About
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.
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.
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
500ml Brown bottle: best before 19 Sept 2012, poured into my ’La Chouffe’ tulip glass twice on 18 May 2012. Light amber body, clear and clean looking: on top a closely knit head of bubbles. Aroma is of citrusy hops, but not strong or overpowering: just enough strength to let you know the hops rule this beer in the smelling stakes. The taste is a well balanced blend of those aforementionrd hops and the malts, the flavours just about evenly matched. Malts to the fore then the hop bitterness kicks in gently after the initial sweet feel. Crisp tasting, almost sharp for a UK bitter, very drinkable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 May 2012
at 11:10
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle 500ml.Clear medium orange yellow colour with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white to white head. Aroma is moderate malty, toasted, moderate hoppy, citrus, light lime. Flavour is moderate to light light heavy sweet and moderate to heavy bitter with a long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20120113]
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 May 2012
at 05:39
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Sept 2009: This beer was on cask at my overnight accommodation this week, really glad I choose to stay at ’The Lamb Inn’, Iron Acton. Poured a lovely deep, dark amber, clear, wholesome and smooth looking. One of the whitest of white heads I’ve ever seen on a bitter, it was only thin, but it stayed and left some lacing as the beer level sank. I had three pints and loved each one, the hops and barley aroma was slightly sulphurus but not off-putting in any way, it just added to the bitterness that came towards the finish of each mouthful. It is a true flavoursome English Bitter and was the only beer the brewery produced for its first 18 years, they now do three others. Very moorish, which is why I had three of these and didn’t get to try the others, which were also on offer, along with Bass and Courage Bitter (all on cask!).
Tried
from Cask
on 30 Apr 2012
at 01:17
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
[500ml bottle that Dad shared with me - cheers!] Amber with a moderate off-white head and a light fizz. Dry from the off. Malt dominates from the start, with a little pithy citrus and a hint of roasted coffee in the background. Nice enough bitter, albeit maybe a little on the dry side for my liking. c6
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Apr 2012
at 22:59
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottle sample at a tasting at Dagan’s place. Thanks Tomer G. Clear deep golden-copper. Aroma of earthy hops, a bit of minerals and malt. Sweetish flavor with malt, a tiny bit of caramel and some earthy hops bitterness. Medium-bodied.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Apr 2012
at 12:15
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 4
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Brown 500ml bottle, best before 2nd Nov 2010, drank and reviewed on a bright, sunny but chilli Sunday afternoon, 24th Oct 2010. Poured into an ’abbot Ale’ tankard: light orange/golden amber in colour with a good solid head od foaming bubbles on top. The beer showed a slight haze and bubbles ambled up through the beer to the head all through the tasting. Fuggles are used, but although I could taste them, their presence in the aroma was minimal. There wasn’t much malt content in the smell either, in fact there was very little smell to talk about. The taste was a pleasant blend of hops and malts, evenly distributed in a well balanced way. Sweetish upfront with a refreshing hop bite in each sip. The 4.7% ABV is evident as the beer warms in the glass, but doesn’t effect the flavours too much, just adds an extra dimension to them.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Apr 2012
at 10:16
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Cask @ Nairn Beer Festival 2012
Light amber, clear, bubbly head
Aroma - caramel malts, light toasted malts, hay hops, spicy hops
Taste - soft biscuity malts, some spicy hops, good flavour for 3.8%
Palate - soft carb, light body, bit viscous, soft biscuity malt palate. Finish as main flavour, pleasant lingering bitter biscuity finish
Overall - very good quaffable beer
Light amber, clear, bubbly head
Aroma - caramel malts, light toasted malts, hay hops, spicy hops
Taste - soft biscuity malts, some spicy hops, good flavour for 3.8%
Palate - soft carb, light body, bit viscous, soft biscuity malt palate. Finish as main flavour, pleasant lingering bitter biscuity finish
Overall - very good quaffable beer
Tried
from Cask
on 07 Apr 2012
at 14:59
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Cask gravity @ The Duchess of Cambridge, Stamford Brook W6. Pours a dark brown color with a small off-white head. Has a roasted malty rich chocolate aroma. Roasted malty chocolate flavor. Has a roasted malty chocolate finish with hints of caramel in the aftertaste.
Tried
from Cask
on 02 Mar 2012
at 22:44
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Cask at The Harp, London. Pours clear gold with a fine, foamy white head. Light toast aroma, some fruits. Medium sweet flavor, and quite a rather fruity bitter. Light grains, grapes, and melon. Light bodied with fine carbonation. Sweet finish with some juicy, citrus bitters, some bready malts. Very nice.
Tried
from Cask
on 09 Feb 2012
at 14:58
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
50cl bottle from the Wine Company, Slough. Golden amber in colour with a scummy looking off-white head; rich fruity aroma - apricot jam comes to mind; deep fruity flavour to start with a deep hoppy bitterness and a peppery hop finish. Really enjoyable. (7/4/7/3/15=3.6) 1-Feb-12
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Feb 2012
at 13:52