World Top Yorkshire Brewery - Mallard - 4.0%

A clean looking amber ale, with very little fizz, Mallard has a fresh, citrus, zesty aroma witha very suttle undertone of biscuit.

Despite looking quite flat, this ale is actually quite lively in the mouth, with all those hoppy flavours assaulting the senses. In fact, I feel that this beer would really benefit from some accompanying nuts or pork scratchings! There are flavours of orange and grapefruit and the zingyness keeps you coming back for more!

At just 4.0% this beer packs a lot of flavour and I'd happily have a session drinking this. 9/10.

Williams Bros. Grozet

This pale ale from across the boarder was a clean pour with an orange aroma.

The flavour is fresh and fruity: fizzy on the tongue, with a bitter hoppy finish only at the very end of taste.

The fruitiness is very real; oranges, peaches and gooseberries - not the strong flavours of hop pellets, but from actually being aged with gooseberries!

It calls itself a fruit beer, though I think I'd class it more as a fruity flavoured golden ale, which whilst it is very nice now, would be perfect on a hot summers day.

At 5.0%, it's not a session ale, but being full of flavour, I feel in no rush to finish it.

This is an unusual beer, but one I've enjoyed and am really looking forward to trying again. 9/10

Dow Bridge Acris

Wild Wednesday; the wind blowing a gale outside, but I'm relaxing on the sofa with the dog and a beer. Happy days.

Tonight's ale is a 4.0% bottled conditioned bitter from the Dow Bridge brewery in local Catthorpe, Leicestershire.

The beer poured well, giving an almost full pint of flat, clear, copper coloured nectar.  The nose is dry and biscuity.

Despite its flat appearance, the beer is lively on the tongue.  Initially there is a hoppy, bitter taste, together with a milder, traditional bitter flavour.

Sadly, for me at least, it feels like the beer isn't really sure what it's trying to be. It's neither a hoppy amber ale, or a smooth bitter. It's not lasted long, but that's been in an effort to work out exactly what this beer is.

An enigma, though I don't think they've cracked the code yet. 5/10

Slaters Haka

Well to end a rather hectic weekend I've gone for the Haka New Zealand pale ale from Slater's brewery in Stafford.

Having not tried 

Slightly perfumed 

Light in taste and colour, but a sweet toffee flavour 

8/10

Liverpool Organic Ship In A Bottle

Well after a busy day I was really looking forward to this evenings' beer and I decided to go for this light 3.9% American pale ale from the Liverpool Organic brewery.

Opening the bottle, the beer was keen to greet me. A flowery, clean smell and a clear, tan, slightly less pale than I expected appearance had me intrigued.

The taste was good; a fruity, sweet flavour followed by a lingering lemony bitter aftertaste. Very pleasant indeed. I can't believe a beer with such a low abv could have such flavour. Add a curry for a match made in heaven.

A strong 7/10 from me.  Maybe an 8.  Perhaps I'll have to try it again to make my mind up ;op

Wentworth Brewery WOPPA

So my first beer. Not ever, but of the blog.

An "award winning pale ale", WOPPA or WPA, from the Wentworth Brewery, weighing in at 4.0%.

The beer was slightly cloudy looking, almost looking like a cider, with a fruity aroma.

And so... ah, the fruitiness is the lovely citrusy hops. Bold in flavour, with a bitter aftertaste. Refreshing and easy drinking, yet I can't help but think that it lacks a certain refinement.

Would I try it again, yes, and it was good value, tasting and costing more like a 5% beer, though overall I'd give it a 6/10. You may think that's harsh, but I know that there is better. Beer is a personal thing though, so you make your own mind up...

Welcome

Welcome to my blog.  This is a blog about real ale and the vast array of beers available at Hopology in West Bridgford.  Over time I will be sampling and reporting back here my experiences and tastings of the bottled beer on offer from independent producers.  I look forward to sharing my journey with you.