Tasting Notes: Wye Valley Butty Bach & Wye Valley Bitter
Brewery: Wye Valley Brewery
Location: Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire, England
Style: Golden Ale / Bitter
ABV: 4.5% / 3.7%
Version: Draught
Source: The Bull’s Head, Chelmarsh, nr. Bridgnorth, Shropshire
“Goddamn, this stuff’s good.” Two mouthfuls into my first pint of the Wye Valley Butty Bach and I was already firmly convinced. Jo and I were staying at the Bull’s Head in Chelmarsh (just outside the picturesque market town of Bridgnorth in the middle of green-and-leafy Shropshire) and seeing as they’ve always had a good selection of ales on the bar, it would have been rude not to stop off for one before we set off down the road to the in-laws’ place.
Not too strong at 4.5% and boasting a rich, malty body with a delightfully crisp, sharp, hoppy after-bite, Butty Bach was incredibly refreshing and deeply satisfying; a classic English session bitter. That first pint was far from the last of the weekend, either. We were back down the pub again that evening after dinner (no point in turning in too long before last orders; it’s an old building and not exactly well sound-proofed) and I didn’t see much point in trying anything else.
The next day was Mum-in-Law’s 60th birthday and after a slap-up carvery-style binge at the Punchbowl (accompanied by a couple of pints of entirely acceptable Hobson’s Town Crier) Mum-in-law declared that she’d like nothing better than to pop up the road to the pub for the evening. Refuse the birthday girl’s request? That would have been unforgivably rude.
There was just one snag, though: the Butty Bach had run out (bloody afternoon wedding party). I tried a pint of something else that turned out to be thin, sour and best-forgotten and was contemplating turning to the ample charms of Dorothy Goodbody’s Golden Ale, but they put on a fresh cask of Wye Valley Bitter. It was only 3.7% and we were settling in for the evening, so I thought I’d give it a go.
I was very glad I did. Wye Valley Bitter tastes almost exactly the same as Butty Bach; a little lighter, a little less rich in the mouth-feel department, but otherwise: Butty Bach lite and quite lovely with it. Result.
