1849 Champion Ale by Joseph Holts

Despite hailing from the ‘wrong side’ of the Pennines (a distinction I realise is entirely subjective and I say with the greatest of affection and genial banter!), the eponymous Joseph Holt of Manchester and his descendents have created a number of really good quality ales over the years, and 1849 Champion Ale is one of the brewery’s most readily available ales.

Hints of fruit jostle amongst the hops that dominate this ale. It has a darkish complexion in taste and colour, which make for a complex but thoroughly enjoyable drink, worthy of it’s ‘Champion’ title.

Traditional ales that really hit the spot can be hard amongst the myriad real ales in some supermarkets (not a bad thing but a good sign of how real ale now commands decent shelf space in the big four chains). If you live outside the North West & The Lakes you may have to go a little further out of your way to find Joseph Holt’s bottles though, as if I remember rightly this was a frugal purchase from Booth’s in Ilkley.

A very rewarding bottle, from a brewery that deserves greater recognition than it probably gets, at least outside of the Greater Manchester area. We’d be very proud of such a brewery in Yorkshire!

Right it was day two of the Super 8′s yesterday in the Twenty20 World cup and England took a good old tonking off the Saffers. Let’s see if we could get our own back by pitting one of own nation’s fine ales against the Cape shandy that Smithy and his boys will have been sitting down to last night.

South African – Castle Lager, 5.0% abv

In to bat first is the South African opener. I had mine ice cold, just how I like my lagers on a warm day, but have to admit that it hasn’t really kept it’s cool under the pressure out in the middle. I like the fact that it was flavoursome and malty for a lager, justifying it’s premium tag. It was, however, a little disappointing in terms of texture. Oddly, because I usually find lager too fizzy, this feels strangely flat in the mouth.

Score (out of 20) – Good opening partnership but a disappointing middle order – 8

Blighty – Extra Special ASDA Golden Ale, 4.5% abv

I purchased this beer in advance, hoping the weather would respect the cricket and allow me a clear crisp evening outside on the patio. It did not. Having said that, the beer is actually maltier that it’s golden appearance suggests and, while it is by no means heavy or dark, it has a sturdier backbone than I was expecting. I would therefore say that it is probably more suited to a crisp springtime evening than the strong midday sun.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with this ale and I expect that it is widely, and relatively cheaply, available through ASDA supermarkets. Certainly it is worth a taste to see if you agree with my opinion that, while it does not have the sweetness and finesse required to find itself on any shortlists for great golden ales, it grinds out a solid win for the English code of the game.

Score (out of 20) – consistently above average throughout without shining, ground out the win – 14

St. Austell Brewery’s Tribute Ale, 4 .2% abv

I was not immediately taken with this ale and must admit that it was only after I was through two thirds of the bottle that I really began enjoying it. The flavour juxtaposes a lighter, almost citrus, initial flavour with a duller more full bodied aftertaste.

This combination works really well and blurs into a moderate overall taste that is really very pleasing. I found myself glugging at the bottle and, from only being a third of the way down it a when I started taking notes, within a few lines of typing it was nearly all gone, testament in itself.

I suggest you try this beer with a nice chunky handmade beefburger, homemade coleslaw and chunky chips.

When I’m out socialising with companions who are satisfied with just
about any golden, fizzy liquid they can get their hands on, one of the
few real ales they have actually heard of is Timothy Taylor’s Landlord.

In bottle form, the jolly barman on the label is recognisable from
many a cask pump. So does it live up to it’s cousin from the barrel?

The dark amber colour is certainly inviting and the ale produces a
lively head straight away. Freshly poured, the aroma certainly
imitates the warm, malty scent of the cask equivalent.

Once in the mouth, it’s surprising how smooth it feels for a bottled
ale, with only the slightest of carbonising sensations on the tongue.

The first taste reflects the malty aroma with the slightest of toffee
in the mouth, with a strong, burnt aftertaste that lingers for the
remainder of the glass. I have to say, I don’t recall this particular
flavour from the last time I had Landlord in the pub and, at first, I thought
it might detract from the potential to be a good session beer. By the end
of the bottle however, I could certainly have managed another couple -
the sign of a winning ale for me.

Comparing a bottled to a cask version of the same beer is something I
don’t always find easy to do, as each method can produce a very
different pint, some better in the bottle, some in the cask. Landlord
tastes slightly heavier and the aftertaste is certainly more
overpowering in the variety I have tried here, but this doesn’t make
it any less of a drink.

Realistically, I didn’t expect it to meet the high standard set by a
pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord in a traditional pub setting, but I
didn’t anticipate that it would produce such a drinkable bottled beer
in it’s own right.

Timothy Taylor Landlord

Hook Norton Brewery’s Old Hooky – 4,6%abv

Following on from last night’s review of Hook Norton Brewery I thought it important to get a review of one of their beers up as soon as possible. Old Hooky is the flagship of Hook Norton Brewery around the country being widely available in many supermarkets as well as most good wine/beer merchants. The very bottle I am drinking was sourced in Morley from ASDA and was on their 3 bottles for £4.00 mix and match deal.

As an aside me and the monkey boy, when we first moved to Morley, experimented with buying every bottle of Old Hooky on the shelf in ASDA whenever we went. Within a month we had a range of five different Hook Norton beers available (More than most shops in Oxfordshire) right here in Yorkshire. Unfortunately the levels of consumption required to continue this selection proved unsustainable.

Right – back to the beer. Old Hooky is not the light, paler type of ale that I typically favour but is one of the beers that I drink most often. This is largely because it’s the most widely available offering from my favourite brewery, but also because it’s a bit of an anomaly in that it’s full bodied, darker flavoured and yet not at all heavy.

Hook Norton advertises this as a ‘fruity’ beer and it is, but not in the light citrus way I think of when I hear that phrase. It comes across dark and fruity like my Nan’s Christmas cake, reminding me of treacle rather than golden syrup, yet slips down just as easy as summer or pale ales. I would recommend trying this beer with a nice steak or a beef stew as it has the body to compete with the meat but will not fill you up and leave you embarrassed with half a plateful of leftovers.

I give this beer to a great many friends as a taster from home and it is always well received with many friends asking me to bring other Hooky varieties up for them to try. For this reason, and because of it’s wide availability and low price in ASDA, I have to rate this as one of the best beers available in Britain today.

We'll tidy up the artwork but for now you get the idea of what it looks like for when you're in ASDA