The Ale Archive

What they say: A deep golden coloured session bitter. A hint of spice with soft fruit flavours and well balanced medium bitterness. Named after Adventure Pit at Rainton Colliery. Just a few miles from the Caravan Cliub Site near Durham is the Three Horseshoes pub in Leamside which, conveniently also houses the Leamside Brewery set up in 2012, so it certainly wasn’t suffering from travel sickness. 3.8% and very acceptable.

What they say? Well, Tetley’s is owned by Carlsberg and there’s not a single mention of this on their website. However ratebeer.com have this description:  Robust & full bodied, with a firm, malty base. A sleek hint of complexity follows, the recipe drawing on a warming nip of Guyana sugar - specially formulated for Tetley’s. The characteristic country charm of the Northdown hop canters across the palate, for a rosy glow after a brisk chase to the finish. There was certainly a malty presence, but don’t recall anything cantering across my palate! OK but not particularly memorable.

What they say: India Pale Ale is brewed to a lower original gravity and this beer undergoes a similar process of maturation to the Blue Label . The result is a lighter, more mellow ale with a distinctive hoppy character. No complaints. Nice and light at 3.2% A.B.V. so a good session or party beer.

What they say: This premium pale ale is ‘dry hopped’ during the period of maturation prior to being bottled. It is our most popular bottled beer. It’s also the bottled version of Harveys Sussex Best which is rarely less than excellent. Delicious but 3.6% ABV in the bottled compared to 4% A.B.V from the cask.

What they say: Oldershaw’s best selling beer. A copper bronze best bitter with sumptuous caramel and roasted nut malts, grassy hops and a lasting bitter finish. A widely admired ale. On as a guest in our local club. This is the only beer to date that I couldn’t  finish. I was assured it wasn’t off but it smelt and tasted awful. Not convinced there wasn’t something wrong with it. Will try it again when the opportunity arises.

What they say: We wanted to create a low alcohol, easy drinking beer that is not lacking in flavour…….this ale is light amber in colour, has soft caramel and toffee notes and is dry hopped with an array of citrus-forward hops. Low alcohol? Christ! This weighs in at 4.7% A.B.V. An American brewery, this was actually brewed by Everards for Wetherspoons Real Ale festival and must be in contention for the weirdest name.  

What they say. Not a lot as it’s no longer on the brewers website but found this elsewhere: A golden ale, refreshing flavour and a fruity character which gradually emerges in the finish. A Friday night pre cinema pint in Wetherspoons and probably the first of the week too. Again I prefer my ale a little more bitter but it was ok. 4.5% A.B.V.