and commiserations to cuvalwen who put up with my wingeing on the Friday night after all the beer had been drunk, though we ended up hovering around Vitis Wines instead and enjoying their produce!
Bartrams: Cherry Stout (4.8%)
The sensuous hints of chocolate lead to a subtle hit of cherries in this fruity stout. Very sweet and very cloying, it stuck to the palate and the not-so-subtle cherry aftertaste lingered for a while. **
Beowulf: Dragon Smoke Stout (4.7%)
Really bitter and black. Dark malts and roasted barley combine to produce a smouldered ‘chocolate’ flavour followed by a mouth embracing bitterness. I really liked this. It was black, very black, and very dry as well. It had a really deep smoky flavour which went very well with the deep malt flavour. *****
Blythe: Staffie (4.4%)
A golden beer with a sharp citrus hoppiness that has a grapefruit aftertaste. They weren’t kidding about the citrus flavour, the beer was sharp, slightly floral and had an beautiful crisp grapefruit aftertaste. ****
Brewsters: Rutterkin (4.6%)
With a golden appearance a zesty hop flavour combines with a touch of malt sweetness to give a rich full-bodied beer. This beer was incredibly sweet and thick, more of a stout consistency than a golden beer. Not bad, but the hops didn’t cut through as much as they probably should. ***
Earl Soham: Gannet Mild (3.3%)
An unusual full-tasting mild with a bitter finish and roast flavours that compete with underlying maltiness. Another one I really liked, unlike some milds it had a rich flavour,slightly sweet but with a dry finish. More the characteristic of a stout than a mild, I feel, but it worked really well. ****
Glastonbury: Golden Chalice (4.8%)
Light and golden best bitter with a robust malt character. Strong bitterness gives way to a light floral aftertaste. Another good beer, very hoppy, but sweet with it. ****
Green Jack: Orange Wheat (4.2%)
Citrus notes predominate. Gold coloured with equal hints of hop and mandarin, a dry bitterness develops as the fruit melts away. This was nice and sweet with a full flavour. Not as dry or hoppy as I was expecting. ****
Hydes: Cutty Shark (4.1%)
A true golden beer, a refreshingly light tasting summer ale with a distinctive fruity aroma. This had a clean, light taste, definitely a quaffing ale! ***
Stonehenge: Heel Stone (4.3%)
A crisp, clean, refreshing bitter, deep amber in colour, well-balanced with a fruity blackcurrant flavour. This was nice, again clean and light. It had a fruity flavour, although opinion is divided on whether it could really be called ‘blackcurrant’. ***
Triple fff: Moondance (4.2%)
An amber-coloured best bitter, wonderfully hopped with a huge hop aroma, balanced by bittering hops and malt. I should’ve learned by now that I don’t particularly like best bitters, preferring instead very light summer ales or porters and milds. While this was probably a very nice best bitter, I’m afraid that it left me cold. *
Wharfedale: Folly Gold (5.0%)
A full-bodied pale golden premium strong bitter with a bitter, hoppy and malt palate. The dry character extends into the finish. This, again, didn’t do much for me. While the taste was pleasant, it didn’t have a particularly interesting flavour and was rather too dry. *
Cider
Hecks: Kingston Black S.V. (Somerset)
This was a Gold Award Winner at the CAMRA APPLE National Cider and Perry Competition 2006 and this was entirely justified. It was an absolutely gorgeous pint, not too dry and with a very clean taste. I went back for more a couple of times! *****