Well, well! Another new brewery! Apparently, Summerskills is the only brewery in Plymouth. It was originally founded in 1983 at Bigbury-on Sea in Devon and changed ownership several times in the ensuing years until it was acquired by the present owners in 1990, by which time it had been in Plymouth for 5 years, having acquired the redundant kit of the Penrhos Brewery (which I had heard of). In 1994/1995, one of their beers was runner up at the Great British beer Festival. More information available at www.summerskills.co.uk
This is a very acceptable beer to my palate. It is golden in colour, hoppy with a slight malty back taste, refreshing and satisfying. It is made from Devon malts, English hops (Goldings from Worcestershire and Pioneer from Herefordshire) and Devon water. It is bottle conditioned and the ABV is 4.7%.
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Friday 23 October 2009
St Austell Tribute
At last! A beer and a brewery I know. St Austells Brewery was founded in 1851 and the company is still family owned and run, indeed the current managing director is the great-great-grandson of the original founder. It is one of Cornwall's largest businesses and has a strong commitment to cask beer. More details available at http://www.staustellbrewery.co.uk/.
Tribute is apparently a much sought after guest beer across the country, and it is certainly popular in the Goat in St Albans, where I drink on a Tuesday night. It has been a Supreme Champion Ale of Cornwall as voted by CAMRA and is apparently and the South West's Favourite cask beer. Roger Protz, Editor of the Good Beer Guide, has described it as follows: "Tribute is a magnificent example of a bronze coloured English bitter, with a rich aroma of biscuity malt and tart citrus fruit from the Willamette hops. Juicy malt, hop resins and tangy fruit coat the tongue, while the finish is long and lingering, with a fine balance between malt, hops and fruit, finally becoming dry and bitter."
There is not a lot I can add to that, other than to say I like it a lot. And that as well as the Williamette hops, it contains English Fuggles and Slovenian Goldings. Oh and also they use Cornish Gold and Maris Otter malts. And also I almost forgot to mention that it is made with Cornish spring water. I think I did say that I liked it, and I do. ABV is 4.2%.
Tribute is apparently a much sought after guest beer across the country, and it is certainly popular in the Goat in St Albans, where I drink on a Tuesday night. It has been a Supreme Champion Ale of Cornwall as voted by CAMRA and is apparently and the South West's Favourite cask beer. Roger Protz, Editor of the Good Beer Guide, has described it as follows: "Tribute is a magnificent example of a bronze coloured English bitter, with a rich aroma of biscuity malt and tart citrus fruit from the Willamette hops. Juicy malt, hop resins and tangy fruit coat the tongue, while the finish is long and lingering, with a fine balance between malt, hops and fruit, finally becoming dry and bitter."
There is not a lot I can add to that, other than to say I like it a lot. And that as well as the Williamette hops, it contains English Fuggles and Slovenian Goldings. Oh and also they use Cornish Gold and Maris Otter malts. And also I almost forgot to mention that it is made with Cornish spring water. I think I did say that I liked it, and I do. ABV is 4.2%.
Ringmore Rollocks
Another day, another brewery that is new to me. In fact, this one proved quite a challlenge to research. It turns out that they do not have a proper website, nor do they appear in my copy of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. However, with a bit of diligent searching I have managed to establish that the founder and brewer is a guy called Geoff Phillips He has set up a 1 barrel plant in Ringmore which is near Shaldon in Devon and has been producing beer fron there since March 2007. He used to be a brewer for Courage, but then became a teacher. When retired from his position of deputy-head, he went back to his first passion - brewing, and together with his wife Jill has formed this latest Devon brewery.
I would love to report that the beer was fantastic, but the bottle I had was a bit of a disappointment. It is a straw coloured summer ale and looked great in the glass, but for some reason it was flat. I am not sure why that should be the case, as it is bottle conditioned and there was a sediment in the bottle. It tasted OK but I couldn't help thinking how much nicer it would have been if it was a bit more lively.
The label describes it as a bottle conditioned golden ale with a delicate malt taste and a pronounced hop aroma with overtones of elderberry and fruit. It is 4.5% ABV. No details are given about the ingredients other than it contains malted barley.
I would love to report that the beer was fantastic, but the bottle I had was a bit of a disappointment. It is a straw coloured summer ale and looked great in the glass, but for some reason it was flat. I am not sure why that should be the case, as it is bottle conditioned and there was a sediment in the bottle. It tasted OK but I couldn't help thinking how much nicer it would have been if it was a bit more lively.
The label describes it as a bottle conditioned golden ale with a delicate malt taste and a pronounced hop aroma with overtones of elderberry and fruit. It is 4.5% ABV. No details are given about the ingredients other than it contains malted barley.
Saturday 17 October 2009
Devon Pride
Well, its a few weeks since I have had any of my sixty beers, but I have finally got back to them. This one comes from South Hams Brewery which is, believe it or not, in Devon.
It was, once again, not a brewer I knew. My researches have revealed that is an independent brewery situated just outside Torcross village, producing traditionally brewed, quality, real ales. Over the years it has continually won many accolades for its ales, both locally and nationally. It maintains an ethos of producing traditional cask conditioned real ales from natural ingredients. The brewery was formed in April 2004 when Sutton Brewery of Plymouth (established near to Plymouth Sutton Harbour in 1993) moved its premises to the converted dairy at Stokeley Barton Farm, near Stokenham. This has combined the expertise from this well-established brewery with a new 10-barrel plant and additional space for expansion, to meet increasing demand. Since that time the Brewery has seen an ever-increasing loyal customer base for it’s excellent award winning ales within the South Devon area and beyond. South Hams Brewery has recently released a range of bottled beers with some ales now available in a number of retail outlets, of which this is one.
It is a very acceptable ale. A dark amber colour beer, it has a fruity, citrus aroma, provided by the Cascade in the late hop. Rich in flavour, this beer defies its 3.8% a.b.v. with a surprising amount of body. It has a malty palette, with fruit undertones, which then leads to a slightly dry finish. It is bottle-conditioned.
It was, once again, not a brewer I knew. My researches have revealed that is an independent brewery situated just outside Torcross village, producing traditionally brewed, quality, real ales. Over the years it has continually won many accolades for its ales, both locally and nationally. It maintains an ethos of producing traditional cask conditioned real ales from natural ingredients. The brewery was formed in April 2004 when Sutton Brewery of Plymouth (established near to Plymouth Sutton Harbour in 1993) moved its premises to the converted dairy at Stokeley Barton Farm, near Stokenham. This has combined the expertise from this well-established brewery with a new 10-barrel plant and additional space for expansion, to meet increasing demand. Since that time the Brewery has seen an ever-increasing loyal customer base for it’s excellent award winning ales within the South Devon area and beyond. South Hams Brewery has recently released a range of bottled beers with some ales now available in a number of retail outlets, of which this is one.
It is a very acceptable ale. A dark amber colour beer, it has a fruity, citrus aroma, provided by the Cascade in the late hop. Rich in flavour, this beer defies its 3.8% a.b.v. with a surprising amount of body. It has a malty palette, with fruit undertones, which then leads to a slightly dry finish. It is bottle-conditioned.
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