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.
Bottled (BZ, BB 01/2011) Clear amber color, decent creamy off-white head. Yeasty, pine, pineapple, bread, citrus in the nose. Medium-bodied. Flavor is similar: a bit yeastyness, citrus, bread, spruce, fruity hoppyness. Very British bitter and the best Butcombe beer so far I’ve rated.
Bottle picked up at Bellingers, Jet Garage, Grove, Nr Wantage, Oxon, consumed 28-07-10 Pours dark gold, amber with white head. Lacks in aroma but there is some malt. I didn’t mind this but not really in the vein of an IPA at all, quite earthy, malty, some hops and fruit. A6 A3 T7 P3 Ov13 3.2
cask at Guildford Arms - Pours copper-orange and mostly clear with a mild aroma of bready malt and some hops. The flavor is of sweet, bready malt with a little bit of citrus. It’s mildly bitter. Not bad.
On tap at the Three Tuns, Bristol. This is the house cider served in Butcombe pubs, and the ukcider website was used to identify the true producer. Golden coloured with moderate carbonation. soft apple juice aroma with a hint of wood. Easy drinking, with medium dry fruit, a hint of residual sugar and touch of tartness in the finish. Tasted to me like a drier version of Thatchers Gold.
16th April 2010. Clear gold beer. Light dry palate. Light pale malt with a little honey. Marmaladeish orange hop, not that bitter. Just a whisper of sulfur. Finishes dry with a little spicy bitter orange. Not bad.
Cask @ Counting House, JDW. Clear light golden colour, white lacings. Aroma is grainy and grassy, hint of hops. Flavour is grassy, a bit buttery, biscuit. Suspect these are the last pulls from the cask; don’t find it overly impressive.
Cask at the Hope Tap (JDW), Reading. I rather liked this, a good example of a English style blond ale. Sraw in colour with a thin white head; grainy aroma; crisp citrus flavour with grainy undertones; and a sweet grapefruit finish.
Cask. Deep golden colour with mediumsized white fluffy head that leaves some slight lace and also lasts for quite a while. Aroma is honey, fruits, some floral notes as well as mild wood and earth. Flavour is caramel malts along with wood and some fruits. Finish has some semidry grassyness in it. Pleasant and drainkable.