Bonfire Boy
Harvey's in Lewes, East Sussex, England 🏴
Strong Ale - English Regular|
Score
6.97
|
|
A dark amber beer with a full malty palate. Slightly burnt, bitter aftertaste, and a superbly smoky flavour. A staple of Lewes Bonfire Night festivities.
Originally brewed to commemorate the gallant work of the Fire Brigade during the fire at the brewery in July 1996 and was originally called ‘Firecracker’.
Originally brewed to commemorate the gallant work of the Fire Brigade during the fire at the brewery in July 1996 and was originally called ‘Firecracker’.
Sign up to add a tick or review
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
Panda at home, thanks to Mark The Bearded Avenger, 22/03/2026.
Deep chestnut brown topped with a beige cap of bubbles that veer to the edge.
Nose is stewed fruits, toffee, herb, straw.
Taste comprises toffee, fruit cake, brown bread, light sugar dusting, sultanas.
Medium bodied, fine carbonation, drying close.
Not bad.
Deep chestnut brown topped with a beige cap of bubbles that veer to the edge.
Nose is stewed fruits, toffee, herb, straw.
Taste comprises toffee, fruit cake, brown bread, light sugar dusting, sultanas.
Medium bodied, fine carbonation, drying close.
Not bad.
Tried
on 22 Mar 2026
at 17:33
7/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
Bottle from Nisa, Upper Beeding. Opaque chestnut. Frothy foamy light beige head. Aroma has light berries, caramel, nuts and glue. Underlying doughy malts. Flavourwise it has a sour intro over a caramel sweet core. Develops woody, grainy bitterness. Light-medium bodied. Slick to oily. Soft-fizzy carbonation. Long dry somewhat astringent finish. Definitely trad, but on a cold night a Strong Ale goes down well.
Tried
from Bottle
from
Nisa, Upper Beeding
on 31 Jan 2026
at 21:51
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Cask at the John Harvey Tavern, Lewes. Poured a mostly clear mahogany colour with a round bubbly off-white head. The aroma is big herbal light red berry fruits. The flavour is moderate sweet, light bitter, with a smooth, somewhat rich, earthy, red berry fruit, raisin, light hop bitter palate. Medium bodied with average to soft carbonation.
Tried
from Cask
on 25 Oct 2024
at 21:22
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Half-pint, gravicask, shared with Finn at The International Brewing & Cider Festival 2024. Deep copper coloured body, low beige head, fair lacing. Inviting aromas with toasted malts with scent of caramel, lightly roasted. Fine balanced taste of caramel malts and dried fruits. Earthy malts to the ending, lightly roasted. Fine depth to it. Like it. (Manchester, 23.03.2024).
Tried
from Cask
on 10 Apr 2024
at 08:01
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Delt med Rune på The International Brewing & Cider Festival 2024, Manchester. Mørk amber. Mokkafarget skumring. Aroma av røstete nøtter. Smaken krydder & karamell. Tørr bitter avslutning.
Tried
on 23 Mar 2024
at 12:27
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle at Rob Wick's. Lovely smooth and slightly sweet ale. Not getting much smoke but definitely a good glugger.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Dec 2023
at 22:16
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle from The Rusty Bucket, Eltham. Mahogany coloured pour with a beige head. Nose is caramel, bonfire toffee, nuts, cola,dried fruit. Taste is all of the above with a whisper of smoke coming through. Rich sweet malty finish
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Jun 2023
at 20:06
--- Beer aliased from original tick of Firecracker on 16 Nov 2022 at 06:01. Original review text: Historic check-in
Tried
on 16 Nov 2022
at 14:40
6.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Cask at The Hursts Arms, Eastbourne. Fantastic bitter with a smokey sweetness. Could definitely go the distance. (23/10/21) ---- Cask at The Hursts Arms, Eastbourne. Little aroma. Easy drinking ale with good smokey sweetness. 3.7 to 3.4.
Tried
from Cask
on 23 Oct 2021
at 19:45
7/10
Bottle from Harveys Brewery Shop. Pours an almost clear dark chestnut colour with a small off white head. Aroma is malty, caramel, toffee, nuts and burnt bread. Taste has the same notes as the aroma with some dark fruits, cherries, roasted malts, wood, brown sugar and an earthy hop bitterness on the finish. Well balanced. Medium bodied with a slick smooth mouthfeel. Pretty good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Jan 2020
at 19:25