Bristol born and made to stand out, Butcombe Brewing Co. began life at a time of cultural, social and political change, crafting beer before ‘craft beer’ was even a thing.
You see, at that time, no one was risking it all starting a brewery, making simple, premium, easy-drinking ale. To do so was an act of defiance. Or madness. But, 42 years and a lot of hard graft later, by staying true to our beliefs and Bristolian roots, it looks like owning a resolutely maverick brewing company isn’t such a crazy idea after all. By going against the grain, to work intimately with it, we made our own statement with every pint. And what was true then is just as important today.
Butcombe now produces over 250,000 pints a week from our brewery in Wrington. As times and tastes change, so does our range of beers. Alongside Original, Gold and Rare Breed, you’ll find two craft lagers, Bohemia and Underfall, and two IPAs, Goram and Stateside, plus a range of exciting seasonal and small batch specials.
500ml Bottle: best before 14 May 2013, poured into my Abbot Ale glass tankard on 12 Aug 2012. Chestnut brown and clear body: on top a huge foaming crown of off-white bubbles. Solid hop nose with mild malt undertones: an understated aroma, but got stronger as the beer warmed (I’d cooled it in the fridge). The taste was interesting: hop bitterness countered by some malty sweetness (caramel and toffee notes): The body was well balanced and the 5% ABV suited the brew nicely. I’ll certainly have this again if I see it.
Bottle from Greendale Farm. Clear deep golden colour, creamy head. Lovely Hop aroma, grassy, resiny and citrusy. These Hop characteristics also dominate the flavour, over a solid malt body with a shy touch of caramel.
Bottled@chriso. Amber colour, small off-white head. Aroma is fruity, toffeeish, mild caramel and some quite floral hops as well. Flavour is fruity, toffeeish, mild chocolaty notes as well as some sweet floral notes. Wellbalanced and nice bitter.
10th July 2012 Chelmsford Beer Festival. Light haze on this gold beer, suddy white head. Light dry palate. Mild fine carbonation. Honey toned malt with sharp orange citrus. Minerally dry finish. Another decent golden at this festival.
Cask at the Brewery Tap in West London. Labeled as ’Butcombe Original bitter’. Pours clear brown with a fine, white cream head. Toasty and doughy bread in the nose with a few berries, too. Light to medium sweet flavor with some toasty sugars, wet wood and leaves, berries and light leather. Light bodied with fine carbonation. Decent condition. Lightly sweet to finish, lightly dry, faintly musty with dry and toasty bread, leathery fruits and toasted sugar. OK, but not great, just so we’re clear.
Half pint from cask. Pours copper with a white head. Light citrus and hop aroma. Medium sweet, medium bitter flavour with some malt and bread. Thin to medium bodied with soft carbonation. Not bad but uninteresting. (offline rating from April 2012)
Cask tasted at Lamb & Flag, London on 19 May. Amber color, small foamy off-white head, doughy aroma, hoppy-bitter taste, low carbonation, long finish. A good bitter.
10th November 2009 Spoons Fest. Clear amber beer. Light palate, low carbonation. Even malt with a toffee streak leading in to some mildly fruity hop. A little dry bubblegum underneath the malt. Reasonably well joined up.
On tap at Bath University 26/05/2012. Clear gold in colour with a tight white head. Light, hedgerow hop aroma with a hint of peach and biscuity malts. Flavour began with some sweetish malts, before a touch more fruit and lengthy, bitter finish. Fine.