Brancaster: Best (England: Bitter: 3.8% ABV)
Visual: Clear gold. High carbonation and a loose yellow white mound of a head. Leaves suds.
Nose: Sulphur and eggs. Banana sweets.
Body: Creamy. Hop oils. Lightly granite. Faint apricot. Lightly bitter. Eggs and sulfur. Faint apples.
Finish: Earthy. Smoke. Gritty bitterness. Slight lemon and lemon meringue. Concrete dust. Vanilla fudge.
Conclusion: Ok, it may just be I got a bad bottle, or maybe this was just not a well designed beer in the first place, but this beer is way too sulphurous giving a real eggy element to it. Not a good look is what I am saying. Yep, I’m opening these notes pretty harshly. The season of goodwill is over.
Beneath that egg character there is a dry and slightly gritty pale ale. The bitterness comes in akin to breathing in concrete dust and the main body feels like musty dust balls. As a self proclaimed session pale ale it feels kind of grim and harsh and working against everything it wants to be.
The bitter hop character is leaden and only in the finish do you really get hints of soft toffee and lemon that would have done a lot to even out the rest of the beer. Even here though these notes are hidden between mounds of earth and concrete slabs. There just feels to be no life to it, everything is weighed down and gray.
There are hints of promise but they are mild and easily lost in the mix. Don’t rely on them coming out is what I’m saying. All in all, and unimpressive beer I am afraid. Sorry folks, no new recommendation here.
Background: Another from the Norfolk beer case from my family over Christmas, again drunk with the family, hence a slightly different background. Many thanks as always. Not much to say on this one, new Brewery for me, drunk at home – warm inside and crappy weather outside.
