Harviestoun Old Engine Oil

 

I've wanted to try Harviestoun's Old Engine Oil for quite a while and I'm pleased to say that it did not disappoint.

It's a lovely velvety black coloured ale with a tight tan head that hardly budges.  It has a mouthwateringly sweet aroma with notes of malt and treacle and I couldn't wait to dive in for a taste.

Roasted malt and sweet treacle combine to produce a well-balanced ale.  Hints of chocolate add a tang of bitterness to the finish.  It's medium bodied and softly carbonated to give a velvety smooth mouthfeel.

It's a dark and delicious ale so it's a bit disappointing that it's only in a 330ml bottle.  I loved the roasted flavour and the chocolate finish is sublime.  I think it's well labelled as a 'Black Ale' as it feels like it's not quite a stout and not quite a porter, but a mighty fine black ale.  I loved it and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Harviestoun Brewery, Alva, Scotland
6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Harviestoun Brewery

Cassels New Zealand Milk Stout

I picked up this little beauty for 99p in Home Bargains and what a bargain it is!  I was gutted (but completely unsurprised) that they'd sold out when I went back for more.

Popping the lid off this 328ml bottle produces the most mouthwatering aroma of malt, chocolate, coffee and a hint of dried fruit.  It's a beautiful black velvet colour but it has a very rapidly disappearing beige head that rather disappointingly doesn't even leave a single bubble behind.  Appearances can be deceptive though, so on to the taste...

This is delicious!  Complex flavours of chocolate, malt, roasted coffee and liquorice results in a different taste in every sip.  The balance is tipped towards sweet and there's a lovely sweetness that lingers on the tongue - it's right up my street with me being sweet-toothed.  It has a medium body and carbonation is quite low but firm and I could feel little sugary bubbles bursting on my tongue.

I can see why this was voted number 1 in its category in the 2020 World Beer Awards and I'll be keeping my eyes peeled to see if Home Bargains get this in again.  Make sure you grab one if you can!  Ale Be Seeing You again (hopefully).

Brewed by Cassels Brewery, New Zealand
5.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Cassels Brewery

Camerons A-hop-alypse Now

 

I haven't had a Camerons beer I didn't like and A-hop-alypse Now is no exception.  Just look at the beautiful golden amber colour of this golden ale!  It has a little bit of sediment in the bottle so I poured carefully to get a lovely clear beer.  The cream coloured head is very tight and it provides a good, robust layer of creamy bubbles.  It's an impressive sight and gets full marks for appearance.

It smells amazing; predominantly hoppy but with undertones of orange citrus and sweet malts.  I couldn't wait to dive in for a taste.  It doesn't have a strong taste but there's a plethora of flavours coming through: orange marmalade, buttery toast, smooth caramel, sweet malts and a hint of citrus.

Soft carbonation gives a smooth mouthfeel although it feels a little thin in body, but that's nothing unusual for a golden ale.  The head lasts and laces right until the very last drop too so this beer really does tick all the boxes for a quality pint.

A-hop-alypse Now is a stunning golden ale and it's well worth grabbing a couple from your local supermarket when they have this in stock.  I'll certainly be getting more and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Camerons Brewery, Hartlepool, Co. Durham
4.3% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Camerons Brewery

Otter Brewery Otter Ale

 

I have never had a bad Otter Brewery beer and Otter Ale is no exception.  Just look at how beautiful Otter Ale is.  It's a vibrant amber colour with a loose, frothy cream coloured head; although the head doesn't last long, leaving a thin, patchy layer.

It has a very traditional beery smell of hops, caramel, dark fruits, malt and a hint of spice.  The caramel and dark fruits give the aroma a more sweet than bitter balance.  It's so deliciously malty that I couldn't wait to have a sip.

What a fabulously balanced flavour!  It is very malty with a burnt caramel taste and a dry and bitter finish.  The bitterness is only slightly citrus flavoured so it's not overpowering at all.  I also got some warming spices coming through as the flavour developed.  Mouthfeel is distinctly average with a medium body and medium carbonation.

With the warm, spicy notes it reminded me of a winter ale so you just need a cold night and a roaring fire to get the best out of Otter Ale.  I loved it so Ale Be Seeing You all year round.

Brewed by Otter Brewery, Devon
4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Otter Brewery

Morland Old Golden Hen

You can't really go wrong with Morland's (now Greene King) Hen range so I thought I'd give award winning Old Golden Hen a try.  Just look at that beautiful golden pint - it's like sunshine in a glass!  It's a deep golden beer with a loose, frothy cream coloured head.  The head doesn't last long, although what is there does cling to the side of the glass.

The aroma is very hoppy with hints of tropical fruit, along with some malty biscuit and caramel once it settles in the glass.  It's so hoppy at first that the aroma wafts out of the bottle as soon as it is opened.

Unsurprisingly, with such a strong hoppy aroma, it tastes deliciously hoppy with a hint of fruit drizzled with caramel.  It's very crisp dry and refreshing with medium body and an abundance of hop filled bubbles that fizz around your mouth with each sip.

Although I felt like I should be enjoying it in a beer garden on a sunny day, it can also bring the sunshine indoors on a grey day.  Old Golden Hen is a lovely golden beer that Ale Be Seeing again.

Brewed by Morland Brewing, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
4.1% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Morland Brewing

Otter Bitter

Otter Bitter is a beautiful light amber traditional looking bitter with a small, loose off-white head.  I was a bit disappointed that the head disappeared so quickly giving the beer a flat appearance but what it lacks in appearance, it certainly makes up in the aroma and flavour.

There's a mouth-watering aroma of malt and fruit, particularly juicy ripe apples, with a slight metallic tang as you would expect from a bitter.  It's quite light at 3.6% so I wasn't surprised to find that the initial flavour is not overly strong, but I tasted toffee and biscuit followed by a slight bitter aftertaste.  Although the taste is quite subtle at first it seems to develop with every mouthful and the delicious bitterness really takes over.

It's a beautifully smooth bitter; medium bodied with soft carbonation which somehow manages to produce a sherbet-like fizz on the tongue.  I found myself enjoying it more and more and was quite disappointed to drink the final drop, especially when I'd only bought the one bottle.

Otter Bitter is a very pleasant traditional English bitter and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Otter Brewery, Devon
3.6% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Otter Brewery

Timothy Taylor Landlord

Timothy Taylor's award winning Landlord is often referred to as the drinkers' favourite and having now tried it for myself it's easy to see why.  

This deep golden ale pours crystal clear with a loose frothy cream coloured head that slowly disappears but clings on for as long as it can.  It has a mouthwatering aroma of caramel, malt and hops with a hint of floral herbals.  The taste is absolutely unbelievable; nothing like citrussy pale ales I'm used to but a more rounded caramel malty version.  Imagine toast dripping with butter, a malted milk biscuit followed by a segment of orange to add a bit of bitterness, and it's something like what I tasted in Landlord.

It's full bodied and very nicely carbonated to tickle the tongue as if you've had an orange sherbet sweet.  Perfectly blended to be dry and sweet with a lovely bitter aftertaste, this is pale ale Yorkshire style and it's a huge thumbs up from me.

Landlord feels like a cross between a pale ale and a bitter which puts it on my drink again list and is one Ale Be Seeing Again.

Brewed by Timothy Taylor, West Yorkshire
4.1% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Timothy Taylor

Adnams Lighthouse

Oh this gets top marks for beauty: a light amber, toffee coloured ale with a perfect creamy head, but will it taste as good as it looks?

It has a very hoppy aroma and smelling predominantly sour and metallic, it doesn't really smell very appetising but on to the taste...

The blend of malt and hops makes this a crisp, dry and refreshing ale; I was surprised that I didn't pick up any metallic taste with it featuring so much in the aroma.  It's quite fizzy and a little oily in the mouth with a subtle citrus bitterness in the aftertaste.

With just enough malts scraping through to make it quite an enjoyable bitter but, at a paltry 3.4% ABV, it wouldn't be one I would necessarily recommend to bitter lovers, however, I think it would be a perfect crisp, refreshing and thirst quenching drink on a summer's day more suited to pale ale fans.

Brewed by Adnams, Suffolk

3.4% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Adnams

Wadworth 6X

Just my kind of colour!  A beautiful dark copper coloured amber ale with a thick frothy cream head that, despite first appearances, disappears to a thin layer.  It has a mouthwatering aroma of fruit and sweet malts with a slight hint of hops so I couldn't wait to dive in.

I was certainly not disappointed as the sublime malty flavour exploded on my tongue.  The bitterness of the hops is perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the malts, which left a very pleasant sweet aftertaste.  The carbonation is perfect for an amber ale with gentle bubbles giving a very smooth feel as it slips down far too easily.

Wadworth 6X really surprised me; I think I was perhaps a little guilty of judging a book by its cover as the label did nothing to entice me.  6X can be perfectly described by 2 idioms (is it just me that thinks of the 2 silly bulls moment in Blackadder whenever I think of grammatical nouns?).  Anyway, the two very apt idioms I was thinking of are: appearances can be deceptive and it's what's inside that counts.

Ale be delighted to see Wadworth 6X again!

Brewed by Wadworth Brewery, Wiltshire

4.3% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Wadworth Brewery

Wickwar Bob

A beer called, Bob!  I saw this in B&M Bargains and had to have it as my mouth was watering once I'd seen the beautiful molten toffee amber colour.  It is crystal clear with a small loose beige head and has an aroma of traditional old-fashioned beer: hops, metallic bitter and slightly sweet.  It actually reminded me of the smell of Stones.

What a surprising taste!  It is not metallic at all but is more dry and refreshing with flavours of malt biscuit and sweet toffee.  Despite the rapid loss of the head, it is surprisingly well carbonated.

I really liked Bob, it is a very moreish beer with a pleasant sweet aftertaste that counteracts the initial bitterness.  Ale Be Seeing You Again!

Brewed by Wickwar Wessex Brewing Company, Gloucestershire
4.0% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Wickwar Brewing

Hogs Back T.E.A.

I can't start my day without a nice cup of tea, so a beer named TEA feels like it was made just for me.  In this case TEA stands for Traditional English Ale, aka bitter.  It's even the beautiful russet/deep amber colour of a good cuppa, but I'm not a fan of cold tea so I'm hoping that's the only similarity.  There's a thin tight beige head that laces beautifully and a delicious aroma of sweet malts tinged with copper coins.

As refreshing as my morning cup of tea, Hogs Back T.E.A. is a smooth, malty, fruity bitter with hints of caramel and a dry finish.  There is no metallic aftertaste that you often get with bitters, making it very palatable indeed.  I'll definitely be looking out for more fantastic brews from Hogs Back.

As an all round bitter person 😉, Hogs Back T.E.A. is most definitely my cup of tea and Ale Be Seeing You Again!

Brewed by Hogs Back Brewery, Surrey

4.2% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Hogs Back Brewery Co

Bath Ales Dark Side

Time to head over to the dark side.  As black as Darth Vader's helmet, this stout from Bath Ales has a delicious aroma of dark chocolate, treacle and liquorice on opening.  The dark beige head is quite small and loose so rather disappointingly it doesn't last long and leaves no lacing on the glass.

It has an absolutely perfect intense malty flavour that left my mouth watering, followed by a fruity burst and a coffee aftertaste.  It is very fizzy, with harsh coke-like bubbles, but is a very nice experience when the dark chocolate bitter bubbles burst all over your tongue.

All beer drinkers are going to compare every stout with Guinness and none will every match up to the perfection that is the black stuff but, drinking this without comparison, it's a very nice stout indeed.

Brewed by Bath Ales, Bristol
4.0% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Bath Ales

Allendale Black Grouse

This deliciously dark porter smells amazing with aromas of treacle, chocolate and coffee and a slight smokiness due to being brewed with oak chips.  The loose beige head disappears very quickly, so don't blink or you'll miss it, and it leaves you with a glass of something that resembles coke but the mouthwatering taste definitely compensates for the lack of head.

The mouthfeel is quite an experience as you start to taste treacle and liquorice whilst dark chocolate bubbles stroke and lightly tickle your tongue before bursting in a mini chocolate explosion.  It's so delicious that it goes down far too easily and would be a perfect drink on a cold winter's night sitting beside the fire with a good book.

I love the strong treacle and liquorice toffee taste, it has a bit of a fruity sweetness at first closely followed by a bitter chocolate aftertaste.  There is also a hint of flavour that reminded me of whiskies brewed in sherrywood casks, so don't be put off by the description of this ale being brewed with oak chips.  The flavours are perfectly balanced, making Black Grouse a top notch porter and Ale Be Seeing You Again!

Brewed by Allendale Brewery, Northumberland

4% ABV

My rating:

Find out more from Allendale Brewery

Adnams Southwold Bitter

This is a lovely dark copper ale with a hint of delicious ruby red.  There is a light, loose frothy head that disappears quite quickly although does leave a thin layer to give a bit of lacing on the glass.

It smells very malty with a slightly sweet fruity aroma, reminiscent of a thick buttered slice of malt loaf.  The aroma is very subtle so it doesn't influence the taste experience.

Southwold is actually a really nice bitter; there is no hint at all of copper coins and it has the perfect amount of maltiness for me.  It has a very smooth appearance but is filled with citrus metallic bubbles that race over your tongue to remind you that it's a bitter.

A classic bitter without any citrus or metallic overkill, ensuring that it will be a repeat purchase on my beery shopping list so Ale Be Seeing You Again!

Brewed by Adnams, Suffolk

4.1% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Adnams Brewery

Butcombe Gold Bitter

With a deep golden hue, I could tell straight away that this wasn't a traditional bitter.  With such a fruity and hoppy smell, I knew I was in for something a little bit different.

It pours with quite a small head but what is there doesn't disappear.  It has a surprisingly dry, crisp taste with a hint of a bitter citrus aftertaste.  It's very fizzy but so refreshing that I could see myself drinking this on a sunny day.  It's an unusual mix in between a bitter and a golden ale, but I liked it, although I still prefer the original Butcombe Bitter.

Brewed by Butcombe Brewery, Bristol

4.4% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Butcombe Brewery

Camerons Strongarm

I think it is time for a treat so I picked a ruby red ale for today.  This looks like an absolutely stunning ruby ale, it is a deep shiny mahogany colour with a thick beige head.  There is a lovely malty aroma and a sweet treacle smell so I couldn't wait to dive in for a taste.

Strongarm tastes like sweet malt loaf coated in thick black treacle.  It has a smooth consistency and feels slightly thin but the taste is something else.  It is an outstanding taste experience as sweetness battles with bitterness leaving an explosion of treacle and malt in your mouth.  It is so delicious that  Ale Be Seeing You Again!

Brewed by Camerons Brewery, Hartlepool

4.3% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Camerons Brewery

Allendale Wagtail

Wagtail is a superb amber colour, the traditional colour you'd expect for a bitter.  It smells unusually of oranges and some kind of sweet spice.  It pours with only a small creamy coloured head which leaves a thin layer as it disappears.  What remains does leave a slight lacing on the glass and a quick swirl creates a bit more foam.

It has a very unusual taste and there is no hint of the metallic taste you often get with bitters, instead it has a slightly sweet toffee taste with a spicy citrus aftertaste.  It is definitely more of an orange than lemon or grapefruit flavour, leaving a very pleasant taste on the tongue.

Wagtail is an impressive local bitter that I purchased in a mixed pack from the lovely folk at Best of British Beer.  Ale Be Seeing it Again.

Brewed by Allendale Brewery, Northumberland

3.8% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Allendale Brewery

Wells Waggle Dance

I absolutely love the stripey label on Waggle Dance and think it's especially clever to include the W as part of the bee's wing.  I really must applaud Wells for their ability to take unusual ingredients and add them to beer.  Some beers claim to have honey in them but the taste is so subtle as to be almost non-existent but Wells leave no room for doubt - their beer tastes exactly as they claim on the label.

I was really surprised to get such a hoppy aroma on opening as I thought the honey would have been the dominant smell.  It's a beautiful deep golden, almost light amber, colour with a creamy off-white head and I couldn't wait to get stuck in.

Wow!  What a taste explosion!  There is no doubt that honey is in this ale.  As the liquid rolls across your tongue you get the unmistakable taste of fresh golden honey, without being too overpowering to confuse your taste buds into thinking you're not having a pint of beer.

It's absolutely sublime and brewed to perfection.   Ale definitely be Seeing You Again!

Brewed by Charles Wells, Bedford

5% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Wells

Hogs Back Hop Garden Gold

This is a lovely deep golden/light copper colour, but it pours a little cloudy with a very thin head that disappears quickly, leaving a pint resembling cider.

It has a slightly hoppy smell with a very strong, but not unpleasant, grapefruit bitter aftertaste.  I would say that this is a summer ale, to drink while the sun is shining, as I felt like I could taste the sunshine in every mouthful.

Brewed by Hogs Back Brewery Co, Farnham, Surrey

4.4% ABV

Find out more at Hogs Back Brewery Co

My rating:

Adnams Suffolk Bitter

This smells of fruit and weirdly of cut grass on opening - it certainly smells very fresh and appetising.  A lovely hoppy aroma is added to the mix on pouring.  It has a nice creamy head and is a mouthwatering dark amber colour.

It has a lovely smooth taste and no hint of metallic aftertaste, as you often experience with bitter.  The taste is quite complex, certainly malty with slight notes of burnt toffee and underlying fruit.   Overall it is a top bitter and I can say for definite, as I've now had 3 of them, that Ale Be Seeing You Again!

I managed to get them for half price in Marks & Spencer as they were approaching best before date, so they were an absolute steal at £1.20 a bottle.

Brewed by Adnams Brewery, Southwold, Suffolk for Marks & Spencer

5.2% ABV

Find out more about Suffolk Bitter at M&S here

Find out more about Adnams here

My rating: