After referencing it in a number of other posts I thought it was only right I actually included Newcastle Brown Ale at some point this year. I’m not a fan of traditional brown ales; not all beers of that colour but rather the subset of mild and uninteresting ones which should really have died out about 30 years ago. So poor ol’ Newkie Brown didn’t start from a strong position.
It seems my doubts were misplaced – you can see why Newcastle Brown remains popular, because it actually has some flavour! A mix of dried fruits and slightly peculiar dry hoppiness is quite moreish, with a yeasty, citrusy after-taste that lingers on the tongue. I’m sure it makes a great session beer, and was pleasantly refreshing served cold, and worked equally well at room temperature, when the fruity flavours were more distinct.
Sorry NBA, I should have tried you earlier.
My penultimate beer this year is a lovely Christmas present from my colleague Rebecca – very much appreciated – and is another from Marston’s, a brewery I’ve had on the blog a fair few times. The beer is named for the brewing method, which involves transferring part brewed beer (known as wort) from one upper container to a lower one, filtering out excess yeast that has already settled and aerating the beer in the process.
The beer itself has some citrus tang and some caramel sweetness before quite a lager like dry hopped finish. It has plenty of fizz and a quite a crisp bitterness that lasts a long time. Pleasant enough, but rather unremarkable. I’m given to understand that you’re mean to get “butterscotch” flavours from this brewing method but that doesn’t appear to be the case here.
DD: 
NBA: 
365daysofales 