Summer Sizzler
Shepherd Neame Ltd

A 500ml clear glass bottle with a BB of July 2012. Picked up recently from an off-licence in Ripon. Cheap, but I have a suspicion that this will prove to be another run-of-the-mill offering from SN.

Poured into a Sam Smith's pint glass. A clear yellowy-gold colour with low carbonation. Forms a huge head of creamy white foam that hangs around for a couple of minutes before reducing to a surface layer. Aroma of caramel malt with notes of stewed hops and the typical 'house' yeast from this brewery.

Tastes of caramel malt with a dry finish. Notes of stewed hops and earthy yeast, with subtle undertones of roasted grain. A faint sweetness, and a restrained bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is dry and tingly, but somewhat insubstantial. Rather astringent. Aftertaste of bitter stewed hops (a bit harsh).

OK, with decent balance, but rather boring. It just doesn't excite the palate. Not sure if this is the ideal summer ale, it seems almost too bitter for a light seasonal brew. Still, a typical Shepherd Neame supermarket offering - it has no technical faults but can't keep you interested. No need to hunt this one down.

Cheap supermarket beer bought in a cheap supermarket: clear 500ml bottle, best before July 2012, drank Oct 2011.

Poured into a UK pint sleeve: Pale golden body with very little head, could have been a Lager/Pilsner by looks.

There wasn't much aroma, even as the beer warmed in the glass. Hops, spicey hops maybe, but very little smell all round.

Citrusy and hop bitter, not a lot of malts about: refreshing but missing any depth or finesse, this is an unsophisticated brew designed to quench thirst rather than entice the drinker into taking their time and savouring its few qualities.

Another brew by Shepherd Neame which leaves me wondering why I bother buying their bottled stuff.

Purchased recently at the Lidl supermarket, coming in a clear 500ml bottle; BB July 2012, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass.

A: pours a light yellow-golden colour with abundant fizziness and good clarity, topped with a 1cm thick off-white fluffy beer head to linger throughout the drink.
S: lightly sweet citrusness comes with tropical-fruity & floral hints of hops, as well as salted citrus preserve and a touch of buttery yeastiness, mixed well with the sugary light-coloured malts just fine. Rather simple and yet still pleasant.
T: a bit overly effervescent at first, the flavour shows a decent opening of citric-fruitiness with a spicy kick, underlined by lightly aromatic pale malts and leading towards a moderately dry and increasingly bitter aftertaste consisting of both malt & hop flavours. The dry-bitter palate lingers well into the finish, pretty clean at the same time.
M&D: refreshingly carbonated, the palate is genuinely lively without going too fizzy, complementing the mild flavour profile quite well. Like many light-coloured “Golden Ale” these days, this is another semi-hoppy and less-malty version of English Bitter suitable for quaffing on a hot summer afternoon. Not particularly tasty, but the overall balance spells itself out rather smoothly, IMO.