Brewery: Shepherd Neame
Location: Faversham, Kent, England
ABV: 4.0% ABV
Version: Bottled
Source: Courtesy of Tesco

Shepherd Neame and Tesco have joined forces to launch the first bottled version of the brewery’s Canterbury Jack draught ale and have done so in order to raise money and awareness for an extremely worthy cause: Tesco charity of the year CLIC Sargent, which helps children with cancer spend more time at home and less time in hospital.

As I don’t live in Shepherd Neame territory I haven’t had the opportunity to sample Canterbury Jack on draught myself – although I’m familiar with their better-known bottled beers, particularly Bishop’s Finger and Spitfire – so this was my first meeting with Jack (although I met its big brother, Gentleman Jack, in a four-pack of <cough> another supermarket’s own-brand ales, thanks to an Xmas present from my sister’s kids, bless ‘em).

Canterbury Jack’s label proclaims it to be a “light, refreshing, contemporary ale bursting with citrus nose and flavour” and it delivers pretty much exactly that. It’s a pleasant, light session bitter although I found it quite malty, fruity and slightly sweet – perhaps not so much citrus as cream toffee – with a light hop-touch. It is very refreshing, too, and went well with the pork burger I had for tea last Friday, so I reckon it would be an ideal barbecue beer. Maybe Tesco could repeat the campaign a little later in the year? It ought to fly off the shelves in the summer (assuming we have as summer this year, of course)*.

All in all: a good, tasty, bottled session bitter. If you’re looking to stock up the ‘share and enjoy’ section of your beer cupboard then you could do a lot worse, and you would be supporting a good cause at the same time. The bottle I tried was sent along courtesy of Tesco (cheers, Mary!), but I’ll definitely be purchasing up a few more next time I’m shopping at their place.

*Edit: Quick update from Mary @ Tesco: “It will be on shelf all year so will certainly be around for you to max it in the summer with the barbeques, especially if we have the scorching summer that’s been promised!”

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.

Back to the notebook for another lightning gallop through some of the beers that I sampled last year but didn’t quite get around to writing up in full…

Wells Bombardier Satanic Mills (5.0% abv, bottled)
Pitch black with a light tan head, almost stout-like, you can certainly tell this sister beer to Wells’ Bombardier and Bombardier Burning Gold is brewed with chocolate malt. With coffee notes and a lingering sweetness as well, it’s got a bit of variety to it as well. Very nice.

Greene King Strong Suffolk Ale (6.0% abv, bottled)
A very dark, almost black, ale with a strong, sharp flavour. Not too sweet, not too heavy, I’d happily have another go at this one.

Innis & Gunn Cask Strength Oak Aged Ale (7.7% abv, bottled)
There’s an incredibly rich, complex flavour to this 77-day ages strong ale, with a gobful of toffee at the fore. Quite sweet but with a dry edge: rather like liquified treacle tart. Very nice indeed.

Hall & Woodhouse Badger Hopping Hare (4.5% abv, bottled)
This “thrice-hopped” golden ale is exactly as described: hopped up and dry to the taste, with a refreshing finish. Not the hoppiest I had all year (BrewDog’s Chaos Theory and Saltaire Stateside IPA spring to mind) but hoppier than most, certainly.

Shepherd Neame Whitstable Bay Organic Ale
Brewed using English organic barley and New Zealand organic Gem and Hallertau hops, this pale, golden ale has a very mild character with definite citrus notes and a pleasantly hoppy after-taste. Refreshing and easy-drinking, I think this one might be a staple summer ale of choice if I can find a stockist round about May or June time.

Whitewater Clotworthy Dobbin (5.0% abv, draught)
Had a pint of this one in the Crown Liquor Saloon (Belfast’s finest beer-related tourist trap) on a visit to Ed’s neck of the woods last August. The website says it’s a ruby porter, but I remember it as more of a strong ale, to be honest. Either way, it was a rich, malty brew with a grapefruit-sourness that mellowed as the pint went on… definitely interesting, if perhaps a bit of an acquired taste.

Whitewater Belfast Ale (4.5% abv, draught)
A second pint in the Crown, this time Whitewater’s signature bitter. A rich amber colour, poured a bit on the thin side (although Ed’s pint looked heartier than mine), tasted like a slightly less strident version of the Clotworthy, making it a more drinkable session choice, perhaps.

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen (5.1% abv, bottled)
One of a batch of bottled beers I picked up at the Vineyard off-licence on the Ormeau Road in Belfast while we were in town. This German smokebeer is brewed with smoked-barley malt and it really shows: it smells like a wet barbecue and tastes like smoky bacon crisps (although, I hasten to point out, still in a good way). Definitely an acquired taste and I for one couldn’t drink it in quantity, but I reckon a bottle or two would go very nicely indeed with a good cumberland sausage or some crumbly white cheese.

Harviestoun Old Engine Oil (6.0% abv, bottled)
Another one from The Vineyard, sampled whilst staying with friends in their cottage on the east coast of Northern Ireland. An incredibly rich, smooth porter / stout cross-over with hints of chocolate and caramel. Very potent and very drinkable, this one compared extremely favourably to the Meantime beers I was drinking on the same evening, being just as characterful but not quite as sharp on the palate and I’d definitely grab a couple more bottles if I spotted it again.

St Peter’s Cream Stout (6.5% abv, bottled)
I’ve been on a personal mission to find my perfect stout for a while now and I think this may be a definite contender. And as I’ve just found out from the St Peter’s website that there might be an outlet near me that stocks their beers, I’m hoping to re-visit this one before too long for a full write-up. Short version for now: a rich, huge-flavoured, intensely satisfying stout that delivers a massive hit of liquorice via an incredibly silky-smooth mouth-feel.

Leeds Brewery Leeds Pale Ale (3.8% abv, draught)
Tried this one at the Ackhorne Inn on our most recent visit to York. It’s a very pale ale that turned out to have enough hops for a decent IPA. Hops upon hoped upon hops in fact, resulting in a drop that’s very dry, very sharp and very, very bitter.

Everards Tiger Best Bitter (4.2% abv, draught)
On the same night out in York, we wandered down to the Yorkshire Hussar, where this turned out to be the only ale they had on draught. It also turned out to be a bit of an odd one: very smooth, quite sweet and with an after-taste that I eventually identified as fresh strawberries (I kid ye not). The website claims a ’rounded toffee character’, so perhaps my tastebuds were just mis-firing.

Right then, that’s another twelve to be going on with, I’ll stop there for now. I think I’ve got another dozen or so in the notebook that are worth a quick mention, so I’ll make up a third batch with those sometime this week, time allowing.

I’ve been stocking up on a few tasty ales to sample over the course of this year’s season of goodwill (and, hopefully, good ale) to all and sundry.

Firstly, the BrewDog Paradox Longrow and Paradox Springbank that I ordered the other day arrived this afternoon, along with a couple of very handsome BrewDog pint glasses. So that means I’ll have no fewer than four bottles of head-fucking rocket fuel potentially delicious strong stout to try over the Xmas break, for a start. Which is nice.

Added to that, I’ve got a bottle of Innis & Gunn Triple Matured (which Ed sampled recently), plus one of Wychwood‘s Plum Duff, which apparently isn’t their seasonal beer for December 2008: they have one called Winter’s Troll (see what they did there?) instead, but I haven’t seen any on the shelves of my regular supermarket haunts.

Speaking of beers not being on the shelves, I went looking for Morrissey Fox‘s seasonal ale – or their Best Bitter, which is meant to be a bit tasty – in my local Tesco the other day, but all they had was the blonde ale as usual. (Quick aside: you’d think that, what with all the attention they’d been drumming up for themselves recently, the MoFo boys would have bothered to update their website with something other than the same crappy holding page by now, eh?) Neither have I been able to find any of the Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale 2008 (which Ed also sampled recently).

Anyhow, back to the cupboard. There are a couple more strong ales in there that I’ve been saving for a dreary December day: Greene King’s Abbot Reserve and Morland Old Crafty Hen (also brewed by Greene King, although when I tried to find some official info online, I ended up stuck on their bloody infuriating Old Speckled Hen website) both of which look like they ought to be able to warm my cockles in fairly short order, all being well.

And I’m planning on revisiting Meantime‘s Winter Time in the near future and hope to take a more detailed set of notes than on my first attempt. I will, of course, be letting you know how I get on…

Brewery: Shepherd Neame
Location: Faversham, England
ABV: 7.0%
Version: 330ml bottle
Source: Sainsburys

The shops are decked out with gaudily coloured trees and decorations, and incessantly pumping out really annoying seasonal tunes from their sound systems, so it must be Christmas already. As a bit of respite from all the madness that tends to blossom at this time of year, we can always settle down with a bottle or two of whatever Christmas beer the breweries have unleashed upon on us. I’ve got a couple in already so why wait until the day, I’ll start on them early.

As noted above the bottle I sampled is the 330ml version, packaged in a cardboard presentation box, and not the 500ml boxless bottle I spotted recently in my local Co-Op, but I’m sure it tastes the same. It’s dark amber in colour with a fruity aroma and a touch of caramel and spices. First impressions on tasting were of warm malts and alcohol, with an element of sugary sweetness and just a hint of hops. Some bitterness comes through in the finish. Despite the relatively high alcohol content it’s not overpowering or cloying, coming across quite well balanced. Initially it’s fairly easy drinking, but it soon becomes apparent that it’s really quite heavy and deserves to be taken slowly. A reasonably respectable start to the seasonal ale tasting, I’ll probably pick up the bigger bottle as comparison to see how it fares over a slightly longer tasting session.

Brewery: Shepherd Neame
Location: Faversham, England
ABV: 4.5%
Version: 500ml bottle
Source: Sainsburys

Since autumn is now upon us it seems appropriate to review an autumn ale. Shepherd Neame only release Late Red between September and November, so still a few weeks left to pick up a bottle.

The beer is a rich coppery reddish brown, and gives off a nicely balanced malty, hoppy aroma, with some dark woody notes. Flavour is a pleasant mix of fruity hop bitterness with a bit of malt and a hint of herbs, ending in a slightly dry finish. No idea how they manage it but if ever a beer encapsulated a season, this is it; autumn all the way.

Just when I thought I’d managed to make a few in-roads into the beer cupboard, I nipped into my local Sainsbury’s for the weekly shop to find that, whilst they’ve called time on their summer real ale promotion (incidentally, they were selling off remaining overstocks for £1 a bottle – although they still didn’t have any Copper Dragon 1816…), they’ve also gone and re-vamped their regular range, adding at least ten new beers to the shelves.

I grabbed nine of them (my missus, Jo, was heard to mutter “kid in a sweet shop”, but I mollified her by chucking a few bottles of Guinness original into the trolley as well), leaving a couple of them behind on the grounds that I suspected I’d already tried them.

The new (to me) discoveries were (in no particular order):

• Meantime London Stout
• Wood’s Shropshire Lad Spring Bitter
• Abbot Reserve
• Morland Old Crafty Hen
• Thwaite’s Liberation
• Worthington’s White Shield
• Purity Pure Ubu
• Butcombe Gold
• Shepherd Neame Late Red

And the beer cupboard now (once again) looks a something like this:

The worrying thing is, a new branch of Morrison’s opened up in the area last week, which means there’s going to be a whole new selection for me to browse. I think I’m going to need a bigger cupboard. Or I should just start drinking (and typing) faster…

In a fit of what appears to be sheer optimism (judging by the forecast for the weekend, at least), The Independent ran an article on Monday that featured Roger Protz’s ‘Ten Best Summer Beers’:

• Adnams East Green
• Fuller’s Organic Honey Dew
• Meantime IPA
• Shepherd Neame Whitstable Bay
• Budweiser Budvar
• Duvel
• St Austell Clouded Yellow
• Young’s Kew Gold
• Brakspear Oxford Gold
• Goose Island IPA

I posted tasting notes on the Adnams East Green yesterday and the Kew Gold back at the end of June. I’ve got the Fuller’s Organic Honey Dew lined up next. Tried the Whitstable Bay and Oxford Gold a while back, but I’d need to re-visit before I could comment.

As for the others: Budvar is one of the better-flavoured commercial lagers out there, the Meantime IPA is on sale in our local Tesco’s and Duvel is available pretty much anywhere, so shouldn’t be too hard to track down. The Clouded Yellow I can’t drink (it’s a wheat beer and I have an Intolerance, or an allergy, or something – whatever, wheat is evil and makes me feel like crap after consuming it) and Goose Island is apparently only available in cases of 24 from T’Internets. Hmm.