I've been on the lookout for Nettle Beer for quite some time, it is really hard to get hold of as it is only brewed once per year in the Spring. It is an amazing light golden amber colour and strangely aromatic.
There is a slight floral or honey aroma on pouring, I can't quite describe it as it is something I have never smelt before. It's almost like sugar coated cut grass; really unusual and distinctive. I would go so far as to say that it smells green, hilariously reminding me of Percy in Blackadder when he invents the gem called 'green'.
There is not a great head on it and it virtually disappears before I can get the glass to my lips. So on to the taste...at first I would say it doesn't have a lot of taste but then I'm hit with smooth honey tones and the taste of 'green'. It's so refreshing and slightly sweet that I think that if I had a blind taste test, I would find it hard to decide whether it was a very unsweet cider, a slightly sweet ale or a cider/ale mix of both.
Based on a 14th century recipe and only brewed once per year, this is the holy grail for beer lovers. Everyone should try Nettle Beer at least once - it's so unusual and, with a different taste in every mouthful, so difficult to describe that I know Ale be Seeing You Again!
Brewed by High House Farm, Northumberland
4.5% ABV