50cl bottle from the Spar in Rhos on Sea. Another well made golden ale which delivers honey and golden malt with a herby citrus zing. It’s nothing special but everything is in the right place and it’s very drinkable.

50cl bottle from the Spar in Rhos on Sea. Pours golden, some head and gentle carbonation - it’s bottle conditioned so try to avoid the small amount of sediment on the end. This pretty much gives what you’d expect from the Golden Ale style as it has honey, lemon and pale malt in abundance on both the nose and the taste. A little bit more lemony sharpness would be good though and this would add balance to the palate. Overall, solid.

500ml Bottle (bottle conditioned) poured into a Franziskaner Weissbier glass just to see what it would look like in it! BBD end of May 2013, opened at home on 30 Apr 2013. To be fair it looked fine: hazy golden body with a huge head, carbonisation bubbles rising through the misty brew. No sediment left the bottle, latter I poured those into the remains of the initial pour, it obviously became more cloudy and tastier. Grain and yeast notes in the aroma. Crisp and refreshing in the grainy taste, I did expect a bit more flavour to be honest, no obvious wheat beer atributes at first, apart from the look. It claims to have corriander and lemon zest within the brew, as it warmed a little hints of those characteristics but in no great depth, until the sediment was added to the glass, only then did ’take off’, it was like two different beers. Pleasant enough, but lacks adventure and ’umph’ to be a great example of a UK brewed wheat beer. I’ll certainly have a cask version if I see one again: it wasn’t ready for sale on the only time I’ve come across it on draught. My scores are for the initial pour, with consideration of the sediment strength!

Two hand-pulled pints during a Shropshire Cask Ale Festival on 26 Mar 2013 in ’The Haygate’ Wellington. Light golden and bright body, on top a white crown of small bubbles. Like so many brews around Shropshire currently, this has a pronounced citrus feel to the smell and flavour: something I’m tiring of. This however touched my taste buds better than most, which is why I had two pints, just to make sure I’d really enjoyed the first one. The brewer I believe is a New Zealander and he obviously likes using hops from his part of the world in his brews, it worked on this occasion although I’ve not always thought this way with citrusy notes all over my beers.

9th Aug 2012: The lovely old ‘White Hart’ in Ellesmere, Shropshire. Hand-pulled pint. Golden brew with a thin white covering and a thicker collar. The nose was hoppy: floral more than citrus or pine, some hints of sweet malty molasses also in the aroma. The taste was almost all hop; mixed spices and some caramel: the brewer is a Kiwi, hence the occasional bit of New Zealand in the beers. Light bodied and bordering on bland at times although it is refreshing and a thirst quencher: having said that the 4.6% ABV is hidden well, so there must be something to it body wise.

Has a mild hoppy and citrus aroma that is more pronounced and full in its flavour.

From June 2008: The 4th and 5th bottles in my Shropshire Beer Reviewing Evening. Two 500ml brown (bottle conditioned) bottles, both best before Feb 2009, drank Jun 2008. One poured into an ’Old Speckled Hen’ vase type pint glass. It might have been too cold because it wasn’t anywhere as good as the other beers i’ve had from this brewery. The second bottle (garage temp) was poured into a Hoegaarden Grand Cru stemmed tulip glass. A good red, teak wood colour, but no head at all on the cold beer, just a weak wisp of cloud sat in the middle of the top. The room (garage) temp beer held a small off-white head for a short amount of time. The aroma was poor at first, but as the beers warmed they gave off esters of hops and barley malts. A trained nose may have picked up fruity smells, but I didn’t. Heavy and almost rich in mouthfeel, the warmer beer was more flavoursome and easier to drink. There was a hided depth to the beer, the warmer, the deeper it became. It is incredible how the same beer can be so different. I know they were the same brew batch, I picked them up from the brewery myself and was asked not to open the bottles for a couple of weeks because they were so young. I’ve waited 3 months, to be frankly almost disappointed. This beer was going to be the crowning glory of my tasting evening. I opened two bottles because the first might have been too cold and to make sure I wasn’t doing the brewery an injustice. Sadly it was an anti-climax, what a shame. Only last Saturday I visited the brewery again (with CAMRA). It was a lovely day out and they treated us very well. The beers they put on were super, I bet this beer on cask is good too!

The beer is named after the old (Cambrian) railway line that runs alongside the brewery, the gold bit being the beers colour! Bottle Conditioned bitter, brown 500ml best before Jan 2009, drank Jun 2008. Poured into an ’Old Speckled Hen’ vase type pint glass. My second beer of a Shropshire Beer Reviewing Evening. Colour is an old, dull gold with plenty of bubbles popping up towards the full foaming white head, looked good to me. No sediment left the bottles base but the condition of the beer was ’spot on’. Very little aroma, so hops and yeast, but not much more to my nose. Dry, hoppy and refreshing. The dryness intensifies in the aftertaste/finish, but not cardboard dry, more a satisfying clean pallet type feel. Yet another fine beer from a microbrewery in Shropshire.

Feb 2008 from BA: Brown 500ml bottle containing a bottled condition English Bitter. I had the pleasure of visiting the brewery and cottage to pick this and their other beers up last Saturday, it is set in an idilic spot close to the English/Welsh border in a little village. The beer was poured into a straight sleeved pint glass. Deep amber body with a very, very slight haze, maybe some sediment got into the glass? The head never really got going and what was on top at the end of the pour had almost all gone before I picked up the glass to smell it. A pleasant hoppy, fruity (apples and pears) aroma. Stronger than a lot of English bitters. There is a good honest bitterness to this beer, it has a full flavour for a beer of only 3.9%. Although it was bottle conditioned it wasn’t fizzy or over cabonated, it was almost like a cask bitter, which of course is what they are aiming at. I thought this a delightful bitter and the fruitiness stayed within the mouthfeel for some time, it isn’t a heavy or thick drink, but it isn’t watery either. ’Just the ticket’ as it says on the label. Glad i went out and found the place, I have two more of their beers to try. I hope they are as good as this one was.

Cask at the Tontine Hotel, Ironbridge. This reminds me of the beer my Dad used to drink, but better. A classic English bitter that begs to be served on the warm side. It hardly touches the back of my throat! The slightly fruity aftertaste is its signature. Pour me another Landlord! ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone