London Best
Gage Roads Brewing Company

 

Bottle from BWS in Surfers Paradise poured into a plastic cup in my hostel.

A - Pours dark copper, bright, with good carbonation. One finger tan head gone instantly. No lace and no retention.

S - Light fruits, biscuity. Really mild.

T - A little fruity, a little bit of an off flavour. Spoiled fruits. Strange, not really pleasant, and restrained from the elements that should make this alright.

M - Medium body, good carbonation, unpleasant aftertaste.

O/D - Definitely not pleasant or worth putting time into discovering what this is all about.

Pours dark amber with a small, fading, white head.
Nose shows some caramel and toffee along with some diacetyl.
Similar flavours, soft caramel and toffee. Not much going on.
Body feels a bit watery.
Reasonable but not going to blow anyone's mind.

Ah Gage Roads you decent-mediocre bastards! Couldn't resist the opportunity to give their English Bitter a go; being somewhat a fan of English Bitters, I know I'm Australian right, but the English did invent cricket and brew a decent beer so I'll forgive them for their stiff upper lips and constant complaints about the weather (btw: its a sunny 25 degrees here in Australia, quit complaining and get a visa already dammit!).

Poured from a 640ml bottle into a nonic pint.

A: Burnt orange body with a light white lacing for a head.

S: Caramel malt driven aroma with light herbaceous hops thrown in. Very much in English Bitter territory here.

T: Aforementioned caramel malts provide a base for the herbaceous (and slightly floral) hops, with some sweet toffee flavours mixed in, this however is very prominently a malt dominant beer, not that there's anything wrong with that (no, not at all). The hops lend themselves again to the aftertaste, and of course - bitterness at the finish, but they never seek to usurp the malts just compliment them, which makes this a very well balanced bitter.

M: Very much an English Bitter in this department; mid bodied with an almost flat carbonation.

D: Well it is certainly rare to get an English Bitter brewed in Australia that doesn't try to add an Australian slant to the style (like hard carbonation and overly bitter hops), and because Gage Roads stayed true to the style so well I would go so far as to rate it as highly as an actual English-made English Bitter. Considering this one is cheap at the moment it is a given purchase to help quench my thirst for a half decent bitter. Good work Gage Roads - so far the best of your brews... might even have to take the "mediocre" out of my introduction... nah, I'll leave it in until I've tasted the Atomic Pale Ale.

Food match: The English classic "Bangers and mash" would work with this, and if you were so inclined to eat the Scottish classic: Haggis (i.e. internal organs of a sheep stuffed into its own stomach and boiled) that could work too.

 

Bottle: standard brown long-neck pint glass with a 'traditional' English label.

Appearance: deep copper-red with a limited but thick off-white head and limited carbonation. Looks good!

Aroma: fairly demure aromas, per the English Mid norm. Some heavy fruits, molasses and caramels.

Taste: really picks up here. Great malt profile - some caramels and an almost syrupy backing. Touch of biscuit and breads - not much in the way of hops.

Aftertaste: the hops come through in the aftertaste - not so much citrus as a lovely herbal character.

Mouthfeel: just about right as well. Low carbonation, mid-to-heavy body.

Overall: I prefer this to most of the English Bitters / English Mids I have tried. I could drink this all night, and at AU$59 a case of 12 x 640mL, I can. It is so much better value than most of the English ales we get in Aus, which generally begin at $80 for 12 x 500mL.

 

Pours a semi hazed light amber hue which leaves a two finger fast vanishing head and clingy lacing here and there,the smell is tropical fruits,rock candy,bubblegum and dark malts,the mouthfeel is light bodied and has tastes of rock candy,toffee malts,butterscotch and finished with a light citrus bitterness and overall its average but when offered a longneck of this or other macro swill its an easy choice cheers.

The label helpfully says 'for BB - see bottle'. Which i can't.

Pours a red/copper body. Little in way of head. Some sporadic lace.

Muted bready malt aromas. Some caramel.

Taste is also moderate, but very well balanced. English malt driven, caramel in mix. Little in the ways of hops.

Lightweight in mouth, little carbonation, suits style well.

Overall, tho, a solid Bitter from an unfashionable brewery. Could drink all night. Well priced bomber takes up 0.5.

Poured an lightish amber colour, with a slightly tan head, good 2 finger head that quicker resided to a ring around the edge. Well filtered & quite good carbonation.
Some bread in the aroma, cereals, some tobacco, a hint of florals, honey malts.
Taste: Sweet bready malts, some definate honey...a fraction sour down the back with a great balance of bitterness. Also some floral flowery musky notes.
Very crisp mouthfeel...leaves the mouth refreshed, with a tinge of bitterness.
Easily drinkable for a session.

Served cool in a tulip glass (hey, I just bought it and wanted to use it) from a 330ml stubbie.

Appearance - Poured a dark amber red with a good thick off white head that settled down to a small but persistent layer that left a good strong cobweb of lacing.

Smell - A bit lacking. A faint honeyish malt waft but mostly dominated by a strong hoppy character with a slight single in the nose and some alcohol.

Taste - Quite enjoyable- not as heavy as I was expecting. Has that distinctive malt flavour of other beers of its colour. Long drawn out aftertaste that was reminescent of a sweet stout- slightly dry but with the slightly bitter, burnt taste. Hops I could smell didn't come through strongly- mostly as the beer immediately hits tongue. What I could taste adds a deep, pleasing flavour.

Mouthfeel - Weak and watery, not very enjoyable. Very little carbonation. Made it easy to drink but didn't give a fullness you'd expect.

Drinkability - This is actually my first in the style (I have a few authentic English bitters waiting in the fridge). I really enjoyed it. Definitely not as bitter as I expected, in fact I was a bit disappointed as I think the taste leant too far to malt, without a balance in hops. Other than that, it was definitely enjoyable and I think would make a good session beer. Not overly complex but solid enough.

a) Amber, clear, thin off-white head that sinks.
s) Tobacco leaf, toast, slight apricot, warms to some toffee/caramel
f) Good malt profile, with an every-so-slight yoghurt/lactic note. Hop notes fairly restrained.
m) Chewy, medium bitternes
d) Yeah not bad... would be good to see served traditionally

Appearance - 3.0
Poured a finger of beige head that quickly reduced to a thin layer. Body is a slightly hazy reddish brown.

Smell - 3.5
Lovely fruity aromas emanate from the head, but once it goes, there is little strength. Malty sweetness, golden syrup and subtle hops.

Taste - 4.0
Ah, good to see Gage brewing a beer with real flavour. Smooth and moderately sweet with a buttery character. Biscuity malt, apple-like fruitiness and leafy hops in the semi-dry finish. Bitterness is moderate, perhaps a little more would be better.

Mouthfeel - 3.5
Low level of fine carbonation, moderate to heavy weight in the mouth. Almost watery, but it suits the style.

Drinkability - 4.5
I don't drink bitter a lot, but I could easily drink this all night. Highly sessionable, good flavours, only 4.4%ABV.

OVERALL - 3.7
I reckon this is the best beer from Gage Roads, taking the title from the IPA. I would certainly buy this again - a tasty, sessionable beer at a reasonable price.

This beer poures a metallic amber copper colour, with soft carbonation and a small head that reduces to a whisp quickly. The smell is sweet caramel. The mouthfeel is immediately a sweet & bitter, flowery and citrusy, caramel expression of flavour. The bitterness is mild by english bitter standards, and it up front and short - there is little bitter aftertaste. This has striking similarities to a Fullers London Pride.

Its a good drop!

I just don't learn. Once again I poured it too cold and had to wait to get the full benefit of this style. However, on pouring I got a nice head and a clear, clean copper colour. Aroma was a nice malt and fruit, maybe orange peel. Flavour was malt and hop. Not very complex but well balanced. Chewy in the mouth and a pleasant hop bitterness in the finish. Pretty drinkable really and affordable so I'll continue to buy it from time to time but Baron's ESB is a better buy for an Oz English style.

Cage Roads "London Best"
Brown bottle 330mL 4.4% Alc/Vol 1.1 standard drinks.

Served in a 560mL pint glass, fridge chilled for an hour then left to stand at room temp for a few minutes.

Cage Roads call this a "well balanced English Bitter brewed for easy enjoyment."
And for what they've aimed to do, this is a pretty good effort at trying to capture
the style of a typical London bitter.

Appearance: poured clean with a lovely a nice burnt red hue and little to no visible sediment. Produced a dirty honey head that quickly settled. After a minute or so it sat quite flat with little to no fizz.

Smell: a nice big hit of yeast enveloped the pint glass. Noticed an unmistakable drop of honey. Also detected a hint of lime that became more pronounced the more I drank.

Mouth feel: soft, reminiscent of a merlot. A bit chewy.

Taste: a soothing warm honey very nicely balanced with yeast. As it warmed up
there was a more pronounced touch of marmalade.

Aftertaste: slightly crisp aftertaste at first. As it warmed there was a little bit of grip to it. Not too bitter. Makes you want to drink more.

The good thing about this beer was that as it warmed up a bit the taste became better and better, as a true English bitter should.

For an Australian-made "sampler" of a well-known style, this is a damn good effort.

Reminded me of the first pint of London Pride I had in a Knightsbridge pub.

Pours a flat, redwood appearance similar to a lot of English ales such as Speckled Hen, with a slightly yellow tinge. No head but a thin ring of white around the meniscus which leaves a thin film of lacing around the glass. Not too bad, but a bit flat. Would prefer more foam.

Nose has slight toffee characters with a distinct herbal hoppy character. A little subdued, but nice characters and very typical of the style they're aiming for I think.

Tastes "darker" than it looks, there is quite a full body to it with a burnt, gritty character on the front palate with a considerably long hoppy finish. Flavours are rich and inviting but because it is a bit gluggy on the mouthfeel it's not very refreshing. Ultimately the palate is also a little simple with a bitter finish being its defining characteristic, but having said that there are good flavours for what's there.

Slight in carbonationa and slightly cloudy the colour is a deep amber with a hint of orange.Head is small and off white.
Aroma was inaparent to me.
Taste was how I remeber many English Bitters in the early 80s .A sharp herbaceous bite finishes the quite malty background.
It is thickish in the mouth but pleasntly so.
I quite enjoyed this as it was readily identifiable as an English Bitter , not earth shattering but worth a try

A - Cooper colour with a few centimetres of off white head that slowly falls away.
S - Lager like cereal grain aroma...very vauge floral hints.
T - Some caramel malts and a bit of a roasty note.
M - Medium bodied with lowish carbonation.
D - Apparently this is part of some "world tour of beer" thing - lets hope the next stop is more exciting. My guess is a German Hefe Weizen...