The Ale Archive

What they say: A traditional dark ruby beer, delivering a full flavour. Full aromatic barley malts and an exquisite blend of hops combined to create a wonderful balance of sweet biscuit and subtle fruit flavours with a hint of chocolate bitterness. I do love these darker ruby beers, particularly in the colder months and once again Adnams have delivered a great beer. 4.0% A.B.V. December 2014

What they say: Brewed with pale ale, crystal and brown malts. Tally-Ho is dark mahogany red in colour with a rich, fruity aromas and a warming sweet raisin and biscuit palate. Again, Adnams delivers. A truly delicious dark ale, all that was missing was a roaring fire - a bit tricky in a caravan. Potent at 7.2% A.B.V and in 330ml bottles so not one to slosh back at will. December 2014

What they say: A full-flavoured and great tasting pale amber beer, with a light floral/citrus aroma, gentle caramel notes and a good level of bitterness. I was well impressed with this. As they said - full flavoured but at only 2.7% A.B.V the taste really does belie it’s strength. Excellent stuff

What they say: Fresh, Hoppy, Full. A traditional Best Bitter brewed from Bill’s Great Great Grandfather’s original ‘Double X’ recipe. A pint of English Countryside! From over the border in West Sussex, this was a decent offering from this small relatively young brewery. Very tasty and full bodied. 4.0% A.B.V

What they say: Southwold Bitter is a beautiful copper-coloured beer, late and dry-hopped with Fuggles for a distinctive, lingering hoppiness. Brewed with the finest East Anglian Pale Ale malt barley, sourced locally to the brewery. We use Fuggles hops which we add late in the boil to preserve the herbal flavours of this traditional English hop. We add more Fuggles to each cask so that the flavour of the hops infuses into the beer. Now known as Southwold Bitter, I’ve had this before but Trev was doing the sampling on this occasion so I only had a sip but that reminded me what a great beer this is. Found in Long Melford, so it’s not had to travel far - not too strong so a good session beer but yet still flavoursome. Trev loved it and so did I. Make sure you try an Adnams ale if you’re in Suffolk. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed .

What they say: A harvest bronze Golden Ale, brewed with Challenger, East Kent Goldings and Fuggles Hops to give a fruity citrus bite of hoppiness with a palate of citrus notes and vanilla, leading to a long dry finish.   Found this on more than one bar when out and about in Suffolk but the The Bull in Long Melford was the where I saw it first. A good quality golden ale if that’s your thing - and judging by the number of golden ales around there is clearly demand. 4.0% A.B.V.

What they say: A light golden bitter with a pronounced hop aroma, contributing to the refreshing bitter aftertaste. Our second full day in Suffolk saw us descend upon Long Melford after a thirsty morning’s sightseeing.  We gave up waiting to be served in the Cock & Bell, but this was on offer at The Crown Inn . Too hoppy for me but it was great to see a beer from my home town. 4.2% A.B.V

What they say: Our best bitter is a dark brown, full bodied, classic best bitter. It has a rich, malty, dried fruit character balanced with crisp bitter hops. Found at The Crown in Hartest, Suffolk, which is hardly surprising as both the pub and brewery are owned by the same people and brewed just a few miles away. I prefer my bitter a little more, well, bitter I guess but it was ok. In good nick and the serving temperature was good. 4.3% A.B.V.

On the road again for our 2nd ‘Festive Threesome’ and our first port of call whilst in Suffolk was the The Hare Inn .  Nearby Bury St Edmunds is the home of Greene King - brewers of the excellent Abbot Ale. Once a regional brewer, but now seemingly intent on world domination this tasted remarkably similar to their IPA although the A.B.V was different. In good nick and served at the right temperature too.

What they say: Spicy aroma with hint of caramel….Luscious balance of grain and hop in the mouth, bitter sweet finish with delicate caramel taste……. Warm, rounded yet surprisingly delicate dark strong ale, definite mans pint. Another guest at The Spanish Lady , this time from the south west and suffering from the usual issue of being served to cold but otherwise a great winter ale. A touch too sweet for my taste but I’d have certainly had another if it wasn’t a ‘school night’. 4.3% A.B.V.

What they say: This fantastic mahogany coloured winter warming ale hits all the right notes with aromas of roasted malt and fruity hops; a perfect balance of bitterness and aroma. Using the Slovenian wild hop Celeia, this is a drink to be savoured, not rushed, on a long winter's night. A seasonal special from the north west and the latest to guest at The Spanish Lady – our usual Thursday night haunt. Again, served too cold and I sloshed it back rather too quickly to fully appreciate the rich flavours. Hope to try it again sometime. 4.4% A.B.V.