Quite a few to rattle through here, and a real mixed bag from the excellent to the downright awful. I’ve thrown in some pictures as best I can but to be honest I’m not sure which ones are which most of the time.
The Otley Brewing Company, from Pontypridd, gave us ‘Hop Angeles’; a clever name, but that’s as good as it gets. Described as an American Style Pale Ale (read: full of hops), it was actually essentially flavourless. There’s a slightly bitter finish, but even this is more akin to toilet cleaner than anything you’d want to drink. A very poor ale and not the best to start on. If I don’t look suitably unimpressed below it’s because I hadn’t tried any yet.
Unfortunately I went two-for-two on the bad beers with my next pick, Dark Star’s The Art of Darkness. Clearly, I shouldn’t be pulled in by clever gimmicky names. This was a dark ale (there’s a surprise) which despite its rich colour had no flavour at all. The malty taste you’d expect was not in evidence and to be honest it tasted as if it had been watered down. What flavour there was was concentrated into a slightly smokey aftertaste. Not great.
Next up, finally, I hit on something nice. Gloucester Brewery’s Dockside Dark was described as a chocolatey porter/stout cross, but it was actually closer to a mocha, with some strong bitter coffee flavour coming through. After the last two this was pleasantly rich and satisfying. You can tell it cheered me up no end.
Suddenly, I was on a roll, as another stout, Wye Valley’s Dorothy Goodbody’s Choc and Oat, hit the mark, even if it is a bit of a mouthful. This was definitely a chocolate stout, rich, creamy and a little sweet, with a cocoa bitterness in places. The burnt malt flavour comes in at the end and lingers on the tongue. I’ve had Goodbody brews before, but this is my favourite from them.
Number five of the afternoon was probably the winner all round, Great Heck’s Dave. Simple name, but not a simple beer, with a complex range of flavours. A citrusy start leads to sweeter black fruit flavours in the middle, finishing with a hoppy bitterness at the end. This is an award winner and I’m not surprised. I’d say it edged the Choc and Oat, and you can see how pleased I was to have tried this one:
Fernandes’ Trinity Ale and Titanic Brewery’s Mild were both very standard renditions of their respective types. The Trinity is a very inoffensive traditional bitter, which would probably make for a decent session ale. The Mild was exactly that, very smooth and light. I’m not a fan of mild as it goes, but I’m sure this would pass muster with any fans.
Last but by no means least was Cheddar Ales’s Potholer, a refreshing and quite citrusy sweet beer. It had a nice finish, with little bitterness. This would make for a good summer thirst quencher, and was a nice way to round off proceedings.
So a fairly successful trip all round, with some good and some bad. All round, a good selection of ales and ciders for a non-CAMRA affair, and some very generous bar staff – you’ll note from the images that not once poured less than three quarters of a pint when serving a half. Thanks to my missus Kirsty for taking all the photos. You might have noticed they’re of a rather higher quality than usual!
Final Scores:
Dave and Choc & Oat:
Dockside and Potholer:
Mild and Trinity:
Art of Darkness and Hop Angeles: