Summer fruits in my ale

Rumour has it that there is a little sun around.  Sounds to me like the perfect excuse to talk about a Strawberry Ale.

Strawberry Ale - 5.1%

So what happens here is they take some organic ale and add strawberry juice and more organic ale.

Ignoring my classic bugbear of organic as a marketing label* let have a sniff of this.

Well there is no hiding it, definitely strawberries.  It actually comes across as faintly like the Nesquik powder for milkshake.  The colour didn't quite come through in the photo but it's definitely on the pinker end of the spectrum than a normal amber ale.

This is a gassy, gassy beer that's left me burping repeatedly all evening since.  It is sweet but also acidic coupled with the veritable sea of bubbles.  With the sweet of the fruit over the bitter of the ale it's quite a strange experience.

I do like it but the complexity forced me to slow down to be able to enjoy it.  Nice to drink cool in the sun, should it decide to put in an appearance.

*Seriously people.  Try drinking a beer or eating a vegetable that didn't relate to a living entity.  If you can find one, let me know.

Back from the dead

Celtica - 4.5%

Welcome back everyone.  Been quite a while hasn't it?  Well lets see how it goes from now.

It's finally warmed up enough for me to think that spring has actually arrived.  This means I have to go outside and do work in the garden.  So after an afternoon constructing a hose system and killing weeds growing through my patio I needed a cool beer.

I have a few in the fridge but I wanted to test out my new zero energy chiller, or as I call it the cupboard under the stairs.

Enter Celtica a blonde ale from Great Orme Brewery.

Considering it's not listed in the ingredients I'm amazed at the honey taste and scent coming off this beer.

It's smooth, easy to drink and no nasty change to the flavour after each mouthful.

Now can I get myself over to Wales for a few more beers?

A Poultry Stew

Duck Soup - 4.2%

There is something quite reassuring about reading a label on a bottle of beer and seeing it reference a local pub.

Warwickshire Beer Co. are very local to me but for some reason I'd never actually had any of their brews.

This Duck Soup was a speciality for the local university but thankfully now is available without having to go all Good Will Hunting and sneak into the University bars.

The picture makes it appear darker than it is, a rich bronze colour without the flash, but the smoky malt flavours are something I would previously have linked to a more stout-ish drink.

I'm sorely regretting now passing this up whenever I have seen it.  It's getting added to my list of good beers for when I don't want to experiment.

Taste the Difference

Traditional Kentish Ale - 4.5%

There are two constants it seems in this world.  Sainsbury's have a Taste the Difference version of every conceivable product and, if someone wants a mass produced beer, Shepherd Neame have a hand in it.

As I discovered a short while ago Asahi in the UK is produced by them and now they are making generic beer for supermarkets.

Shepherd Neame is an old Brewery, founded before America gained it's independence, on the site of even older beer making.  But having a long linage does not automatically make something good.

It's a mild beer, not overly hoppy but with enough there to let you know about it.  A nice slightly bitter taste and perhaps a touch more gas than my stomach would like, I'm burping all night long.

On the whole it's a nice, inexpensive beer that is easily available everywhere.