The Ale Archive

The brewery:   "Hawkshead Brewery began in 2002, in a barn just outside the village of Hawkshead in the Lake District...... In 2006 we relocated to the Mill Yard, beside the River Kent at Staveley, brewing on a new 20 barrel Brewhouse and built a brewery tap - The Beer Hall. In 2018 we commissioned a new state of the art Krones Brewkit and began work on our new Brewery in Flookburgh which was fully functional later that year in September." The beer: " A modern dark beer, with aromas of dark chocolate, treacle sweet flavours, roasted bitterness with a surprisingly hoppy finish from American Cascade hops."   Another tasty ale from the Hawkshead stable, I didn't find it too hoppy at all, a nice mix of flavours. Full bodied but not too heavy at 4.9% A.B.V. August 2021. Related entries.

The brewery: "The Lakeland Brewhouse (formerly Stringers Beer) is based in the South Lakeland market town of Ulverston. It all started with our Head Brewer Jon Kyme, a man with a passion, and since 2008 we have been creating a variety of real ales which have become popular with beer aficionados and occasional drinkers alike....Managing Director Kirsty Ridge acquired the brewery in 2018, and now the female owned brewery's ales can be found across the North.” The beer: “Copper coloured with a sweet, soft aroma which leads into a full mouthfeel with a solid bitter finish” As enjoyable as it's stablemate Stout - see recent entry - a lovely quaffable bitter. Related entries. The Commodore Inn , Grange-over-Sands. August 2021.

The brewery: " Our Staffordshire brewery was founded in Burslem, Stoke on Trent in 1985 with one goal - to produce great beer!" The beer: "The very first beer brewed at Titanic on October 1st 1985. Originally called Premium, this beer hasn’t changed and is still fabulous. TASTING NOTE: Amber, floral, hoppy and very quaffable. This is a full bodied yet bitter ale." I didn't find this too floral, just very tasty. A lovely traditional bitter. Being a Titanic owned pub a wide range of their beers were on offer. The Cheshire Cheese , Buxton. August 2021. Related entries

The brewery: “Appleby Brewery was bought by Bowness Bay Brewery in 2019, and their beers are believed to be currently produced at the Bowness Bay Brewery in Kendal. For the record, Appleby Brewery was founded in 2014, and production began in March 2015.” The beer: "Middle-Aged Spread is an ideal name for a beer which is a 'Stout'. It is dark, nutty, chocolatey and rich, perfect for winter firesides. So the next time someone says you are getting a middle aged spread, the only correct response is 'Good idea, I think I will' Love the sentiment and loved the beer, despite it not being drunk by the fireside in winter. Very rich, full bodied and tasty. Procured at the Kirby Londsale branch of Booths who, in my experience, keep a wide range of real ale in their stores. 5.2% A.B.V.

The brewery: "Unsworth’s Yard Brewery was opened in January 2012 by brothers Peter and David Unsworth. The yard that gives the brewery its name was developed by the brothers from their family’s haulage and garage business which had previously operated on this site, opposite Cartmel Priory, continuously since 1922." The beer: "Style: Red-brown ale Tasting: rich malty bitterness with red fruits and chocolate notes Provenance: English grown, floor malted, Maris Otter pale and roasted barley. Traditional English hop varieties. Behind the name: dedicated to the tenacity of the legendary Last Wolf in England, killed locally at Humphrey Head by a Knight, the estranged son of Sir Edgar, to win the hand of Edgar’s ward and niece, the beautiful Adela. Find out more about the legend at www.wolves.live/the-last-wolf-in-england." Another tasty red from my time in Cumbria. Delicious. 4.3% A.B.V. August 2021. Related entries

The brewery: "Unsworth’s Yard Brewery was opened in January 2012 by brothers Peter and David Unsworth. The yard that gives the brewery its name was developed by the brothers from their family’s haulage and garage business which had previously operated on this site, opposite Cartmel Priory, continuously since 1922." The beer: "Style: Amber Best Bitter Tasting: mellow with a sweet, slightly caramel finish Provenance: English grown, floor malted, Maris Otter barley. Traditional variety Kent hops. Behind the name: recognises the historical location of the Cartmel Peninsula in Lancashire, North of the Sands, before its inclusion in Cumbria resulting from the Local Government Act of 1972. Also called Peninsula Best, this was procured whilst visiting the delightful village of Cartmel, along with some sticky toffee pudding for which the village is more famous. Pleasant although it lacked a little body for me. It  would make a good session beer at 3.8% A.B.V. August 2021. Relat

The brewery: "One of Cumbria’s longest established breweries. Family owned and proudly independent, brewers of traditional ales since 1999." History The beer: "Our latest pale ale and arguably our best yet, light hoppy and very, very easy drinking." Not my favourite style of beer but sadly the only one on offer at the time of visiting. A pity because there is plenty in the line up that takes my fancy. A nice enough ale but just not for me. 4 . 3% A.B.V. The Wateredge Inn , Ambelside, Cumbria. August 2021

The brewery: "Hawkshead Brewery began in 2002, in a barn just outside the village of Hawkshead in the Lake District...... In 2006 we relocated to the Mill Yard, beside the River Kent at Staveley, brewing on a new 20 barrel Brewhouse and built a brewery tap - The Beer Hall. In 2018 we commissioned a new state of the art Krones Brewkit and began work on our new Brewery in Flookburgh which was fully functional later that year in September." The beer: "A style that you don't see around too much these days, and what a shame it is! Hawkshead's bitter-sweet, malty red is just the ticket if you fancy something a little on different! Very much a traditional beer, there's plenty of earthy and grassy notes to be found intermingled with a strong maltiness and plenty of bitter rye licks." I like a red ale every now and again as regulars will know and this enforced that. Very tasty. 4.2% A.B.V. August 2021.   Related entries.

The brewery: "Our brewery is in Nefyn, a small fishing village on the Llŷn Peninsula, North Wales....We’re a small independent brewery producing delicious, characterful beers. From rich malty bitters to light golden ales, we take our time over our brews." The beer: "A light and refreshing blonde/golden Ale full of flavour." Not my favourite style as regulars will know but a good ale for the summer - which it was - apparently anyway.  Another kindly procured by a friend on a visit to the peninsula. 4.2% A.B.V. August 2021. Related entries

The brewery: "Our brewery is in Nefyn, a small fishing village on the Llŷn Peninsula, North Wales....We’re a small independent brewery producing delicious, characterful beers. From rich malty bitters to light golden ales, we take our time over our brews." The beer: "This Amber IPA is brewed using the finished North American hops to combine bitterness and fruitiness which gives a well balanced full flavoured IPA." Not my favourite style of beer but pleasant enough and not overly hoppy, being served a little colder than usual seemed to work. 5% A.B.V. August 2021. Related entries

The brewery: "The Lakeland Brewhouse (formerly Stringers Beer) is based in the South Lakeland market town of Ulverston. It all started with our Head Brewer Jon Kyme, a man with a passion, and since 2008 we have been creating a variety of real ales which have become popular with beer aficionados and occasional drinkers alike....Managing Director Kirsty Ridge acquired the brewery in 2018, and now the female owned brewery's ales can be found across the North.” The beer: "Roasty nose. Some grain and dark toast. Firmly bitter. A seriously drinkable jet-black stout." Couldn't agree more, particularly with the last sentence. Very tasty indeed. 4.0% A.B.V. The Commodore Inn , Grange-over-sands. August 2021. Related Entries

The brewery: "Our brewery is in Nefyn, a small fishing village on the Llŷn Peninsula, North Wales....We’re a small independent brewery producing delicious, characterful beers. From rich malty bitters to light golden ales, we take our time over our brews.” The beer: "This is a ruby hoppy bitter, malty & fruity brewed using Brambing Crop hops." Procured by a friend whilst staying on the peninsula, this was the first of two ales and was most enjoyable, but then it was true to a style of ale I like.Nothing much to add to the description, other than that I didn't find the hops too dominant. 4.5% A.B.V. August 2021.

The brewery: "Dancing Duck brewery was founded by Rachel Matthews who came to appreciate real ale rather later in life than perhaps most brewers do. Having being rather underwhelmed by the odd half pint of Bank’s bitter and mild in her formulative drinking years Rachel spent most of her 20’s sticking to reassuring expensive lager, lots of wine and other strange alchopop style mixes that were around at the time." The beer: "Delicious malty, caramel and liquorice flavours combine wonderfully in a smooth drinking velvety, oatmeal stout with a freshly roasted coffee and toffee finish." A nice drop this, full bodied but at 4.8% A.B.V not too strong either.  August 2021

The brewery: "Timothy Taylor’s is an independent, family-owned brewery founded in Keighley, Yorkshire in 1858 by Timothy Taylor. In addition to brewing a range of ales the Company also operates a modest pub estate of 19 outlets." The beer: "Rich Yet Light Dark Ale. Landlord Dark originates from the multi award-winning Landlord Pale Ale but brewed with caramelised sugars to give a rich yet light and drinkable dark ale. This perfectly balanced mellow dark beer has body and depth. It has a fruity, toasted aroma with hints of chocolate, citrus and roasted malts on the tongue. A darker shade of pale!" Although lighter than my favourite style of beer, Landlord has always been in my Top 5 so I was looking forward to trying this. To be honest it was a bit of an odd mix to my fussy unadventurous palate - I've always associated dark beers with a thick full bodiedness. Pleasant but didn't really hit the spot for me. August 2021

The brewery: "In 2003 Robert and Debra Evans had a carefully prepared plan – sell the house, uproot their family, leave secure jobs and set up a microbrewery in the Peak District…..Chatsworth suggested he took a look at Cunnery Barn on the Chatsworth Estate, the barn buildings were in disrepair but the potential was obvious; the perfect location for a microbrewery had been discovered. Two years later and after many hurdles including planning, electricity, drainage, renovation, finance and resident barn owls, the first beer had been brewed and the owls had a purpose built nesting box – no other barn owls in Derbyshire have accommodation so grand!” The beer: " Bakewell Best is a robust amber coloured ale. It is dry and firmly bitter, with some roasted malt flavours and plenty of grassy hops. The first brew by Peak Ales in 2005 named Bakewell Best is a classic bitter, one that is a favourite choice for those who love a traditional ale brewed in the Peak District." A return

The brewery: “Our great-grandparents George and Susannah Bateman started the Brewery in 1874 to supply the local farmers, who paid their land workers part in produce, part in money and part in beer.......After four generations, we’re still independent to the bone. We fought hard for that independence and we feel it’s our duty to protect it, along with our fantastic brewery and all that it stands for.” The beer: "Victory Ale is brewed with pale and crystal malts and hopped with English Goldings and American Liberty varieties. A distinctive peppery hop and bitter orange aroma is followed by big hops and fruit flavours with a lingering hop bitterness. Set sail and enjoy." Not as hoppy and fruity as I feared. A tasty drop but punchy at 6.0% A.B.V. August 2021. Related entries