Dartmoor Jail Ale

This is a full bodied mid-brown beer with a well rounded flavour and a sweet aftertaste - very acceptable! It contains malted barley and wheat but no details are given of the hops used. It is bottle conditioned and has an ABV of 4.8%.

Jail Ale is the best known brand of the Dartmoor Brewery. Situated in the very heart of Dartmoor National Park at 1400 feet above sea level it is the highest brewery in England and claims also to the best! Brewing started in 1994 in a converted garage behind the Prince of Wales pub in the centre of Princetown in Devon. It was soon demonstrated that there was an unsatisfied demand for the taste of their real ale. By refusing to compromise on quality and using the skills of master brewer Simon Loveless, they have expanded year upon year. Remaining family owned to this day, and now brewing from a purpose built brewery on the site of the old Princetown Railway, their brands are more popular than ever. More about their story can be found at http://www.dartmoorbrewery.co.uk.

Ramsbury 506

Apparently, Ramsbury beers, which come from Marlborough in Wiltshire, were nationally renowned in the 18th century. This was because the water is some of the purest in southern England. Rain falling on the high chalk downs, filters its way through the strata where it emerges as springs (source of the River Kennet) or is artificially pumped from wells deep underground to centres of population. This same soil, which filters the water, is the very lifeblood of the barley, which grows on the surface. Generations of farmers planted seed on the Downs of Wiltshire, reaping the internationally acclaimed barley at harvest. The Rambury estate decided to start brewing its own beer in 2003. Redundant farm building formed the nucleus of the brewery, stripped out - re-roofed and fitted out to the highest hygiene standards, and brewing commenced in April 2004. All done with local labour it was ready for production in October 2004. Read more at http://www.ramsburybrewery.com/.

They now have a range of 7 or 8 beers, of which 506 is one. They often use local names to promote their beer. 506 was apparently chosen because of the tie between the area where the brewery is located and the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, who were stationed in the area in 1943, prior to their landing in Normandy on D-Day and subsequently Holland during the second world war.

The beer uses a mix of European and European hops, with a very lightly kilned barley and wheat to give a hint of sweetness. It is 5% ABV and is a very pleasant golden ale. However, I think it probably suffered in comparison with the very good beers of this type that I have been sampling just recently.

Holden's Golden Special

Another Golden ale, and another winner! Holden's are a Black Country brewery, that I have not come across before. They are based in Dudley and are one of only 33 independent family brewers left in Britain, apparently. The family were first involved in the licensed trade at the end of the 19th century but did not own a brewery until 1915. Read more at http://www.holdensbrewery.co.uk.

Special is a dark amber premium beer with robust malty overtones and a bitter sweet full bodied taste. It is available on draught as well as bottled. Its ABV is 5.1%, but other technical details are not given I am afraid. Nevertheless, it is a very nice pint

Battle of the IPA's

This is the story of two IPAs. The first of them is Palmers Traditional IPA. Although it is described on the label as a "full-drinking, well balanced beer with a delicious hop character" I found it to be rather more on the malty side. This could be because I have recently been drinking a number of golden ales which have been very hoppy, so this seemed malty by comparison. Palmers are loacted at The Old Brewery in Bridport, which has been in operation since 1794. This makes Palmers one of the few United Kingdom producers able to claim continuous production for over 200 years on the original site; indeed, part of the Brewery Building is still thatched. Founded by the Gundry family, local rope and net makers, the business was subsequently acquired in the late 19th Century by the Palmer brothers, John Cleeves and Robert Henry. Since then, it has been growing steadily whilst being handed down from generation to generation. Today, two more Palmer brothers are running the business. More details if you interested at www.palmersbrewery.com. No technical details available about the beer, other than it contains malted barley. ABV is 4.2%.

The second beer is Pride of Romsey IPA, which is made by the Hampshire Brewery. This has a powerful hop aroma, citrus and fragrant, through to the aftertaste, with distinctive bitterness complemented by good malt character - much more to my taste. It contains berlry malts and Challenger, Golding and Cascade hops. It is 5% ABV and bottle conditioned. I was very disappointed to discover that although this beer won a gold medal in the Brewing Industry International Awards in 2000, the brewery, which opened in 1992 and was located in Romsey, closed in 2008. I was unable to find out any more details but it is a great pity when they made beer as good as this!