England

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Beers 81 - 100 of 165:

Marstons, (for Marks & Spencer) India Pale Ale (England) Brewed for M&S; by marstons of Burton-on-Trent using Optic pale malt and Fuggles, Goldings and Cascade hops. It pours a rich toffee colour with a thick, creamy and persistent head. On the nose it is very appealing, with caramel and nutty notes, but plenty of zesty grapefruit, orange and leafy, hoppy notes. On the palate it is rich and smooth, with a full-bodied, creamy and warming cappuccino texture, and nice balance between quite bitter, punchy hop flavours and racy, citrussy fruit. The malt is subtle and just fills out the finish, in a lovely, quite complex beer. Almost worth four stars. 5.5% ABV, 50cl, �1.99, Marks & Spencer.

Marstons, Double Drop (England) From a pack of 4 assorted beers described as "Head Brewer's Choice", this beer is made by "dropping" the beer from one vessel into another after around 24-hours of the fermentation, which allows only the most vigorous yeasts to survive. It has a deep golden colour with a hint of red, and a thick, persistent head. On the nose there's a distinctly smoky, burnt-toast malty note, and quite a lot of grassy hops. Served not too cold, it has quite a soft palate, with low-key fruit and more emphasis on bitter hops and a buttery, doughy character. The finish is very clean in this enjoyable, toasty beer. 5.0% ABV, 50cl, 12 X �13.44, Booth's, Majestic.

Marstons, Late-hopped (England) Late-hopping involves adding bunches of hops late in the brewing process, which is meant to increase the hoppy aromatics, and bitter hop oiliness of the beer as these components are not "boiled out". This medium gold, amber-tinged beer has a persistent head, and a quite subdued nose, with creamy notes and a floral-edged hoppiness. On the palate it is very dry, with quite a full body and smooth texture, and a raft of bitter flavours. The finish is a little short, and a touch metallic. 5.0% ABV, 50cl, 12 X �13.44, Majestic.

Marstons, Oyster Stout (England) This is a particularly light, crisp and refreshing style of stout brewed to accompany oysters, but not made using oysters. It pours black with a ruby core and tan head, and has nice aromas that are plummy and fruity, with a hint of charcoal and chocolate. On the palate it is surprisingly light-bodied, if not rather watery in fact. It is crisp and I can envisage it having the freshness and acidity to cope with the bivalves, but it is in the end a rather dull and non-descript beer. 4.5% ABV, 50cl, �1.29, Aldi.

Marstons, Pedigree (England) This is quite a dark, golden/amber beer with a cream coloured head that is quite thick. Pedigree is brewed in wood, spending time in oak casks. There's nothing obviously oaky about the nose, which has some soft malty notes, just a hint of marzipan and a touch of rice pudding. On the palate it is creamy and quite full-textured, with a luxurious mouthfeel and very silky flavour profile with no real hop bitterness or particularly distinguishing fruit character. There's a malty, buttered brown bread sweetness, in an unremarkable but very pleasant beer. 4.5% ABV, 50cl, 12 X �13.44, Asda, Booth's, Majestic, quite widely available.

Marstons, Single Malt (England) Another from the "Head Brewer's Choice" mixed pack from Majestic, this beer has a very attractive glowing gold colour and a full, but quickly dissipating head. Made from 100% Golden Promise barley, apparently a popular grain for Scotch whisky, the nose is very nettly and summery, with quite a soft, malted brown bread and toast character. On the palate it is quite smooth and creamy-textured, with a soft, easy-drinking style. No great complexity, but decent quaffing. 4.2% ABV, 50cl, 12 X �13.44, Booth's, Majestic.

Meantime, Chocolate Beer (England) A beer brewed with "chocolate malts and real chocoalte" according to the back label, this is beautifully packed in a mini-Dom Perignon bottle, and pours a very dark ruby/mahogany colour with a high-rise coffee-coloured head. On the nose there is plenty of milk chocolate and toasty, roasted plum and dark fig fruit. On the palate it is surprisingly light and crisp given the alcohol and depth on the nose, and the flavour veers towards heavily roasted grain rather than pure chocolate, with a sugar-puff character and certain sweetness in the finish. Decent, though doesn't live with Brooklyn's chocolate beer, my ultimate example of this style. 6.5% ABV, 33cl, �1.29, Sainsbury's.

Meantime, Organic Pilsner (England) In Meantime of Greenwich's new Champagne-style bottle, I have to say this Pilsner is a terrific expression of the style. Brewed with organic Perle and Halletauer hops, it pours a nice medium gold with a moderate white head, and has a beautifully clean, hop and delicately toasty nose, with plenty of fresh lemon and grassy notes. On the palate it is medium-bodied and nicely textured, but with a razor-sharp edge of incisive chicory bitterness that tingles on the tongue and adds an edge to leafy, pithy grapefruit flavours. Delightful, grown-up stuff. 5.4% ABV, 33cl, �1.79, Onlyfinebeer.

Meantime, Sainsbury's Bavarian Style Wheat Beer (England) This beer is brewed in London by Meantime Brewing for Sainsbury's supermarket's "Taste the Difference" range using wheat, hops and yeast imported from Germany. It pours a pale, cloudy yellow with a thin but creamy white head. The nose is an extremely authentic amalgam of banana, lemon and cloves with fine perfumed aromatics and good depth. On the palate it is smooth and full, with a slightly smoky edge to lively spice and citrus flavours. There is an edge of slightly steely, tight, hoppy flavour, in a delicate and very good wheat beer. 5.0% ABV, 66cl, �1.99, Sainsbury's.

Morland, Hen's Tooth (England) This bottle was made in the original Morlands brewery, before Greene King, the new owners of Morland, started making it to the same recipe, in Suffolk. The beer has a heavy yeast sediment and pours a deep nutty brown with a hint of ruby, and has a thick fawn-coloured head. A malty, caramel and roasted grain aroma dominates, before a palate that is smooth and rich, with a slightly metallic undertone to a melange of toffee and grassy notes, but with a robust, fruity character and full-bodied, chewy texture making it a very decent beer. 6.5% ABV, 50cl, �1.39, Asda, Booth's, Majestic.

Morland, Old Speckled Hen (England) Now brewed by Greene King, this is immediately attractive as it is poured with its dark, amber-tinged hue and thick, cream-coloured head. There's a distintive biscuity quality on the nose, and quite complex set of spice, fruit and hop aromas. On the palate the beer is surprisingly light in some respects, though there is plenty of flavour, with more of that shortbread and malty richness and a nice bitter finish. 5.2% ABV, 50cl, �1.82, Asda, Booth's, Majestic, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose.

Museum Brewing, Thorntons Chocolate Beer (England) This beer is brewed for Thorntons in the Museum Brewery of Coors in Burton-on-Trent, home of White Shield IPA. It is very interesting stuff and very grown up, with 8:0% Alcohol and a very dark and bitter flavour profile. The colour is a very dark, opaque ruby/black with a cappucino-coloured head. The nose is unmistakably chocolaty, with deep vanilla pod aromas and a hint of sourness. On the palate it is thick, dense and chewy, and a fleeting glimpse of sweet, milky chocolate is quickly overtaken by fantastically bitter, cocoa powder and licquoricy depths, with a tang of hops and a malty richness. The flavour really lingers in the uncompromisingly dry finish. 8.0% ABV, 27.5cl, �3.0, Thorntons Online.

Museum Brewing, Worthington White Shield (England) Now brewed in the marvelous Museum Brewery on the original Bass plant in Burton on Trent, which is now owned by Coors. This beer has "come home", as Brewer Steve Wellington, who made this beer for Bass in the 1960s, has come out of retirement to make it again. It has a dark gold colour with a hint of amber and just off-white head. The nose is filled with honeyed notes, with hints of caramelly crystal malt and a grassy quality along with a hint of citrus. On the palate this delicious beer has a slightly iodine, salty note and a dry palate of sour and bitter hop flavours dominating a background of toasty, quite chewy toffee character. there's a really nice hoppy bite in the finish of this beautifully balanced beer, which has very good length too. 5.6% ABV, 50cl, �1.85, Booth's, Co-op, Livingbeer.com, Safeway, Sainsbury's, Unwins.

North Yorkshire, Flying Herbert (England) (RP) North Yorkshire is based at Pinchinthorpe Hall, Guisborough, a moated and listed house that was home for centuries to the Lee family. The complex of striking buildings includes its own spring that provides water for the small on-site brewery, which uses organic ingredients. Flying Herbert was one of North Yorkshire�s earliest brews and the label depicts a cartoon pilot who lacks only one important piece of equipment: an aeroplane! The beer is brewed with pale, crystal and chocolate malts and is hopped with First Gold and New Zealand Hallertau varieties. The ruby-red beer has a rich aroma of dark sultana fruit, chocolate and spicy hops, with more ripe fruit, hops and chocolate in the mouth, and a long finish that becomes dry and bitter but with good, persistent chocolate and vinous fruit notes. 4.7% ABV, 50cl, �26.50 X 12, Livingbeer.com.

O'Hanlon's, Double Champion Wheat Beer (England) (RP) John O�Hanlon came from Dublin to run a pub and small brewery in London but in 2000 he left to brew on a farm in Devon with its own supply of natural spring water. His Wheat Beer has twice won the Wheat Beer Challenge staged by the Society of Independent Brewers. John draws his inspiration from the Belgian style of wheat beer, spicing it with coriander seeds. He also uses Optic pale malt, wheat malt and caramalt: the last named is a specialist, slightly darker stewed malt from mainland Europe. The hop varieties are American Cascade, English Challenger and First Gold. The beer has an appealing gold colour and a spicy, lemon-citrus aroma. There is more tart and tangy fruit in the mouth from wheat and hops, with a pronounced spice note from the coriander. The long finish is quenching, with citrus fruit balancing the spice and creamy malt notes. 4.0% ABV, 50cl, �26.99 X 12, Beersofeurope, Livingbeer.com.

O'Hanlon's, Original Port Stout (England) (RP) John O�Hanlon has brought his experience of Dublin beers and bars to bear on this remarkable stout. He adds two bottles of Ferreira ruby port to each 36-gallon cask of stout, increasing the strength from 4.6% to 4.8%. The draught version won the top prize for stout in CAMRA�s Champion Winter Beer of Britain awards in 2002 and then the bottled version was CAMRA�s Champion Bottled Beer the following year. The stout is brewed from pale, crystal and caramalts with roasted barley and flaked barley. The hops are Phoenix and Styrian Goldings. It is jet black with a hint of ruby in colour and has a rich roasted grain and dark fruit aroma, with bitter fruit, biscuity malt and tangy hops in the mouth. The long finish has a rich vinous fruit note balanced by bitter roasted grain and a dry hop note. 4.8% ABV, 50cl, �24.99 X 12, Beersofeurope, Livingbeer.com, Onlyfinebeer.

Otter Brewery, Beautiful Daze (England) This relatively low alcohol "session beer" pours quite a deep golden colour, with a decent white head. It immediately attracts, with plenty of roasted malt aromas, a nice hoppy, herby background, and an appealing sense of citrus freshness. On the palate it is light-bodied, racy and fresh, with clean, citrussy fruit and a big blast of bitter hops surging through. The nalt doesn't really show through in the mouth, leaving this crisp and very refreshing and a lovely understated summery beer. 3.6% ABV, 50cl, �1.75, Beersofeurope, Onlyfinebeer, Sainsbury's.

Otter Brewery, Bright (England) Brewed with spring water, Devon's Otter Bright is a pale gold beer, with a very thin white head that suggests particularly low carbonation. It is somewhat hazy too, though there is nothing to indicate it is bottle-conditioned. The nose is very appealing, with pear and juicy melon aromas, a creamy suggestion of sweetness and some floral nuances. On the palate it is medium-bodied and very clean and smooth, with crisply-defined apple and sweet pear fruit, a gentle hop quality and nice dry, citrussy finish with a suggestion of ginger ale. Easy to drink and summery. 4.3% ABV, 50cl, �1.75, Beersofeurope, Pitfield Beer Shop, Sainsbury's.

Otter Brewery, Otter Head (England) This low-foaming beer from Devon's Otter Brewery pours a dark golden/nut brown colour with a thinnish, off-white head. Malt is the immediate aroma on the nose, with a nice toffee and spice darkness, some hoppy, leafy notes and a suggestion of fennel and liquorice. On the palate it is smooth and medium- to full-bodied, with a real bite of assertive hops dominating, over rich, fudge-like malt. The grip of leafy, iron and mineral hoppiness comes though again, leaving the finish tangy, clean and bitter. 5.8% ABV, 50cl, �1.85, Beersofeurope.

RCH Brewery, Ale Mary (England) (RP) Ale Mary won the CAMRA Champion Bottled Beer of the Year competition in 2001 and stunned the judges � of whom I was one � with its exotic spicy character. The beer is RCH�s premium bitter Firebox with the addition of ginger, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg and pimento. The beer recalls the heady days of medieval brewing when a witch�s brew of herbs and spices were used in the brewing process. More conventional ingredients are pale and chocolate malts and Progress and Target hops. The amber beer has an orange fruit signature that is quickly overlain with a peppery, gingery and perfumy aroma. Coriander and ginger in particular dominate the palate, which also has powerful hints of hop resins, citrus fruit and juicy malt, with even a faint chocolate note. The prolonged finish is dry, bitter, perfumy, spicy, herbal and hoppy. 6.0% ABV, 50cl, �26.99 X 12, Livingbeer.com, Onlyfinebeer.