Willy Good Ale: Beerier Beer (England: Amber Ale: 4.2% ABV)
Visual: Amber. Moderate off white froth.
Nose: Slightly musty. Fresh cooked white bread. Towards nutty flavor. Sulphur and eggs.
Body: Moderate bitterness. Walnuts. Vanilla yogurt and hop touches. Milky with light caramel. Straw.
Finish: Vanilla yogurt. Hops. Bitter. Quite crisp. Straw. Coconut.
Conclusion: Some times you can guess from the color of a beer what sort of drink awaits you, other times less so. This is the second of those two. If the color of the beer matched the flavor this would be a creamy white color.
There is light hop bitterness and light fields and straw, but the main flavours are smooth milk and vanilla yogurt. Very easy going. There is a touch of caramel sweetness mid body like someone dropped honey into fresh yogurt. That may not sound like a nice thing for a pint but I am assuring you that it is.
It was very easy to drink, and towards the session end of the scale which was helped greatly by the light coconut taste at the end. I have the feeling this beer would complement a curry brilliantly. Initially the beer can seem a bit dull, but it expands well with time. There is no real high points that make you want to shout out, but in general the flavor goes well.
I could stay on this for a while, never too much to contemplate on mid body, but that coconut and yogurt finish just lasts and last without getting dull. Relaxing as well in a malted drink kind of way.
Soothing and drinkable with a bit of hops. Not bad.
Background: Drunk at the Raven with friends on a chilly Friday evening. I only mention the chilly aspect as the bloody condensation kept fogging up the camera lens. Thankfully I managed to get a half focused photo of the tap by the end, even if the pint itself is not best done. Not tried any of Willy’s beer before, but the name amused me so I thought I would give it a shot. I’m not sure about the amber ale style choice, but amber ale is a very loose ly defined style and that’s what they call it so I’m leaving it as that for now.