[Beer] Doom Bar, Sainsbury's Porter, Hooky Gold, The Leveller, Tribute

Bit of a beer round up as I've not posted about them in a while.

Sharps Doom Bar.

A lot has said some good things about this newish ale from Cornwall. For me, it wasnt all that - kind of like a flat lager with too much of a sugary taste. Golden and crisp colouring, no head. Maybe better chilled? Dont know, might try that.

Sainsbury's London Porter.

Interesting. A Sainsbury's "own brand" Porter from their "Taste The Difference" range. Really taste, chocolate and earthy. Dark and rich but no more viscous than a paler ale. Lovely bitter after-taste on the tongue. Really liked this, will get it again.

Hook Norton Hooky Gold.

Another little cracker. Pale and golden (hence the name), nice refreshing taste and mellow bubble level. A a nice size head when I poured it and gave a full mouth of flavour.

The Leveller.

A new find, not sure where it comes from. Tasty, dark, heavy ale. A few of these would see be finished I think. A nice sipping beer for sure. Got an almost oaty feel to it, caramel and/or toffee too.

St Austell's Tribute.

Classic. Cornish, from St Austell. Have had a few of these from various pubs in Cornwall (Bodmin, Padstow, Bude) and bottled everywhere. Love it. Fresh, fruity, mellow. A great summers beer, totally reminds you of Cornwall and the setting sun over the Atlantic.

[Beer] Heineken.

Been a while since I've had a lager, but we were having a family BBQ and got some in as sometimes you just need a cool beer in the summer sun. Anyway, a few were left over so I thought I would include it on my series on here for a laugh.

The first thing I noticed was that it was so sweet after drinking ales and bitters recently. I mean really sweet, like someone had put sugar over the rim of the bottle. Not that that was a bad thing, just that I wasnt expecting it. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the taste to be honest. Yeah, it's a pretty generic and mass market lager, but much tastier that Foster or Budweiser. Very summery golden colour, good fizz, and when cold and refreshing taste to my buds.

[Beer] Guinness.

A classic drink. The Black Stuff. I've never really drank it before. Sure, I've purchased the odd pint of it in my youth to try it, but I don't think I've ever drunk a whole pint. But now I'm more into my proper beers I thought I would give it ago again.

Fortune smiled on me as my wife was make a Guinness & Chocolate cake (yup, as good as it sounds...mmmmmm) and so there were a few left over from the 4 pack of bottled Guinness.

Wow. This stuff is great. Different, I assume, to draft of canned, but so dark and tasty. Very 'porter' like, but more of a slow caramel burn.  No fix - as flat as a pancake - but the depth of flavour makes up for any lost texture.

I'm converted.

[Beer] Wells' Bombardier & Wychwood's Hobgoblin.

Two more ales from my adventures.  Been drinking Hobgoblin for a couple of years now, since me and my Dad "discovered" it.  Wells' Bombardier (bom-bar-deer, like the WWII chaps rather than the French name) is a new one to me, picked a 4-pack up for a BBQ at a friends house the other week and kept one back.

Both are full bodied and full flavoured.  Hobgoblin, from the Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire (owned by Marstons, see my post about Oxford Gold) has a wonderful red glowing colour - it is, after all, reffered to as a "legendary ruby beer". Bombardier is a more classical brown coloured ale, typically British, and has a nice tinted head.

The 4.3ABV rated Bombardier has, again, a classic taste.  Malty, with a slight sweet toffee undertone that gives way to a crisp aftertaste on the tongue.  A pleasing sip, no bubbling in the mouth.

Hobgoblin, at 5.2ABV in a bottle, is a more robust drink.  A stronger flavour of hops I think, less earthy more malty.  Slightly acidic and citrus sensation on the initial sip, but mellows afterwards and a bodied but easy taste. There is an overall chocolate ting to the ale.

I'll continue to drink Hobgoblin, and I'll definitely buy Bombardier again.

[Beer] Fuller's London Pride.

Been drinking a lot of London Pride Recently.  Had a few bottles in Cornwall, got some at home and the local had it on tap last night as a guest ale.  Excellent.  I do like a nice Pride.

Nice amber-red colouring with a nice firm head that floats and stays if poured correctly.  Excellently crisp malty aroma, oddly got me thinking of fresh bread and meadows (sounding a bit like Oz Clarke for my own good there).  It's a very easy ale to drink, as I found out last night.  No lingering bitterness in the aftertaste, which draws you into another sip quickly.  Nice buttery, smooth texture.

Pride, if it's on tap, would be my "go to" beer in a pub for sure. 4.1 on tap and 4.7 bottled.  Lovely.

[Beer] Brakspear Oxford Gold.

Some fine ale for you.   Got this as part of a multi-pack of different UK ales from the boys for my birthday.  4.6% abv in a standard 500mlglass bottle.  Brewed in Oxfordshire (duh), specifically Witney just to the west of Oxford itself; at the place as Wychwood's Hobgoblin and the Ducthy Organic range from Prince Charles. [Brakspear was owned by Refresh who owned Wychwood et al. They are all now owned by Martsons]

Apparently Brakspear use a special "double drop" brewing method which leaves a butterscotch-like taste in all their beers.

Oxford Gold is labelled as an organic beer with a "zesty aroma and fruity flavour", you can certainly taste the zest element. It has an almost bitter lemon-esque aftertaste that tickles the back of the mouth in a nice way.  The malty taste gives a good and warm feeling in the mouth.  Not sure I got the butterscotch, but there are some sweet notes on the middle of the tongue.  The first bottle I had, I didnt rate the ale at all, but preserved with it for the second and was more impressed with the flavours.

It gives off a wonderfully mellow, sweet smell that doesn't give away the malty taste you get at all.  Not much 'fizz', and a small head even when poured from height. Soft amber colour, very clear and smooth. Summer in a glass.

[Beer] Aurum Pilsner Lager.

Mmmm, cheap beer.

So, out in Mallorca I was on the hunt for a cheap lager to drink in the evening.  You could buy the usual name brands - Stella, Fosters, Carling, John Smiths, Guinness - but these cost a fortune.  Luckily, the local supermarket, Eroski, came to the rescue with these excellent little cans - Aurum beer.  It's described as a "premium Pilsner lager", seems to be brewed in Spain and, yeah, that covers the basics well enough.  The beer is a nice light golden colour, with a small white head when poured.  Aroma of hops, sweetness and a light malt.  Taste is what you would expect; sweet, mildly hoppy with a small bitterness creeping in to the aster taste, and quite watery overall - surprisingly not too fizzy, nice light bubbles.  It's rated at 4.5& ABV, putting it over the stuff you get in the UK at a small price point.  Tried it in small 'stubby' bottles the first time, then moved on to the 330ml sized cans they had at 25c [yes, twenty five Euro cents, around 25p Sterling then] each.  I think they had the larger 500ml cans for 49c or so, cant remember.

Overall, I would have this again when out in Mallorca/Spain but I'm not sure I would seek it out back home as 'holiday' beers don't normally translate well to pub drinking.  And it's certainly not going to tempt be back from ales...