Winter Hop Ale | Shepherd Neame Ltd

3.35/5  rDev n/a
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - almost orange in appearance, nice bubbly head but thinned out rather quickly.

S - distinctive Shepherd Neame hoppiness but quite a fruity sweetness also.

T - rather weak and bland, hops rather subdued which was unexpected. Struggling a bit to identify other flavours.

M - pleasant enough, quite smooth, good carbonation.

D - strength is well hidden and thus deceptively strong, not really enough in this beer to go for a ssecond.

For a hop ale, particularly a Shepherd Neame one, doesn't exactly do what it says on the bottle! Worth a try but probably will not have again for a while.

★ 593 characters

3/5  rDev n/a
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Clear 500ml bottle, best before Sept 2009, drank on a very cold evening in Dec 2008. Poured into a Palm Tulip glass twice.

Terracotta red in colour, with an off-white foaming head that didn't stay the distance on either pour.

Hops came through in the sniffing stakes, along with berries and nuts.

Fairly fizzy and sweet, not as hoppy as its name suggests. It spiced like a lot of winter Ales, well I could detect some cinnamon maybe but nothing else.

The 7.0% is well hidden, but the beer lacks body and depth for such a strenght.

Pleasant enough, but not a winter warmer I would rush out and buy for my friends.

★ 627 characters