-
Nick Stafford’s Hambleton Ales Taylors Tipple
November 6th, 2009Beer Reviews, Traditional Ale- Sainsbury’s Beer Competition: The Finalists
- Woods Shropshire Lass
- Birds & Bees by William Brothers Brewing Co
- Hardcore IPA by BrewDog
- Bath Ales Golden Hare
- Ceilidh Lager by Williams Bros
- Bays Breaker
- Williams Bros 80/-
- O’Hanlon’s Yellow Hammer
- Bretwalda by Greene King
- Nick Stafford’s Hambleton Ales Taylors Tipple
- Wolf Whistle and Woild Moild, by Wolf Brewery
- BrewDog’s Dogma and the BrewDog dogma
- Allgates Porteresque and The Moleskine Affair
- Chaos Theory and the Complexity of Life (and Brewing)
- The Winners: Sainsbury’s Beer Competition
One of the biggest sellers at this years Sainsbury’s Beer Competition, I’d heard lots about Hambleton Ales’ beers before I picked this up. The North Yorkshire brewery has won a smattering of awards in its short history but I don’t think it’s gained the visibility in pubs and stores.Not endowed with huge aroma, Taylor’s Tipple poured with a frothy head which quickly subsided leaving a (very) delicate zesty scent. The first sip was subtly roasted and malty. Blink and you’ll miss ‘em hints of berries when it first hit my tongue were replaced with an autumnal feel, no doubt down to its lovely bitterness and it’s chestnut colour. I wonder if there’s a bit of caramel malt too that added a slightly sweet undercurrent to the proceedings?
Sainsbury’s claim this has a wonderful citrus aroma, but I just didn’t get it. Duff bottle perhaps but this ale’s strengths seemed to be it’s chestnut character and superbly drinkable texture.
I think I’ll need to give this another go because one bottle was a little indistinct. It is light and enjoyable, a beer that’s probably perfect for a day spent diving into piles of autumn leaves and drying off in front of a fire.
Beer reviews and words like this
- Wolf Whistle and Woild Moild, by Wolf Brewery Wof Whistle and Woild Moild are a red ale and dark ruby beer from the Wolf Brewery in Norfolk. These beers are well worth a look though, not least for Wolf's attitude as...
3 Responses to “Nick Stafford’s Hambleton Ales Taylors Tipple”
-
Alan Walsh
What do you think of the branding…I’m not sure I like the labels of this brewery…doesn’t sing out real ale to me, there’s something a little bit too clean and fashionable about them. Remind me of the labels of new world wines. If other people view them in the same way it might explain their taking off in the supermarkets with (no offence intended) their appealing to Sainsbury’s Dads who were drinking Australian Shiraz a few years ago and have migrated to ales but not appealing to the avant garde out and about in bars and clubs?
What do you think?
(Quote)[Reply]
-
-
FletchtheMonkey
I think they are designed well for the target audience. In fact, this one was one of the top sellers in the 3 weeks or so it was listed in Sainsbury’s as a finalist.
In that time frame I think a good label is essential for actually winning the competition (it’s based on sales), I’m not sure enough people would come back to repurchase to make enjoyment of the beer the largest factor in how many it sold.
(Quote)[Reply]
Leave a Reply
Follow our beer tweets!- @jeffpickthall is there a prize for renaming @woolpackdave? and @WoolpackAnn too!
- Our favourite photo of Leeds at the moment http://flic.kr/p/7K7Brz is this cracker from @sovietuk
- sorry, i just can't deal with it all alone! i'm off to escape and get my unruly hair cut by jonny howson's auntie
- Powered byWordPress Twitter Widget Pro
