Good Enough
Northern Brewing Limited

This was the first beer tasted at the Pembury Tavern in Hackney, during its 3rd Beer Festival earlier this summer (18-22/07/2007). This spacious real ale pub had rightly accumulated plenty of praises and awards for its contribution to the real ale scene in London, and this time round 15 festival beers were served on the handpumps at any one time plus 9 others on stillage right beside the entrance! I was there on the last day so, alas, some beers were gone already. But still I had around 13 real ales to choose from!

A: served by a handpump w/o a sparkler, it came in an amber hue with red glows, a little haze, no beer head, and low carbonation. Looking a bit static.
S: chestnutty+caramely malts are laced by earthy+tea-leafy hops, while Goldings-like fruitiness sustains underneath. Not as lively as a really fresh cask ale should've smelled.
T: the initial entry of lightly caramely malts is ensued closely by a mild tinge of herbal bitter-sweetness of hops; gradually the bitter edge intensifies and introduces a wave of dry-palated hoppyness, whereas fruitiness is quite subdued overall.
M&D: the texture is already flat, but the body still holds up well to retain a sufficiently fresh mouthfeel and hence not too thin at all. If on form, it could've been a quality traditional bitter, IMO. "Good Enough"? well, I don't mind trying it again~~