Gem
Bath Ales Ltd

GemGem
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From:
Bath Ales Ltd
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
Ranked #55
ABV:
4.8%
Score:
85
Ranked #21,116
Avg:
3.76 | pDev: 12.77%
Reviews:
47
Ratings:
99
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 20, 2024
Added:
Jun 25, 2003
Wants:
  6
Gots:
  11
It's 4.1% in cask and 4.8% in bottle
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Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by jdhilt:
Photo of jdhilt
Reviewed by jdhilt from New Hampshire

3.21/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Pours with a one-finger head that goes quickly but still leaves a good lace. Light bodied. Light carbonation - bottle date is Feb 20, 2004. Hazy amber color doesn't really look like a pale. Nose is not distinquishable. Starts on the sweet side, finishes with hints of hops. $2.65 for a 500ml bottle.
May 07, 2004
More User Ratings:
Photo of wolfiedude14
Reviewed by wolfiedude14

3.15/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Pours a dark amber and quite a thin head which dissipates fairly fast

Pleasant smell, predominantly malt and hops and some indeterminate sweetness.

Taste is a lovely straightforward malty ale, a nice deep flavour lingers in the background. Slightly sweet at the end, perhaps caramel comes through.

The feel is nice and smooth, carbonation feels quite weak on this one.

Overall a very pleasant ale.
Mar 20, 2024
 
Rated: 3.5 by Dethark from England

Feb 14, 2024
 
Rated: 3.82 by steverx8 from England

Aug 17, 2023
 
Rated: 2.39 by stephenlee93 from England

Dec 18, 2022
Photo of WoodBrew
Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
I tried a pint of this beer off the cask'er at the King's Head pub in Shrewsbury. It poured a clear amber with cask white head that left a fine lace. The scent had subtle bitter hop notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with sweet malt base and the typical english bitterness through the drink. The mouthfeel was medium in body but with cask condition "carbonation". Overall it was a good beer.
Jun 05, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by paulish from New York

Oct 01, 2021
 
Rated: 4.47 by bad_poetry from England

Aug 14, 2021
 
Rated: 3.75 by EdmundBlackadder from Ohio

Jan 18, 2020
 
Rated: 3.71 by Stengelfoot from California

Jan 12, 2020
Photo of James94
Reviewed by James94 from England

3.73/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
L: Reddish amber colour, thick lacing, one-finger head
S: Fairly generic, slight skunkiness, vague citrus
T: Orange, vanilla, light malts
F: Not overwhelming, smooth, drinkable

O: 3.75
Dec 22, 2019
 
Rated: 3.73 by alesinwales from Wales

Sep 27, 2019
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

4.01/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
While I'm hardly an expert in this style (only my 16th rating), it makes me think I've been missing something.

Gem's Looks are driven by its medium chestnut and, in the sun, is brilliant. Decent lace, to boot. Smells are almost entirely malt wanting to become the juice of a hard fruit; call it apple. Tastes are perfectly balanced, just enough tang to tell me this is beer and not cider. Very sessionable and sits nicely in my mouth; waiting for the next bite of a snack.

Impressed by Bath Ales adherence to the CAMRA 'code" (as I call it... although it is looser than that), I went on Bath's website and was impressed that they have grown steadily since 1995 and have four pubs, a restaurant at the famous train station and a new brewery. They also were acquired 3 years ago by St. Austell... another purveyor of the English brewing tradition. Good luck.
May 21, 2019
 
Rated: 3.68 by jroof1 from Massachusetts

Mar 06, 2019
Photo of JonnoWillsteed
Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

3.24/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
L- Dark Chestnut, 1cm white head reducing to lacing.
S- Toasty malts, pretty subtle
T- Toast. Dry toasted grains, some balance of malt comes later.
M- The toastiness is quite pungent, the overall mouthfeel is quite mild for 4.8%
O- The smokey/toasty nature might be just a bit too dominant for me. Interesting to try but I don't think I could get stuck into several of these in a night.
Aug 21, 2018
 
Rated: 3.87 by Oleg85 from Russian Federation

Jun 03, 2018
Photo of jazzyjeff13
Reviewed by jazzyjeff13 from England

3.43/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A 500ml bottle with a BB of Feb 2018. Purchased recently from Waitrose. Bath ales describe this as their premium amber ale - brewed with Marris Otter and Goldings.

A: Poured into a tulip pint glass. A deep coppery-brownish hue with good clarity and plentiful carbonation. Yields a decent head of frothy off-white foam that lasts for a minute or so before subsiding and virtually disappearing.

S: Aroma of caramel malt, ale yeast esters, subtle grain, mild barley sugar and delicate leafy hops. Decent but quite subdued.

T: Tastes of caramel malt with notes of ale yeast, mild barley sugar, leafy hops and faint grain. Traditional in character and nicely balanced. An understated bitterness upon swallowing.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth, tingly and dry, with pleasant carbonation and good body. Aftertaste of caramel malt, leafy bitterness and ale yeast.

O: Decidedly traditional but pretty good. Looks OK, while the aroma and flavour are a well-judged blend of caramel malt, leafy hops and yeast. Nice body. What it lacks in charisma it makes up for with above-average balance and depth of flavour. Goes down easily and is probably even better on cask. Worth sampling if you have the chance.
Apr 25, 2017
Photo of bark
Reviewed by bark from Sweden

2.94/5  rDev -21.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
The colour is amber with a tint of brown, the liquid is clear. The two finger head is off-white and airy; it sinks down to an uneven lid leaving very little lacing.

The smell is malty with dry notes of rye bread, dried apples and a touch of oak wood. Floral hops in the background.

The taste is smooth with some toffee/butterscotch, rustic farmhouse bread and dried flowers. Light floral/spicy bitterness. Medium body. The aftertaste got quite a lot of raw alcohol, some sweet caramel, nutmeg, thyme and apricots. The finish got less alcohol, and a growing flavour of dough.

The carbonation is mild to medium, the few bubbles are mid-sized and long-lived. The liquid is smooth.

Quite an average bitter/amber ale with odd notes of alcohol and dough.
Apr 03, 2017
Photo of flyingpig
Reviewed by flyingpig from Scotland

3.49/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
500ml bottle from Whole Foods, Giffnock (£1.79):
Nice stuff but probably not quite as good as Bath's Wild Hare that I tried last. Obviously a little darker & the sweetness seemed more pronounced at times with a nice combination of darker malts, toasted flavours & some sugars that complimented the caramel & toffee flavours nicely. Nothing seemed overdone & a good balance was maintained throughout, making this one another decent session offering but I'm probably go back to other beers before having this one again; still it's definitely a nice beer & well worth trying.
Feb 13, 2017
 
Rated: 3 by RHF711 from Canada (ON)

Jan 29, 2017
Gem from Bath Ales Ltd
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 99 ratings