I was always a little reluctant to try Ales and Bitters probably because of the association I drew between them and Coronation street....
I am officially an ale drinker, attractive, possibly not in a woman- obviously that's only something I can say.
Theres huge similarities between tasting a good ale and a wine and I was surprised by the complexity and layered flavours that developed in the glass- as completely anorak as that sounds!!
The usual suspects arrived at 6.30 along with some new members. We kicked off with the new
Youngs London ale and
Youngs bitter, I'd had them chilling for the afternoon and they were a little too cold. Initially they were very similar in style,
citrusy zesty palates, clean and surprisingly easy drinking. I was a little disappointed by there likeness but as the tasting wore on and the bottles resembled something close to room temperature there was definitely differences evident on both the palate and the nose. London Ale was a riper more full bodied style lacking the sharp finish of the bitter.
Youngs Bitter displayed more citrus notes with a zingy hopped finish.
We moved on to Fullers 1845 at 6.3%. Bottle conditioned and aged for 100 days. This was full of dried fruit, caramel and a slight spiciness with a really smooth long finish. The touch of sweetness in the middle makes it really
wintery and an ideal Sunday roast ale.
My favourite of the night was the 4
th beer -
Well's Banana bread beer 5.2%. On the nose it smells like toasted bread with hints of fresh banana, on the palate it's like cake mix, cloves,
banana and some spice with a dry finish .
Fullers Golden Pride was next. 8.5% and apart from the sweetness this was the only way I could detect the alcohol content. Creamy, surprisingly fresh fruit, ripe apples and pears, big and really smooth.
The last of the night was
Youngs double chocolate stout. This is made with real dark chocolate and is one of those beers you'd find
difficult to forget. A really complex and interesting palate of coffee, chocolate, malt a little bit of clove with a really dry finish. Creamy and almost like a meal in a bottle.
Theres quite
alot of tannin evident in this so a great accompaniment to red meat or a chocolate dessert. I was in South-Africa at a friends wedding a couple of years ago and I had a
chili chocolate steak in a restaurant. It was a bit like liquid
marmite I couldn't decide whether I liked it or thought it was horrendous this was along the same lines of indecisiveness. Definitely one to try though. Especially the serious stout drinkers.
As always it was great having you all here. The stock for our June tasting is en-route so I'll post up dates next week. Again can I stress the need for more female attendance. It's becoming like a
gentleman's club without the inappropriate dancers.
Thanks, see you next month.
Ruthxx
