Fairtrade Ginger Pale Ale
Little Valley Brewing Ltd

Rerate, 500 ml bottle, from Bris Ølutsalg, Jørpeland. ABV is 4.0%. Clear deep golden colour, moderate white head. Aroma of malts and ginger. The flavour is moderately malty but not sweet, with distinct notes of ginger, also fairly distinct bittering hops. And it is NOT very sour / infected! Ginger warmth in the aftertaste / throatfeel. I'm upping the score quite a bit. Original rating: 500 ml bottle (a gift), as Little Valley Organic Bottle Conditioned Ginger Pale Ale. And yes, it is "fairtrade" and vegan - and "CAMRA says this is real ale". My oh my - you don’t even have to drink it. BUYING it is apparently enough to ensure your passage through the pearly gates. ABV is 4.0%. "Best before" February 2010 - that might explain a lot. Cloudy golden colour, large to moderate white head. Strong aroma of ginger, sweetish fruity and sugary notes. The flavour is really sour, lemony and acidic from the first to the last sip (yes, I mean really SOUR - probably far more than intended by the brewer), with a moderate ginger burn. Dryish finish. Probably infected - certainly not something I would pay good money for. But I am a polite fellow - somehow I managed to finish the bottle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle served in a Guinness pint glass in Ireland. Reviewed from notes. By no stretch of the imagination is this an "English pale ale". Another case of bad beeradvocate categorization.

A: Four finger head of thin and pathetic retention. Typically low cream. Dark clear yellow colour.

Sm: Just ginger. That's it.

T: Ginger open and body, with bittering hops on the finish. The ginger is nicely tamed in this ginger beer, which is nice compared to most other overdone one-note ginger beers. This is a good effort for the style. However, it's built as a very simple two note beer, and it's rather unbalanced.

Mf: Too wet, but nicely coarse.

Dr: Too expensive. Might please ginger beer fanatics - but do they exist?

Picked this up on the road abroad in the UK. To be honest i've never really had any Ginger Pale Ales so hopefully I can give it its rightfull props.
The beer is not only fairtrade but also organic so that should make some people happy.
Appearence - pours golden with a light white head, with a little sediment at the bottom of the glass.
Smell - light malty notes with a dominant ginger.
Taste - unique in that this is a light crisp ale with ginger notes that is also quite refreshing. I got a real dominant ginger taste, and did not get that much else, but it was good.
Mouthfeel - light carbonated with a bitter finish.
Drinkability - this is a light easy drinking ale that is easy to drink. At 4% these going down easy as well.