Beer Notes: Sainsbury’s (Black Sheep) Celebration Ale

When picking out my last beer of 2011 last night, Sainsbury’s own-label ‘Celebration Ale’ seemed an appropriate one to reach for.

Brewed for Sainsbury’s by Black Sheep and not, as far as I can tell, just a re-badged version of one of the brewery’s regular range, Celebration is actually a stout rather than an ale (it even says so on the back label) that pours a thick, treacly black with a big, dark brown sugar and allspice aroma.

It’s a flavour-bomb and no mistake: sour-sweet coffee, raisins and more of those spice notes give way to a bone-dry finish that’s packed with liquorice – and at 6% ABV it’s not one for the casual quaffer either – so caveat emptor if you don’t like your stouts rich and robust. But if you do enjoy a deliciously deep, full-flavoured and satisfying stout then you might want to nip down to Sainsbury’s to see if their 4-for-£5 offer on own-brand beers is still in force.

(Quick Aside: perusing the Black Sheep website I’ve just spotted their Autumn-Winter seasonal, Ruddy Ram Porter, which looks rather tasty. Did anyone managed to try that one while it was available in November & December?)

Session ales – defined quite neatly by beer writer Andy Crouch in his book Great American Craft Beer as: “[a] beer with a relatively low alcohol-level, usually 3 to 4 percent alcohol by volume, that allows the drinker to enjoy several pints in one sitting without becoming intoxicated” – is one of the great strengths of the UK & Irish brewing scene (Andy Crouch again: “Many English-style ales set the standard for such beers” and I’m not going to argue.)

I’ve said it before a few times, and I’ll say it again: over the past couple of years I’ve come to the definite conclusion that the very best way to enjoy a session on the session ales is in a pub, with a few good friends and plenty of good conversation (pork scratchings optional). Of course not all session ales are created equal and a lot of them seem to be just… average – which I realise probably has more to do with the keeping, conditioning and serving of the beer than the actual brewing – so if like me you enjoy sampling a few different brews over the course of an evening, it can be a bit of a lottery.

Then again, if you’re really lucky, you might discover a truly amazing session ale; one that manages to pull off the trick of marrying sublime flavours with a not-so-punishing ABV. The sort of beer you can happily roll around your palate all night long, as opposed to the thin, flat, slightly sour stuff that can put you right off – something Impy Malting has talked about recently as well. I can remember a few magical times when I’ve stumbled onto an amazingly good draught session ale: Wye Valley Butty Bach is the one that springs most readily to mind. Ahhhh, I love a good pub session, me.

Having said that, I also love a good bottled beer – supped at home in front of the telly with a bowl of salt & pepper cashews to-hand – almost as much (and I’ve talked about a fair few of those). It’s much, much trickier to find a truly excellent session beer in a bottle though. There’s generally a marked difference between draught and bottled versions of the same ale, with the draught version usually winning hands-down. But occasionally, if you’re lucky, you’ll hit on a bottled session beer that really does taste very good indeed; holding its own against its draught counterpart, or just in its own right.

So, in honour of those rare auld times, here are five of my favourite bottled session beers, plus a few honourable mentions. I’ve stretched the definition slightly to “beers that I’d be happy to drink a few of in a session” which means the upper-limit strength-wise is around about 4.5% ABV or so. And it is an entirely subjective selection, obviously… please feel free to suggest your own amendments or additions via the comments.

Hook Norton – Hooky Gold

I’ve been drinking quite a bit of this one recently; it was in a couple of rounds of Sainsbury’s rolling 2-for-£3 price-promo. A very fresh, zesty, hoppy golden ale with a very pleasant, balancing malt base.

Tasting Notes: Hook Norton Hooky Gold

Purity – Pure Ubu Amber Ale

As the name suggests, this one is a slightly darker ale with a ruddy hue and a maltier flavour-profile. An easy-drinking, palate-warming ale that seems to be generally available in Sainsbury’s.

Tasting Notes: Purity Pure Ubu Amber Ale

Black Sheep – Black Sheep Ale

One of those seemingly-ubiquitous beers that’s easy to overlook, but actually a very tasty drop indeed. A robust, chestnut-brown, malt-rich ale that can even be chilled down to go rather well with a curry.

Tasting Notes: Black Sheep Ale

Bath Ales – Barnstormer

Barnstormer is dark, malty, nutty and sweet (but not overly-sweet) ale that goes great with hearty winter food. It won the Sainsbury’s real ale competition back in 2008 and it’s still stocked by them on a regular basis.

Tasting Notes: Bath Ales Barnstormer (notes by Tim Lebbon)

Williams Bros – Fraoch Heather Ale

I love a drop of Fraoch – when I can get my hands on a bottle without Jo drinking it – and once again, this is a case of the bottled version being almost as good as the draught. Light and malty with a very mellow bitterness from the heather.

Tasting Notes: Williams Bros Fraoch Heather Ale (notes by Joe Gordon)

A few Honourable Mentions

I would happily drink a drop or two of the following on a regular basis, if only I could get hold of them:

• Hopdaemon Skrimshander – only available by mail order, never seen it for sale this far north :(
• Meantime London Pale Ale – used to be all over the place but Sainsbury’s seem to have stopped stocking it recently…
• Fyne Ales Avalanche – Incredibly refreshing and packed full of citrus hop flavours; really almost as good as its draught cousin. Just can’t seem to find the stuff in the supermarkets.

So, there you go. What are your bottled session ale recommendations?

Sainsbury’s have rotated their special offer selection again. Here’s a few edited highlights:

3 for £4

• Fuller’s Bengal Lancer [
  • November 18, 2010
  • 5
  • Badger, Black Sheep, Fuller's, Holt's, Leffe, Purity, Sainsburys, Wadworth

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It’s 2 for £3 rotation time at Sainsbury’s, if my local branch is anything to go by. Quite a few I’d have been happy to stock up on, if the beer cupboard wasn’t already full-to-bursting:

• Badger Golden Champion
• Badger Golden Glory [
  • September 23, 2010
  • 11
  • Badger, Black Sheep, Fuller's Brewery, Hook Norton, Marston's, Sainsburys, St Peter's, Theakston's, Thwaite's

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My local Sainsbury’s has rotated its 2 for £3 offers again (I must have bee a little late to spot the previous rotation).

My personal highlights this time around:

• Black Sheep Golden Sheep Ale
• Fuller’s Bengal Lancer [
  • September 3, 2010
  • 0
  • Badger, Black Sheep, Brakspear, Fuller's, Wells and Young's

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Our local Sainsbury’s has rotated it’s standard 2 for £3 offering again.

Highlights of the current selection include:

• Bath Ales Barnstormer [
  • August 27, 2010
  • 6
  • Bath, Black Sheep, Daleside, Fuller's Brewery, Greene King, Hawkshead, Jennings, Marston's, Robinson's, Sainsburys, Tesco, Theakston's, Timothy Taylor's

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Brewery: Black Sheep
Location: Masham, North Yorkshire
Style: Session Bitter
ABV: 4.4%
Version: Bottled

It’s odd: I must have had a couple of dozen bottles of Black Sheep Ale over the past couple of years – probably more than any other beer variety I’ve drunk during that time – and yet I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here on Blogobeer at all. I think that’s because it’s one of those seemingly ubiquitous bottled ales that turn up pretty much wherever bottled ales are sold and maybe that always-available impression makes it seem a little unremarkable. Although of course that ubiquity could just be because the supermarket stock-buyers know a good thing when they taste it.

The reason I’ve had so many bottles of Black Sheep Ale is because our local and very favourite curry house, the Lime Tree in Prestwich, offers it alongside the more predictable Cobra and Carling lagers. So whenever Jo and I are out for a curry, we get through at least three or four bottles between us (and we usually keep a couple of bottles in the cupboard for session purposes as well). The Lime Tree serves all its beers from the fridge (although I’m sure they’d find a warmer one for me if I asked nicely) and over the course of downing a couple of well-chilled bottles with my Balti Murghi Makhani last Saturday night, I realised something about Black Sheep Ale: it keeps its flavour remarkably well, even when served “too cold”.

Predominantly malty with a biscuity, raisin-fruit sweetness chased along by a dry, hoppy finish, Black Sheep Ale is very well balanced indeed. Cooled down, the sweetness takes on a spicier edge and beer also benefits from that ability to hit that back-of-the-throat-sweet-spot just right. Admittedly I’m not going to convert to drinking ale from the fridge, because not every beer would hold up as well, but I don’t think I’ll be objecting to a Black Sheep with my onion bhaji any time soon.

Have a word with your local and / or very favourite curry house if they don’t have a bottled ale on the drinks menu; they should be able to find the stuff without too much difficulty.

The Saturday before last, after starting the evening off with a curry and a couple of bottles of Black Sheep Ale at our favourite curry house (the Lime Tree in Prestwich), we (Jo, myself and our friends Andy and Dawn) headed up to Bury to visit the Trackside (we were there just before Tyson, by the sound of things).

Talk about a tricky decision when I got to the bar. The Trackside is usually a good bet for a dark beer or two, but last Saturday there was a choice of four, plus assorted bitters and pale ales. I started off (possibly a little rashly) with a pint of Acorn Gorlovka Imperial Stout; a gorgeous, coffee-rich, smoky stout that weighs in at a session-hefty 6% ABV. I sampled this one a few weeks ago at the Marble Arch, in a more cautious half measure. Possibly I should have saved that one for later and stuck to the halves as well, but I think I must have had a rush of blood to the head and besides, the night was still (fairly) young. That one went down very nicely indeed (although probably far faster than it should have) and so it was back to the bar, this time for a swift half of Rossendale Pitch Porter. Not quite as robust as the Gorlovka, although still a respectable 5% ABV, it was another very pleasant roast-malt experience and definitely one I’d be happy to repeat.

After that I made my first tactical error of the evening: instead of joining Jo on the Dunham Dark – a smooth, slightly sweet mild with a light touch and only 3.8%% ABV, I instead opted for a bottle of Robinson’s Chocolate Tom that I spotted in the fridge. I’ve tried both the Old Tom and Ginger Tom before, and I’d always promised myself I’d have a go at the Chocolate version, after Ed gave it a write-up a while back. This was clearly the opportunity I’d been waiting for, so I went for it. Bad move. I’m not sure whether it was because the bottle had been chilled, or the beer was too young, but in any case it was far, far too sweet for even my sweet tooth to enjoy. If Marble Chocolate is Green & Black’s in a glass then this was Dairy Milk by comparison and I’m afraid there was little else to notice or to recommend it. If I ever see a bottle on sale I might grab it and put it away for a while to see if it ages at all well, but I’ll be definitely steering clear of drinking it out of a fridge again.

My second tactical error of the night involved sending Andy to the bar for a half of Dunham Milk Stout. I should have known better: Andy doesn’t really do beer by demi-measures and came back to the table with a large half (two halves in a single glass, if you catch my drift). Which was a bit of a shame, because I’d already sampled some when Jo got a half in an earlier round and whilst I was interested enough to give it a decent go, I didn’t really want to invest in a full draught. It was… okay. Considering Dunham’s beers usually rate ‘damned good’ to ‘excellent’, I was a bit surprised at how ordinary this one tasted. A bit thin, nothing in the way of defining characteristics or stand-out flavours. I’m no milk stout expert, I admit, so maybe it’s actually a cracking example of the style, but if you ask me their Dunham Porter and Dunham Stout are much, much better. By this stage Andy was back on the bitter instead of the stouts and I had a glug of whatever he was drinking (it might have been Dark Star Sunburst, that rings a bell) and very tasty it was, too. Ah, well.

So, there you go: another great selection of beers at the Trackside, which is pretty much par for the course for those guys. We’ll be back, and it won’t be too long before we are, either.

Back in January I declared my intention to steer clear of average, bog-standard bitters and pale ales as far as I possibly could. When it comes to the buying of bottled beers I’ve done pretty well. Purchases of a pretty superb stout selection from BeerVentures.co.uk, a case of rare and rather exquisite Belgians from BeerMerchants.com and a couple of excellent BrewDog orders have helped to keep the quality averages consistently high and I’ve been exercising my willpower when it comes to supermarket purchases: only the most interesting-looking new stuff for me.

Inevitably though, there have been a few that in spite of their apparent promise haven’t turned out to be quite as remarkable as I’d hoped. And seeing as there are only so many times that your humble beer blogger can stretch “bitter ale, malty, some hoppiness” (or vica-versa as applicable) to a full Tasting Notes write-up, here’s another quick catch-up piece to clear the backlog from the notebook:

Shepherd Neame Late Red (bottled, 4.5% abv)
A very deep-ruby red bitter brewed with late-season hops. Not sure if the seasonality of the hops adds anything in particular to the flavour profile, but the brew was distinctly hoppy and bitter, although at the same time a bit on the flat side and without much else to distinguish it. Not bad, but not great either.

Jennings Golden Host (bottled, 4.3% abv)
A golden amber pale ale with a very hoppy nose that somehow doesn’t carry through into the flavour, which was quite mild and if anything, had a honey-sweetness rather than a hop-bitterness. With a touch of citrus as well, this would make for a pleasant summer quaffer, but isn’t one I’ll be looking out for in future myself.

Thwaites Liberation (bottled, 4.8% abv)
A smooth-drinking, but with barely a distinguishing characteristic to report back on – a touch of sweetness but hardly any bitterness to balance it out. I would have expected more from Thwaites, who usually know how to put out a decent brew and at 4.8% it should really have had a bit more bite, surely?

Black Sheep Yorkshire Square (bottled, 5.0% ABV)
A dark amber bitter with a hoppy, fresh-tasting flavour, good bitterness and hints of citrus to make things interesting. Nice. But not remarkably nice… (Ed wasn’t blown away either).

Orval Trappist Ale (bottled, 6.2% ABV)
I picked up a bottle of Orval in Tesco during my recent Belgian-familiarisation drive. It poured with a big head and a big aroma and turned out to be slightly cloudy, slightly effervescent and slightly sour. Not a hint of sweetness anywhere and a rather odd after-taste, too. I know this one’s meant be a taste that’s worth acquiring, but I don’t know… I’m unlikely to be going back any time soon, I think.

Wood’s Shropshire Lad (bottled, 5.0% ABV)
I’m pretty sure this one must have gone off in the bottle. Or at least, I hope that explains the cloyingly sweet, marsh-mallow, unpleasantly yoghurty flavour that saw the bulk of it dumped down the sink. I’ll give it another go sometime – if only on the grounds that my brother-in-law swears it’s actually a decent drop – but honestly, this particular bottle was just undrinkable.

Badger Golden Champion (bottled, 5.0% ABV)
I was highly impressed by Badger’s Golden Glory a while back, but this one didn’t quite hit the same high-notes. It was pleasant and drinkable enough: a rich, golden ale with a light, hoppy flavour and some definite citrus notes. But again, I’d expect more from a 5% ABV beer. And from a marketing perspective, I’m just not sure why Badger would want to have two such similarly-named ales in its range when they have such distinct characteristics? Anyhow, my advice: stick to Golden Glory for a much more interesting flavour experience.

Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA (bottled, 5.3% ABV)
Along with a few others in this round-up, I rather think this is a beer that would perform much better on draught than it did in the bottle. A golden-amber ale that actually had a much more malty profile than it’s claim to IPA-status would suggest, with the hops not really kicking in until the after-taste rather than being up-front and central as you’d expect. With hints of honey-biscuit and a pink-grapefruit citrus tang it’s not unpleasant by any means, but it’s not remarkable either.

Maxim Double Maxim Premium Brown Ale (bottled, 4.7% ABV)
This resurrected recipe has been lovingly restored by the Double Maxim beer company; it was first brewed in Sunderland in 1901 to celebrate the return of the Maxim Gun detachment from the Boer War. The beer is a deep chestnut colour with a slightly vegetative aroma in-bottle. Hoppy and sharp with an underlying marzipan sweetness that develops into a definite almond flavour as the beer goes on. Pleasant enough, not so impressive that I leapt to try the draught version when I saw it a few weeks later; although who knows, maybe that was an opportunity missed..?

Cairngorm Trade Winds (bottled, 4.3% abv)
This one was left over from the selection I picked up in last year’s Sainsbury’s summer Real Ale promotion. A pale golden ale with a rich, fruity flavour and a lingering bitterness that became more noticeable as the pint went on, backed up by a smooth, satisfying mouth-feel. Would probably try this one again, especially if I found it on draught (Ed was a bit more impressed than I was).

Marston Oyster Stout (bottled, 4.5% abv)
For a stout, this one was remarkably thin, fizzy and generally a bit limp: a hint of coffee and chocolate, but barely anything to distinguish it from bottled Guinness. I’ve had porters with a lot more body and bitters with a lot more flavour and a great many stouts that were superior on both fronts. Not one I’ll be rushing back to in a hurry.

Wychwood Dirty Tackle (draught, 4.0% abv)
Tried a pint of this one at the Bull’s Head in Manchester at the end of a session. A pleasant, rich-chestnut coloured bitter with a well-balanced blend of malt and hops and dry, bitter finish. Pleasantly drinkable, but not all that remarkable. No sign of it on the Wychwood website, either; I’m guessing it was a seasonal brew for the Five Nations or something like that.

That’ll do for this time around. Got a few more in the notebook, so I’ll post another round-up later on in the year.

Brewery: Black Sheep
Location: Masham, North Yorkshire, England
ABV: 5.0%
Version: 500ml bottle

The Black Sheep Brewery was founded by Paul Theakston in 1992 as he wanted a return to small brewery life after the takeover of the Theakston Brewery by Scottish & Newcastle (you can read more about the history of the brewery here). The name of this beer comes from the Yorkshire Stone Square fermenting vessels used  by Black Sheep in their beer production.

Yorkshire Square Ale is a rich orangey gold colour with a light fruit aroma with hints of orange and caramel malt in the background. Flavour is also quite light, lemon and lime citrus with a touch of malt and there’s a pleasant tingly mouthfeel, all leading up to a slightly dry finish. Perhaps a bit too watery, it’s an easy drinking and perfectably acceptable, if not outstanding, brew.