7.1

Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Cask at Hops, Crewe. Pours golden yellow with a small foamy off-white head and good lacing. There’s floral hops and citrus in the aroma. In the mouth it starts off mainly sweet but with a little bitterness which gradually increases to eventually dominate. Flavour starts off as traditional hops, malts, biscuits and marmalade, but others come through to fundamentally alter the taste – ginger, lemon and citrus. Finish is quite dry. This is decent – I like the way it changes character.

6.6

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 5 | Overall - 6.5

Cask at Hops, Crewe. Pours a slightly hazy golden amber with a small foamy off-white head. There’s oranges and floral hops in the aroma. In the mouth it is quite sweet and juicy but with a little underlying bitterness, and also slightly watery. Flavour has malts and traditional hops plus some spicy hints. Some bitterness in the finish. This is decent - though I didn't notice any rye characteristics.

7.1

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

On tap at Hops, Crewe. Pours a slightly hazy golden yellow with a small foamy almost white head and good lacing. There’s malts in the aroma – but not much else. In the mouth it is sweet, creamy and juicy. Later on there is some underlying bitterness but malts are still the main flavour, plus some hints of floral hops and herbs. Finish is slightly dry. This is quite nice – but is nothing like what I expect an IPA to be !

5.6

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

Cask at Hops, Crewe. Pours golden yellow with a medium sized frothy almost white head. The nose has caramel and some hints of floral hops. In the mouth it starts off sweet but somewhat watery, but this soon becomes bitter and sticky with floral hops and hints of oranges. Stickiness increases in the dry finish. It’s OK but not particularly flavoursome.

6.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Cask at Hops, Crewe.. Pours a slightly hazy chrome yellow with a medium sized white head and good lacing. The aroma is an unusual combination of peaches and biscuits. In the mouth the overall sensation varies between quite sharp and slightly bitter. Floral hops to the fore in the flavour along with grains, with citrus, tangerine and lime coming later. Finish is slightly dry with hints of herbs. It’s reasonable.

7

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Cask at Hops, Crewe. Pours a slightly hazy golden amber with a medium sized white head and good lacing. The aroma is a mix of bubblegum, yeast and floral hops. In the mouth it is initially slightly sweet with malts and yeast but some bitterness soon creeps in, alogn with flavour of toast, autumn fruits and floral hops plus a hint of pears. Finish is slightly dry. This is a very interesting, unusual beer. Not quite my cup of tea, but I can appreciate it not being run of the mill.

6.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Cask at Hops, Crewe. Pours a slightly hazy pale straw with a small off-white head and good lacing. Flowery hops are the mainstay of the aroma, plus some hints of citrus. In the mouth it is sweet overall but with some underlying bitterness. Initial flavours are floral hops, summer fruits and berries, but citrus comes in later and gets to dominate. Finish is slightly dry. Not a bad beer at all.

20/04/2002. BLUE BELL, 25 Hardings Wood, KIDSGROVE, Staffordshire, England (FREE HOUSE)

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