C5 v25 Cask, from brewer’s own stall at the Thame Food Festival. Slightly dull amber with a wisp of a white head. Light effervescence- really excellent condition. A very traditionally British bitter- earthy with some leaf mulch and lemon. The superb condition (and maybe the fact that it was the first beer of the day!) made this better than your average beer from Vale, which is not normally a brewery that I think much of. However, despite this it still falls short of being that good.

Cask, gravity at Vale Brewery Open Day, Brill, Bucks, Saturday 7th September 2013 Amber in colour with a filmy white head. English hops give out a slightly, earthy rustic aroma. Pleasant steady bitterness, the sort that you are familiar with from a typical English bitter. However there are boring brown bitters and there are very decent ones, this clearly falls into the latter category. Ok so I might yearn for a further sip of Loz’s VPA with its juicy tropical fruits it is a marvellous beer, but this beer is traditional and jolly decent. I get a little bit of marzipan, its pleasantly fruity, bitterness will never offend anyone and with a robust maltiness its a good bitter. A6 A5 T7 P3 Ov13 3.4