The Ale Archive

The brewery: “The Anstee family began supplying the hospitality trade in South Wales with beers, wines and spirits in the early 90’s. The knowledge and community ties established during this time gave us a real desire to see quality Welsh beer back on local bars. So much so we thought we’d brew some ourselves.” The beer: “Inspired by one of our favourite treats we decided to experiment by adding a mix of oats and raisins to a brew. The result is a rich, dark, and chewy stout with a slightly sweet vinous character", alongside the biscuity effect of oats and barley. Every sip reminds us of fresh Welsh Cakes, straight from the griddle.” A delicious stout, full bodied and a very moreish combination of flavours. Top stuff.

The brewery: “ Coach House was established in 1991 following the closure of Greenalls Brewery earlier that year. We are the oldest cask ale producer in Cheshire celebrating our Silver anniversary in 2016.” The beer: “A golden coloured beer with a fresh citrus hop aroma, creating a pine lemon crisp finish.” It must have been the warmer weather but I found myself enjoying this one too - though thankfully the lemon finish went largely unobserved by my palate. Related entries

The brewery: “Coach House was established in 1991 following the closure of Greenalls Brewery earlier that year. We are the oldest cask ale producer in Cheshire celebrating our Silver anniversary in 2016.” The beer: “A rich, straw coloured quality premium ale with a robust malty palate and a well balanced steely bitterness.” Tried not to let the paleness colour my opinion of this which was just as well as it was a superb tasting beer. Superb combination of maltiness and bitterness. April 2021. Related entries

The brewery: “Tatton Brewery is a family-run brewery in Knutsford in the heart of Cheshire , just a stone’s throw from Tatton Park ……We have a custom built modern brewery, and have combined this with a traditional local yeast (revived after 50 years retirement), the finest ingredients and years of experience creating internationally renowned beers, to brew what we believe to be Cheshire’s finest beers.” The beer: “A classic light amber coloured best bitter with a clean malt flavour and fine hop character derived from a blend of aroma hops.” Like this even more than the Gold - see previous entry - but then Best Bitters generally seem to satisfy my palate. Another great beer from Tatton. Related entries

The brewery: “Tatton Brewery is a family-run brewery in Knutsford in the heart of Cheshire , just a stone’s throw from Tatton Park ……We have a custom built modern brewery, and have combined this with a traditional local yeast (revived after 50 years retirement), the finest ingredients and years of experience creating internationally renowned beers, to brew what we believe to be Cheshire’s finest beers.” The beer: “A full-tasting, satisfying deep golden special ale. This is a beer with a generous maltiness backed up by a robust hop character.” The first of a few from my time in Cheshire with my ‘bubble’ over Easter. Liked this a lot, the maltiness kept them pesky hops in check and the result was a delicious ale indeed. April 2021. Related entries

The brewery: “In the 1960s, we were taken over by a London brewer who closed Lacons down.  We subsequently reclaimed our independence in 2013 and started brewing again…….Based in Great Yarmouth, Lacons Brewery is home to Lacons Encore, the award-winning amber beer……Although the Lacons name goes back to the mid-18th century, our modern day brewery applies the latest technology to the age-old craft of brewing beer. We’ve taken the best of the old Lacons recipes (plus the original Lacons yeast) and tweaked them to create modern beers with years of heritage.” The beer: “Big, bold, Beautiful…An intensely satisfying ale that makes any occasion special….Affinity is our boldest ale – with a passion for fruit and nut.” Sampled on a cold Decembers’ day this didn’t really work for me but I could imagine it on a warm summers’ afternoon, maybe chilled a little more than is usual for ale. 4.8% A.B.V. December 2020. Related entries

The brewery: “The story of the Rebellion Brewery starts with two friends, Tim Coombes and Mark Gloyens. Attending school together in Marlow at a time when the old Wethered Brewery was in full production, the sweet aromas of malt were a constant reminder that Marlow was an active brewing town……….the Rebellion Brewery was eventually established on the Rose Industrial Estate in Marlow Bottom in April 1993. In 1999 the brewery moved to its current location on Bencombe Farm, occupying the old grainstore and other redundant farm buildings.”    The beer: "A warming, Autumnal red ale, rich & malty, with a balancing bittersweet hop character." Another good'un from Rebellion and my second favourite of the the three recent ones I've tried - Roasted Nuts Extra being top. Another quality ale that my awkward palate found very moreish. 4.5% A.B.V." December 2020. Related entries .

The brewery: “The story of the Rebellion Brewery starts with two friends, Tim Coombes and Mark Gloyens. Attending school together in Marlow at a time when the old Wethered Brewery was in full production, the sweet aromas of malt were a constant reminder that Marlow was an active brewing town……….the Rebellion Brewery was eventually established on the Rose Industrial Estate in Marlow Bottom in April 1993. In 1999 the brewery moved to its current location on Bencombe Farm, occupying the old grainstore and other redundant farm buildings.” The Beer: "Ruby and warming Originally brewed by the Wethered Brewery in Marlow, Winter Royal became one of their flagship beers until the brewery closed in 1988. We are proud to be reviving this popular beer using the original Wethered recipe. Traditional Fuggles and a Goldings hop variety add to the authenticity of this classic English beer. The result is a deep, ruby winter warmer at 5.4%, with a rich maltiness, soft bitterness and a fant