About
Jem Ham is Cheddar Ales' Head Brewer and Managing Director. Cheddar Ales, he started Cheddar Ales with the intention of making the best real ales in the local area. It began its artisan brewing activities in October 2006 and is based at Winchester Farm on the edge of Cheddar village, near the famous Cheddar Gorge.
We currently have five fermenting vessels, each one capable of holding 21.5 brewery barrels of beer, or around 6,150 pints. This gives us a weekly brewing capacity of around 30,000 pints, which may sound a lot but is certainly 'micro' in terms of the brewing industry. By hand-crafting such relatively small volumes, Cheddar Ales can ensure that character, consistency and quality lie at the heart of all our beers.
We currently have five fermenting vessels, each one capable of holding 21.5 brewery barrels of beer, or around 6,150 pints. This gives us a weekly brewing capacity of around 30,000 pints, which may sound a lot but is certainly 'micro' in terms of the brewing industry. By hand-crafting such relatively small volumes, Cheddar Ales can ensure that character, consistency and quality lie at the heart of all our beers.
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
500ml bottle from Aimee's Wine House, Bristol. Pours almost clear golden with a white cap. Aroma: bready malts, gooseberry, white grape, citrus, grassy. Taste: light sweet & light to moderate bitter, more bread with the NS accents of gooseberry, white grape running through it. Grassy bitter finish. Medium body with moderate carbonation. Nice!
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Feb 2022
at 15:32
6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
500ml bottle. Gluten Free. Orangey gold colour, bubbly off-white foam head leaving lacing and aroma of malt, marmalade hint, orangey, woody. Taste is malt, caramel, woody, with mellow orange & grapefruit citrus, along with pine and tangy bitterness. Medium bodied, soft carbonation, dry woody bitter finish. Quite drinkable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Feb 2022
at 21:41
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
500ml bottle from Aimee's Wine House, Bristol. Pours clear orange amber with an off-white cap. Bit of a gusher. Aroma: malty, earthy. Taste: light sweet & moderate bitter, malt, caramel, fruity hop, Medium body with loose carbonation
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Feb 2022
at 21:27
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
500ml bottle. Gluten Free. Orange amber colour, white foam head leaving lacing and aroma of malt, earthy. Taste is malt, caramel, fruity, citrus, with some woody hop bitterness. Medium bodied, soft carbonation, tangy bitter finish. Quite drinkable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Feb 2022
at 21:18
5.9/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 5.5
Flavor 5.5
Texture 10
Overall 2.5
500ml bottle from Pynes. Pours clear golden with a white cap. Aroma: pale malt, light grassy. Taste: light sweet & bitter, grains, light grassy. Light to medium body with low carbonation. Nowt to it
Tried
from Bottle
from
Pyne's of Somerset
on 26 Dec 2021
at 19:10
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle from Pyne's, North Petherton. Pours hazed golden with a slim white cap. Aroma: grains, light floral, stone fruits, yeasty. Taste: lemon, apricot, orange peel, light herbal, spicy yeasty. Medium body with light carbonation.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Nov 2021
at 23:37
5.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
500ml bottles from Pyne's at North Petherton. Pours ruby tinged dark brown with virtually no head. Aroma: bovril, dark chocolate, cola. Taste: light to moderate sweet, dry, malty, light chocolate, hints of roast & smoke. Light to medium body with low/no carbonation.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Nov 2021
at 23:30
6.6/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
50cl bottle from Legbrnders Medium creamy beige head. Clear almost black pour. Lots if chocolate
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Oct 2021
at 16:23
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle from Beers of Europe. Pours clear amber with a short-lived thin white head. Aromas of mandarin orange, light caramel, faint pine. Taste is more of the same. Balanced malt loaf finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 May 2021
at 16:51
7/10
Many thanks to Simon T. for this bottle. Great dense chocolate beginning. Deep caramel with a deep malty bitterness. Round and easy to drink, grainy, bitter, dry caramel. Great! --- Beer merged from original tick of Cheddar Festive Totty on 28 Apr 2021 at 20:23 - Score: 7. Original review text: Many thanks to Simon for this bottle. Great dense chocolate beginning. Deep caramel with a deep malty bitterness. Round and easy to drink, grainy, bitter, dry caramel. Great!
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Apr 2021
at 22:24