Hogshead English Bitter
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

Caramel-infused dark orange when sitting on the coaster; bright tangerine when held up to the brewpub's side window. The light beige head was less than one finger to start and fell to a spotty film within minutes. No more than a small amount of filmy lace ended up on the glass.

The aroma was soft, muted even, and was of orange and grapefruit zest. A little more strength would have garnered it the next highest score easily. Truth in advertising is alive and well. Hogs Head was a pleasantly bitter beer, more so than expected, although the amount of bitterness surpassed the amount of actual hop flavor. A little more malt would have helped matters. It didn't bother me a bit though; a light, bitter beer tasted good today.

The flavor profile was more 'lemons and grapefruits' than 'oranges and grapefruits', a fine distinction I know. I think that's because the bitterness reminded me more of the bitter fruit (lemon) than the sweet fruit (orange). In any case, a relative lack of malt gave the beer a clean flavor and a snappy, dry finish.

Hogs Head Bitter was good, but not great. It's a well made, no frills English Bitter that asks its drinker to appreciate its simple, clean, citrus peel hoppiness and easy quaffability. And I did.

Cask @ Real Ale Fest
The beer was a cloudy amber with a nice light tan head, creamy in texture and the lace a decent covering upon the glass. Nice sweet malt nose, fresh and clean, start was sweet and mildly malted, top was light to moderate in feel. Finish was benign in its acidity, the hops pleasing as was the dry aftertaste, a drinkable brew, nice to change the pace from the “Hop Overload” I was getting from all the IPA’s and I2PA’s.