Brass Castle Gayle

 

Gayle craft ale is a very easy drinking ale that reminded me more of an IPA than a golden ale.  It was created to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and it’s brewed using an Australian recipe by Brass Castle Brewery in Malton, North Yorkshire.

It’s bright golden in colour with a slight haze to it as there was a bit of sediment in the can.  The off-white head holds well and laces the glass.  It smells very fruity with notes of citrus and tropical fruit over a base of caramel, biscuit and malt.

The taste is lightly fruity, like lemon and passionfruit squash, with some sweet notes of caramel, malt and a tang of hops.  There is a slight bitterness to the finish but there’s nothing at all bitter about the taste.  It’s nicely carbonated to give a good tickle of the tongue and it has a thin but not watery body.  ABV is a decent 4.5%.

It’s a very refreshing, vivacious beer that I really enjoyed.  It scored a very respectable 38/50 on my beer score sheet and it’s one I would happily recommend, especially to anyone new to real ale.  Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Brass Castle Brewery, Malton, North Yorkshire
4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at Gayle

Twickenham Red Rye IPA

  

Brewed for Aldi by Twickenham Brewery this is a lovely deep amber coloured ale with a small, tight beige head.  There might not be much of a head but it stays really tight and laces the glass.

It has a bit of a strange aroma; it's definitely malty but it almost has a hint of sour cherries mixed in with the underlying aroma of citrus and hops.  I found the flavour equally odd; roasted malt and caramel with a bitter citrus and spicy rye aftertaste.  The whole effect is quite understated really and I felt like I had to hunt for the flavours.  It's also quite harshly carbonated with a thin body and feels a little oily on the tongue.

This is a beer that looks a lot better than it tastes.  I didn't like the lingering aftertaste of citrus and rye and felt like I needed to brush my teeth in between sips.  Unfortunately, Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Twickenham Brewery, London for Aldi 
4.7% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 2.75/5

Find out more at Twickenham 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

Original Stormtrooper Galactic Pale Ale

May the force be with you

My second beer review for Star Wars Day is this Galactic Pale Ale from The Original Stormtrooper.  I bought this one from the amazing House of Trembling madness in York before I picked up the gift pack with glass from B&M.

This pale ale pours a traditional deep golden yellow colour with a tight off-white head.  The head holds surprisingly well for a while before dispersing to a thin foam.  The aroma isn't terribly strong but it is mainly hops, biscuit and straw with a hint of orange citrus and honey.

Moving on to the taste which disappointingly isn't that strong either.  I could only really taste hops and honey before getting a dry and bitter aftertaste.  A weak taste coupled with soft carbonation and a thin almost watery body meant it wasn't an out of this world experience at all.  It took me a while to drink it and I found that the flavour does develop slightly over time into more of a bitter which I liked.

I honestly thought I would have preferred the Galactic Pale Ale to the Lightspeed Pilsner but the pale ale was just a bit too weak on flavour for me.  Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad beer but it only just scrapes a 4 pint rating, sitting right on the fence with a score of 3.5 out of 5.

Brewed by St Peter's Brewery, Suffolk
4.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5

Find out more at The Original Stormtrooper

Original Stormtrooper Lightspeed Pilsner

It's the 4th of May so Happy Star Wars Day!  I really couldn't have found a better beer to review today than The Original Stormtrooper beers from St Peter's Brewery so I'm posting not just one but two reviews today!  I bought the Lightspeed Pilsner in a gift pack with a glass for £5.99 from B&M in December 2019 but you can also buy glasses and gift packs direct from Original Stormtrooper for the Star Wars fan in your life!  Just click here to take a look.

May the force be with you

Gift set from B&M

As I'm a fan of ale from the dark side, I haven't really experienced a lot of pilsner, however, this Lightspeed Pilsner more than exceeded my expectations.  It is a deep golden yellow colour with a frothy and surprisingly robust cream coloured head.  The aroma is deliciously hoppy and smells strongly of sweet stone fruits with a hint of citrus.

For a pilsner, it is surprisingly flavourful; a lovely blend of malt and hops is evident in the taste along with a grassy and sweet fruit flavour.  I didn't really get any hints of sweetcorn that was mentioned on the label but it may have mixed in with the sweet stone fruits I could taste.  The initial blast of flavour is then followed by a delicious crisp and dry bitter finish.

With medium carbonation and medium body, it's a very refreshing beer.  It most certainly lives up to it's  description of 'lager with a twist'.  It's been years since I've had a lager but the addition of fabulous bitterness pushes this more into the ale category for me.  This could definitely bring a lager drinker over to the dark side of real ale. 

I would definitely have this again, especially as a light refreshment on a sunny day, so Lightspeed Pilsner Ale Be Seeing You Again!

Brewed by St Peters Brewery, Suffolk

4.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75

Find out more at The Original Stormtrooper

Adnams Dry Hopped Lager

A light straw yellow lager with an almost non-existent head.  It has a lovely fruity pineapple aroma and lots of hops.  It tastes so light and refreshing and it's definitely on the dry side - I almost felt as if it needed a squirt of lime to give it a bit of sweetness and some flavour.

It is different from standard lagers, although it feels quite thin and watery in consistency. It has a slightly sour and bitter taste but is so crisp that it's definitely well labelled as 'DRY'.   Despite the lava lamp appearance, it is surprisingly lightly carbonated and would be a perfect thirst quencher on a sunny day, should we ever get one in the North East of England.

Brewed by Adnams, Southwold, Suffolk
4.2% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Adnams

Allendale APA

Allendale Pale Ale is certainly something a little bit different for IPA drinkers.  It is a lovely deep golden ale, although slightly cloudy, with a very fine head that unfortunately doesn't last very long.  It smells very hoppy but also of tropical fruit.

It's reasonably fizzy so I was surprised the head disappeared so quickly.  As you know, I'm not a huge fan of pale ales but this isn't bad at all as it's more on the grapefruit side of bitterness than the usual lemon.  APA is an easy drinking, refreshing pale ale that would be a perfect drink on a sunny day.

Brewed by Allendale Brewery, Northumberland

5.5% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Allendale Brewery

Allendale GFPA

I could see a bit of sediment in the bottle so I poured it slowly and carefully, although I got a bit of cloudiness in the pour.  It smells very strongly of citrus with a hint of hops.

The head disappears quite quickly but it does leave a bit of lacing on the glass.  Pale ales aren't my favourite but this is very harsh.  It has an overpowering grapefruit taste leaving a bitter aftertaste as if I'd sucked the pith from a grapefruit or lemon.  Due to the strong zestiness it's very refreshing but the taste is just a bit too harsh for me.

I bought this as part of an Allendale mixed pack from Best of British Beer, however, I received mostly pale ales so the lovely folk at Best of British Beer agreed to send me a few darker Allendale ales from their next delivery.  Now that's what I call customer service!

Brewed by Allendale, Northumberland

4.7% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Allendale Brewery