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.
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simontomlinson (8557) reviewed
Goat's Leap from Cheddar Ales
5 years ago
6.6/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Tight foamy beige head left a creamy cover on a clear copper coloured body. Fruity malted aroma. Medium bodied, smooth with a sharp back. Malt, fruity berries, light hops & grain tastes with a tangy bitter finish. Tastes more like a Bitter than EIPA
Tried on 24 Mar 2021 at 20:52
simontomlinson (8557) reviewed
Frozen Deep from Cheddar Ales
5 years ago
7.2/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 8
Tight foamy off white head stayed on a slowly carbonating, reddish brown body. Caramel, malt & treacle aroma. Medium bodied, smooth with a tingle down the throat. Berries, caramel, spiced fruit & light hops with a long bitter finish. Nice one.
Tried on 21 Feb 2021 at 17:23
BlackHaddock (18155) reviewed
Piney Sleight from Cheddar Ales
5 years ago
6.9/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
First beer in a little tasting session with myself on 29th Jan 2021. 500ml bottle conditioned; BBE Mar 2022. No sediment left the bottle, so I got a bright and clear amber body, the head an off-white affair that stayed the distance. The Cara Malts rule the roost in this brew, other stuff going on, but it's caramel all the way really. My sweet tooth liked it, didn't notice any Mosaic or Simcoe influence even if the bottle label claims they give powerful hints of ripe mango etc, etc.
Tried from Bottle on 30 Jan 2021 at 09:27
BlackHaddock (18155) reviewed
Frozen Deep from Cheddar Ales
5 years ago
7.4/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
500ml bottle condition from Beers of Europe: BBE Mar 2022. Drank at home in the early hours of 29th Dec 2020. No sediment left the bottle, so I got a clear amber pour, off-white crown on top. The nose held citrus notes alongside malty molasses, the taste was also a mixture of light citrus flavours on a caramel/toffee like base. Nice!
Tried from Bottle on 29 Dec 2020 at 12:11
RichTigers (5280) reviewed
Seismic Shift from Cheddar Ales
5 years ago
7/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Bottle. Amber coloured beer with a strong white head. The aroma quite strongly hopped, and the flavour is bitter and hopped with some fruitiness and a long dry finish. Overall a nice IPA.
Tried from Bottle on 28 Dec 2020 at 05:00
McCash (16382) reviewed
Hardrock from Cheddar Ales
5 years ago
7/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 8 Overall 7
Bottle from Beers Of Europe. Appearance - golden with a big white snow white head. Nose - grapefruit and pith. Light biscuit. Taste - citrus again, grapefruit and lemon. Just an edge of toffee at the back. Palate - light bodied, dry middle and finish. Overall - quite nice. More of a golden ale.
Tried from Bottle on 10 Dec 2020 at 18:35
McCash (16382) reviewed
Piney Sleight from Cheddar Ales
5 years ago
6.4/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Bottle from Beers Of Europe. Appearance - amber with a big fluffy white head. Nose - pine for sure, but dominated by caramel. There's a biscuit backdrop. Taste - again pine dominated by caramel. Didn't get the fruity hop notes mentioned in the description. Palate - light bodied, a bit sweet in the middle, decent balance on the finish. Overall - so so!
Tried from Bottle on 09 Dec 2020 at 23:04
McCash (16382) reviewed
Bitter Bully from Cheddar Ales
6 years ago
7.2/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
Bottle from Beers of Europe. Appearance - golden with a big white head. Nose - citrus and green stalks. Taste - lime, stalks and resin. Palate - creamy and light bodied. Balanced bitterness with a tangy finish. Overall - quite good.
Tried from Bottle on 12 Sep 2020 at 22:01
McCash (16382) reviewed
Potholer from Cheddar Ales
6 years ago
6.6/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 8 Overall 6.5
Bottle from Beers Of Europe. Appearance - golden with a decent white head. Nose - light caramel, then lemon and biscuit. Taste - more lemon, caramel and biscuit Palate - light bodied, creamy texture, a little sweet but not too bad on the finish. Overall - decent.
Tried from Bottle on 11 Sep 2020 at 16:29
LordAlwold1970 (10316) reviewed
Crown And Glory from Cheddar Ales
6 years ago
7.1/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Bottle from the Bestofbritishbeers.com birthday box. Golden /amber pour with a white head. Orange marmalade, orange peel and apricot nose. Pithy orange, grapefruit and apricot taste. Fruity bitter finish. Nice.
Tried from Bottle on 14 Jun 2020 at 13:59