1284 Bitter

One of a whole series of British style ales produced by this brewpub in Monpazier, a village in the French Périgord region, by an elderly Englishman who used to work for Bass but after his retirement, decided to start his own brewery. Off-white, membrane-lacing, thin and breaking but edge-retaining head on a hazy amber-hued deep orange blonde beer. Aroma of fresh croissants, wet rusk, toast, dandelion, some diacetyl (buttermilk), dried peach, grass, tomato peel, ferrous spring water. Crisp onset, stingy carbonation adding pleasant minerality; some dried-fruitiness (dried apricot) but quickly jumping to rusk- and old biscuit-like maltiness with a bitterish toasty edge, acquiring a confident floral hoppiness towards the finish with even a slight citric accent to it, providing lingering, leafy bitterness over ongoing dried fruit and toast flavours. Came from a bottle showing a slight touch of oxidation already, more effervescent than what one expects from even a bottle-conditioned real ale, but refreshing and inherently true to style, albeit perhaps a bit on the light(-bodied and -flavoured) side for the ESB category; nevertheless a convincing, quenching, hoppy English bitter in general. Enjoyed it.

50cl Bottle, thanks Harmen! Hazy amber-brown colour, off-white head. Aroma of toffee, floral hops, some lemon peel. Flavour follows, hint of pipe tobacco in there, toffee, floral, decently hopped, soft bitterness. Light bodied. Tasty ESB.