A classical pale ale, on the English way, pleasant to start an apero, rather dry and grainy, hop, decently bitter, 19.11.19, at one ex.mark&spencer Paris, Faubourg Saint-Antoine, tasting it at Epalinges.

330ml bottle, now made by Harbour in Bodmin. Pours amber with a white head. Aromas & tastes of fruits, caramel, bread, grass, hops & malt. Medium body. Dry mild bitter finish. Enjoyable

Thin white head left a cover on a slowly carbonating clear pale amber coloured body. Sweet fruity aroma. Medium bodied, tingly over the tongue with a dry back. Tangy citrus, light malt, peach & lightly hopped tastes with sharp finish. What an excellent EPA.

Bottle on the train home, the mighty 12, 28/06/18. Got to be clear golden blonde and judging from the carbonation offered on opening it will have a decent white covering. Nose is mellow citric peel, grass, hint of strawberry, toasted grains. Taste comprises melon, tangerine, straw, faint breads, light red berry fruits, airy malts. Medium bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close with light bitterness. Decent clean drinking and refreshing golde.

One of the many brews commissioned by Marks & Spencer, in this case an EPA (or indeed rather a golden ale) made for them at St. Austell in Cornwall; from a 50 cl bottle belonging to a pack of six different ones, received as a gift - thanks Jeremy! Medium thick, eggshell-white, regular head, settling as a moussy ring of half a centimeter thick and a thin, disparate pattern of flats 'islands' in the middle; cristal clear, warm pale orange-tinged "old gold" robe, no visible sparkling, turning lightly hazy in the very end when the yeast sediment is added, with a thin 'soup' of translucent yeast bits spreaded throughout. Classically English pale ale aroma of lightly toasted white bread, cheese crackers, melting margarine, hard butterscotch candy, sweetclover, freshly cut nettles, hints of grass, dried thyme, vague accent of orange zest. Light, fruity onset, low in esters as is to be expected from a classic English style ale, notes of apple peel and unripe apricot, only restrainedly sweetish, with a thin sourish edge; carbonation is soft, mouthfeel supple and thin, just a little bit oily thanks to the hops. Rounded but 'clean' barley malt middle, cereally with a feather light breadiness to it thanks to the yeast, white bread and cereals, with minerally side notes (from the Cornish spring water with which this is brewed, I assume). Finishes with this thinly spread, smooth maltiness becoming notably creamy and even buttery in the end, coloured by a floral, mildly spicy and gently herbal hop bitterness, light and 'noble' as expected, but well-dosed for this style and quite 'vivid' in comparison with other, more industrial examples of English pale ale / golden ale. Which in itself is actually bottled (and ideally bottle-conditioned) English bitter really, and that goes for this one as well: decent for what it is, certainly considering the fact that this is, all things considered, a 'supermarket beer', but it lacks in the delicate, refined character one would find in a cask-conditioned bitter of similar style, strength and structure. Easygoing and correct, no off-flavours and going down easily and pleasantly, but perhaps that beautiful Willamette hop could have been a bit more pronounced to lend it more colour and character...

Bottle in London shared with the folks - gold pour with white head. Sweet light fruity and white bready malty, some lemon citrus notes, grassy and light delicate floral hoppy finish.

Live rate during a mini-session with myself and no one else. 500ml bottle: BBE Jun 17. Poured (or tried to pour) into a UK pint sleeve, at home on 21st feb 17. Bit of a gusher, so while it settles I will bore you with the glass its in: a 2006 30th Cotswold Beer Festival glass (CAMRA) from Postlip Hall, used to love going there: sadly my friend has moved away, so we’ve stopped going. Clear light golden body, full (huge) white topping. Mild fruity aroma and taste, easy blend with subtle flavours: difficult to select a defining hop taste or malty lead, maybe a little sweetish, so I’ll go with the malts, although the finish is leaning towards bitter and dry. Not the most exciting beers around, but pleasant enough if you don’t want your senses tested too greatly.

Bottle from Marks & Spencer, Manchester. Paler golden in colour with an extremely thin head. Has a nice pale ale texture, one that’s very drinkable, with a mainly hoppy character, although there’s an underlying maltiness in there. There’s also a very small fruitiness.

Bottle from M&S Lincoln. Pale golden colour with a white head. Light malty and fruity aroma, and taste.

Bottle. Amber, with next to no head. Aroma of ripe, sweet, grains and some hedgerow hops. Flavour had similar maltiness, a touch of fruit and decent, bitter, finish. Good.