Obviously I am fortunate in many respects that my favourite local brewery, Three Notch'd, brews Bitter 42 every year. Bitter 42 is a best bitter that I designed and is inspired by my favourite pints of best from the UK, Timothy Taylor Landlord and Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted. Speaking of Bitter 42, if I remember rightly is should be hitting the taps again in a month or two.
Anyway, this post is about wandering around our newish Wegmans and deciding to do a comparative tasting of all the English pale ales I could lay my hands on, and that were still in date. Thus it was that I wandered out of the shop, pushing a trolley that as well as the usual groceries included the following:
Before getting into the beers, I quite often get asked by folks what the difference between an English Pale Ale and a Bitter is, to which I usually respond 'nomenclature'. If I have understood the history correctly, the breweries called the beer a pale ale while the drinkers referred to it as bitter. Simples (and if I am wrong I am sure Ron, Martyn, et al will correct me).
On to the beers then, starting with the lowest ABV....
Black Sheep Ale
- Sight - rich orange/amber, solid half inch of ivory foam that lingers, bit of chill haze
- Smell - oranges, honeyed toast, slight lavender
- Taste - honey on digestive biscuits, tangerines, some spicy hop character
- Sweet - 2.5/5
- Bitter - 3/5
- Notes - Slight metallic note in the finish, but generally wonderful balance, something that makes you long for a day's cricket at Headingley
St Peter's Organic Pale Ale
- Sight - golden, thin white head, almost like a pilsner
- Smell - little bit of funky weed straight out the gate, Jacob's Cream Crackers
- Taste - crackers, clean hop bite, slightly vegetal
- Sweet - 2/5
- Bitter - 2.5/5
- Notes - really dry finish, with bitterness that builds with drinking, resulting in a tannic tea character that's really pleasant.
Fuller's London Pride
- Sight - dark amber/copper, half inch of cream white foam
- Smell - that Fuller's smell, you know what I mean, orange marmelade
- Taste - toffee and toast, slight grassiness, all wrapped up in that Fuller's flavour
- Sweet - 2/5
- Bitter - 2/5
- Notes - beautifully balanced, though not as enjoyable as the cask version, still bloody marvellous
Samuel Smith's Organic Pale Ale
- Sight - deep copper, quarter inch of ivory head
- Smell - bread, herbal hops, light citrus
- Taste - scones fresh from the oven, dulce de leche, toffee
- Sweet - 2.5/5
- Bitter - 2/5
- Notes - smoth, almost creamy, fuller mouthfeel than the other beers
