The Ale Archive

What they say: Hogshead Bitter is a very traditional style of beer using the finest Maris Otter  malt, combined with luscious cane sugars complimented by delicious, fruity Bramling cross hops to give a malty, crisp and hoppy flavoured ale. It is one of our more popular seasonal ales and goes superbly with ham and light cheeses. Less well known than the widely available ‘Old Peculier’ and those that know me will read the blurb and know that this is my sort of beer. 4.1% so a nice balance of flavour and strength. Made the mistake of serving it to cold – couldn’t wait for it to warm up after it being outside in the awning – but very tasty nonetheless!

What they say: Warrior is a truly traditional style English Bitter Ale.  A blend of finest Pale Ale, Amber and Crystal malt is used for the fruity malty flavour and generous portions of English Hop varieties (Challenger, Goldings and Fuggles) give a well developed hop character. I’m really liked this offering from this Cambridgeshire brewery – as the blurb says, a good old fashioned strong bitter that’s not over hopped. 5.5% so go easy.

The blurb: Enjoy a taste of summer all year round with Golden Sheep our premium golden ale. With its dry and refreshing bitterness that develops with a light, citrus fruit flavour, it really hits the spot…….. Characteristic Black Sheep dry palate with marked grapefruit-hop and very long refreshing finish…… Golden Sheep is a light golden ale that develops with zesty grapefruit and other citrus fruits, with a clean, crisp bitterness and long refreshing finish. A ‘young’ beer that started life as a Tesco’s Finest beer in 2005. The blurb says it all, another top quality ale from the guys at Black Sheep. 4.7% in the bottle though so treat it with respect.

The blurb: Based on our Champion Pale Ale, Lighthouse is a golden beer with a light fragrance, lovely malty flavours and a long hoppy finish. Brewed with Pale Ale and Crystal malt, it has a hint of caramel and toffee. It’s hopped with a blend of Fuggles and Goldings hops. We’re starting to see more of this Suffolk brewers beers on shelves around the country – and that’s a good thing. 3.4% so nice and light and easy drinking. Paler than I usually prefer but I really enjoyed this. Serve a bit cooler for a great beer on a warm summers night – if we get any!

What the brewers say: Dark festive brew.Dark crystal malts combine well with hops giving a spicy sweet finish Again at the Bridge in Waterbeach, Cambs and nice to see them trying beers from micro breweries. Full bodied at 4.7%. Not as clear as it should have been so not surprising that it didn’t taste quite right sadly.

What the brewers say: Bombardier is an iconic real beer loaded with distinct English brilliance. It's the epitome of impeccable taste and great character. The rich, full-bodied nectar is a lingering reward - English, ever reliable and damned tasty! From Bedfordshire and found at the Bridge, Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire where we had our Christmas Day dinner. Nice enough but not my first choice if there was a more traditionally bitter ale as an alternative

What the brewers say: An award-winning cask conditioned traditional dark mild. Well balanced malt and hops gives a pleasant aroma and taste, with splendid roasted bitter flavours…….The use of crystal malt and roast barley give a deep underlying characteristic flavour, which is balanced with Fuggles hops as the sole variety.… From a brewery local to our old home town of Cambridge. Picked this up in Tesco’s and was in such a rush to escape the crowds and incessant  Christmas music from the P.A I didn’t read the description. A dark mild brewed to 3.6% that has won awards from CAMRA but it wasn’t for me.

A classic pale ale from Burton-upon-Trent, full flavoured and very enjoyable. Apparently, one of the longest surviving Pale Ales and brewed to 5.6% for an authentic pale ale flavour. Not a session beer – unless you like hangovers  - but a damn fine bottled beer. Procured whilst on tour in Tenterden, Kent.