Brewery: Joseph Holt’s
Location: Manchester, England
ABV: 5.0%
Version: Draught pint
Source: Woodthorpe Hotel, Prestwich, Manchester

Another trip to the Woodthorpe yesterday evening, for a couple of pints of pre-Fantasycon practice and to check out September’s seasonal ale.

Holt’s Pioneer is billed as a 5% IPA and let me tell you, is absolutely delicious on draught. It’s a cask beer (as far as I know – there’s no mention of it on the Holt’s website), it pours a deep golden colour and has a pleasantly creamy head. A sampling-sized swig results in a rich, complex flavour-burst: a big hit of hops (as you’d expect from an IPA) but also a malty sweetness and a distinct fruity flavour that was initially a little hard to identify… strawberries? No, not tart enough…

The first pint went down very easily indeed and so I nipped back to the bar for a second in order to continue the fruit-flavour identification process, which eventually resulted in a positive i.d. (let’s be honest, once Jo had taken a sip and told me the answer): peaches. Far less reticent peaches than those that allegedly lurk in Theakston’s Lighfoot Bitter as well; these peaches were all about getting in your face and singing that Presidents of the USA song at you while you drink your pint. And now I can’t get it our of my head. Thank you, Joseph Holts.

Anyhow, as I said up at the top: delicious. Glorious colour, fresh flavour, great mouth-feel, lovely finish, everything about this one said: “I am now one of your favourite beers.” Another round, anyone?