The long distance aroma is chocolate and cream with a whiff of pungent hop. The taste is dampened by a hint of Utterly Butterly that fades as the beer frees from it’s fridge temperature. It’s tantalisingly fizzy, the perfect carbonisation to hold the flavours, aroma and mouthfeel in one ready-to-go package.

This is one for autumn, equalling adept for curling up with or washing down a seasonal pizza. It’d certainly warm you up after a long autumnal walk, but it’s a strong one though, so best take it slow.

Hibernation slow…

Great Divide Hibernation Ale

Beer information:
Beer: Hibernation Ale
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing
Style: English Style Old Ale
ABV: 8.1%
Country: England

Kentish Dogs Beware!

Late for the autumn sky...

Beers o'Kent for men o'Kent

I found a fine selection in local independent merchant The Wine Room, Tankerton, as unpretentious and thoughtfully-stocked a place as you will come across. First up on this damn-chilly evening was Dogbolter (5.6%) by Gadds Ramsgate. Bottle-conditioned (although hardly a drop of sediment bothered my glass), the Dog was a faithful and nicely dark porter. Deep and nutty, there is a generous hit of roasted peanuts followed by a long bitter aftertaste. Perfect for a night like this when all thoughts of pale ales and lagers are well buried in the past. A good slow burn of a finish made ‘Dog’ a perfect accompaniment to my herby mash and steak dinner (kudos to Mrs B for that). Lovely.

On next was a gorgeous Autumn hop ale Late Red (4.5%) from Shepherd Neame, Faversham. You might struggle to find Late Red as it tends to be limited to Kent pubs and a few stockists (see above). A shame, a real shame as this ale packs a really decent hoppy punch on its first taste, pungent without overstaying the welcome. Late Red is brewed with Goldings which is a staple of Shepherd Neame, and it works. Aftertaste is mellow and sweet and the feeling you’re enjoying something seasonal adds a bit of autumnal luxury.

Finally I came to Whitstable Brewery’s Oyster Stout (4.5%). A small, neat outfit, Whitsable Brewery have in my mind, produced variable results ranging from the excellent Pilsner to the incorrigible Raspberry Wheat Beer (why?). On this occasion I’d chosen well: a fine oyster stout. Less heady than its noisy neighbour Dogbolter (that beer would get an ASBO if it were a hound), this stout has a rich coffee colour and a very well-balanced dark roast flavour. You can really get a taste of the sea, there is a saltiness and a clean crisp aftertaste followed by strong peaty flavours. Not too bogged down with its constituent parts, Oyster Stout was the surprise package of the three.

So get your good selves down here. There might not be much to look at (Margate: birthplace of Tracy Emin’s bed). But what East Kent lacks in artistic merit it more than makes up for in forward-thinking breweries and straight-talking beer.

And if you think this is a gimmick or a joke, I urge you to try it (fingers crossed they do it next year) if only for the experience.

It smells like no beer ever! It’s lemon, currants and cinnamon through and through; it tastes like hot cross buns! There’s a touch of marmalade and spiced orange peel, even that currant character that defines Eccles Cakes, minced pies…and even Banbury Cakes if you’ve ever had the pleasure.

So is the perfect the perfect Spring time beer? Not really, asthis beer would actually better suited to Autumn or Winter,: open fires, conker fights, Christmas markets and roasted chestnuts.

And even if it is a gimmick, it’s one I’ll happily sup again.

Morrisons Hot Cross Ale

Beer information:
Beer: Hot Cross Ale
Brewery: Morrisons Supermarkets/Titanic
Style: style
ABV: 4.5%
Country: England

But Summer Lightning and the US craft revolution have definitely had an impact on the direction of contemporary beer. It’s got paler and it’s got hoppier, right?

Very occasionally I’ll read beer tasting notes waxing lyrical about yeast or malt character, but still the hop talk outweighs the discussion of other ingredients 10 to 1. Hell will freeze over before we see tweets raving about how the mineral content of water affects mouth feel.

Well here’s a beer to shout about, and not because of hops. Co-op Harvest Ale.

This beer is malt! malt!! malt!!! and it’s appropriate that Harvest Ale is associated with the UK’s largest farmer. Barley steals the show, imparting in the conker-coloured liquid sweet caramelised wisps of nut and traces of fertile crop growing soil.

But what’s interesting about Co-op Harvest Ale is that there’s something edgy about it. Behind the obvious cara-malt-offee mask there’s an air of earthy spice provided by the home grown hops and this places it definitively in the section for autumn beers (some beers brewed for autumn get their equinox wires crossed, but this one does not!)

Harvest ale can mean a few things. There are paler examples and more robust, darker examples. Co-op have created the latter and despite chestnut ales not claiming the level of column inches that fashionable styles such as IPA do, this example brewed by Freeminer Brewery is more than worthy of a few words here.

Co-operative ales: underrated

Beer information:
Beer: Harvest Ale
Brewery: Co-operative / Freeminer
Style: Chestnut Ale
ABV: 4.8%
Country: New Forest, England

It went right to the wire but I did manage to drink my beer swap beers just in time to write about them this week. I had two beer swap partners, I was sending to Adam Croft who has written about the two Leeds Brewery bottles I sent him so far, and my sender was a mystery person.

Lovibonds Henley Amber - bitter but refined

My beer swap sender turned out to be a wine blogger, none other than Andrew Barrow aka the Wine Scribbler who is based in South Oxfordshire at the exact opposite end of the county I grew up in.

And judging by the beers, there’s a wealth of brewery action in that area, the four beers coming from parts of shires Oxford, Buckingham and Berk that were close enough to home when I grew up to appear on the local news, but that I’ve never explored before.

First up was Lovibonds Amber Ale, a 3.4% premium pale ale in a 330ml bottle. Light and in a small bottle this seemed like a sensible start on a school night and was served up just after tea. I was a bit bunged up with cold when I tasted this earlier in the week so I’m not sure I got a lot from the aroma but it smelt slightly fruity and fresh, but the first sip smacked with bitterness

Rebellion Red is autumnal and possibly good with fish and chips?!

Deeper in fruity, citrus notes combined with a honey sweetness to make a bittersweet amber ale with an orangey tang – the colour was like red oranges when held up to the light. This made a relatively refreshing beer whilst being malty enough to leave me needing another sip to wash the last one down.

I plumped for the Rebellion Red next, another amber ale from the Rebellion Brewery who make their beer on a farm in Marlow, Bucks. It smelt brown and leafy and the taste was initially mostly of malt. There was something not quite roasty to it, not quite nutty, what I think can only be described as chestnuts. A bit of oxygen brings out sticky fruit and caramel undertones and a good swill adds extra depth, flavour and texture. I’ve no idea why but I had craving for fish and chips when I had this beer so I will try it with a big plate from Hillycroft fisheries next time.

It’s very easy to describe beers like these as autumnal, but it’s a trap I’m not scared to fall into as it hits the nail on the head for me.

Butts Blackguard Porter

The next night I started with Butts Blackguard Porter. Butts brew all organic ales from their farm near Hungerford, something I can only commend. Blackguard Porter (pronounced “blaggard”) is a liquorice scented porter with a roasted, buttery taste. Bertie Bassetts swim in a slightly lively sea of chocolate and cocoa paste which gives an even carbonisation in my mouth. It fizzed when I swilled and the dark liquid opened up producing sweet chocolate aromas. Double cream and brandy would suit this beer and I reckon it’s one to try again at Christmas.

Oxfordshire Marshmellow is a spicy, piney, sticky affair - fantastic!

Last on the beer swap menu was Oxfordshire Ales Marshmellow, the only one of these beers I’d come across before thanks to its distribution through the Booths supermarket chain. I didn’t remember anything other than a belief that this beer was quirky, and raising the glass to my nose the thick and sticky seedy aroma reminded me why. Red woodland berries and currants filled the nose and I expected the complexion to be red and clay-like rather than amber.

The taste is maltier with hints of toffee, spice and wild berries – it’s interesting and nice to drink if possibly not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s like BrewDog’s Dogma after rehab, mellowed and much easier to handle.

As Sam discussed in our first beer swap review, I wonder if the beers might tell you something about the person sending them (after deep self evaluation I think the beers I sent as part of beer swap strangely do reflect my personality despite not necessarily representing my favourite tipples). Or is any personality likely to be skewed by the selection being limited to local beers (which may not necessarily say a lot about you?

I don’t want to make any assumptions (especially as Andrew probably drinks a good bit more wine than beer by looking at his wine blog!)so I’ll just say a big thank you for the beers and bring on Beer Swap Round 2!

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.