Dorset Chesil

Well, this one is the business! It is a golden beer, made in the pilsener style, with a really refreshing citrus and floral aroma and taste. For the technically minded among you, it is brewed from lager malt and Caragold barley malt, Sovereign and Lubelski hops, Sutton Poyntz spring water and the Dorset Brewing Company's own special strain of yeast. It is 4.1% ABV. A real winner!

The Dorset Brewing Company, who I had not come across before, are based in Weymouth, in the heart of the Jurassic coast. It is an independent family owned brewery that was founded in 1996. It was established by an off-beat retired lawyer, Giles Smeath, restoring an 800 year old brewing tradition to the Dorset port of Weymouth. The Brewery is based in historic Brewers Quay, the classic Victorian brewery building that was the site of the former Devenish (remember them?) and Groves Breweries. DBC is committed to a Warranty of Origin scheme which ensures that customers get both a product whose origins are provably rooted in Dorset and whose quality is by the choice of malt. From the summer of 2006, in conjunction with their maltsters, Warminster Maltings, DBC took the opportunity to have domain over its barley/malt supply. Starting with Chesil, which is their summer special ale, they used only Dorset grown barley malted by Warminster Maltings. This appellation is categorised by the variety of barley, geographical domain, soil type, husbandry best practice, farm assurance, and harvest quality criteria; as well as the malting protocols for floor made malt. All of their malt carries a Certificate of Compliance from Warminster and a Warranty of Origin.

If you want to find out more about them, go to their web site at http://www.dbcales.com/.

Broughton Champion Ale

This is another dark ale. It was much nicer than the Milk Stout, probably because it was a bit more lively as well as having a bit more taste. The brewery that produces it is situated in the village of Broughton in the Scottish Borders. Broughton lies between the towns of Biggar and Peebles on the A701 about 25 miles south of Edinburgh. Founded in 1980, Broughton Ales now produce 11 different bottled beers, including three organic beers, an own label product for Waitrose and an organic beer for Marks & Spencer. Find out more at http://www.broughtonales.co.uk/

This beer is a blend of a strong ale and a porter style beer, each brewed in their own way, but married together in a conditioning tank to produce an interesting mix of flavour and aroma. It was the Tesco Beer Challenge winner 2006, though I don't know how much of a recommendation this is. Champion Double ale has also been judged to be in "The World's 50 Best Beers" in the Bottlers International Competition 2007 and a Gold medal winner in Scottish SIBA competition 2008, which are probably better indicators of its quality. The brewers say that "This fine ale takes on the double characters of two knights from the era of the “Border Reivers” during the reign of King David of Scotland."

It contains Optic Pale Ale Malt, Crystal Malt, Black Malt and pinhead oats. The hops used are English grown Challenger, Fuggles and First Gold. It is quite strong - 5.5% ABV.

Exmoor Gold

This is more like it! This is probably my favourite golden ale of all time. Those who carefully read all the comments may have noticed that this has already had a mention on February 9 under Cotleigh's Buzzard and I am very glad that it has made an appearance in its own right now. Exmoor Ales claims to be the oldest brewery in Somerset and is the other brewery in Wiveliscombe. Its website is at http://www.exmoorales.co.uk/.

Exmoor Gold claims to be the original golden ale and it was certainly the first I came across. The bouquet has a hint of vanilla with citric hops. It starts bitter sweet on the palate and finishes dry and intensely hoppy. Dee-lish! It is 5% ABV. The label says that it is brewed using traditional methods and the finest natural ingredients, but the only clue it gives about what it contains is that contains barley malt.

Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout

Well, this is my first disappointment. I don't think it was the beer so much as the fact that it seemed flat, and therefore uninteresting. Apparently, it was the Champion Beer of Bristol in 2006 and 2007 so it must have had something going for it. It is brewed by the Bristol Beer Factory, which is located in a remaining part of the historic Ashton Gate brewery building. This was bought by a local architect in 2003 with the romantic notion of reviving brewing on the site and he had it up and running within 6 months. You can find out more at http://www.bristolbeerfactory.co.uk/.

The beer itself is intended to be a creamy, full bodied stout, replicating a beer that was originally brewed at Ashton Gate. They use local raw materials and it includes wheat, barley malt and lactose sugar. It is 4.5% ABV. According to the label, it does not contain milk!