Landlord
Timothy Taylor's Brewery

500mL bottle stamped L2306 poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 4.1% ABV per label. The beer pours opaque brownish copper with light khaki head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island. Minimal lacing. The aroma is mild with sweet malt and tea like hops. The taste is semisweet pale malt with notable orchard fruit yeast influence and black tea like hop flavor on the moderately bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less that average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, good. This bottle was purchased at room temperature yesterday and is presumably 13 months old. I would jump at the chance to sample fresh as all the ingredients seem to be there.

On draught at the historic Bell pub next to Cannon St station in the City of London. Served in a dimple pint mug.
L: Perfectly clear. Dark copper colour. Clouds of bubbles rising to two fingers of creamy head. Walls of white lacing. Looks splendid.
S: Rich, malty, toffee nose. Clean with no off notes.
T: Light malt base is sweet and biscuity. Hops are floral & honey.
F: Incredibly smooth & silky. Semi-sweet then bitter. Slick mouthfeel. Short, lightly bitter finish. Slides down oh so easily.
O: A classic English bitter. One of the best in the style. Super refreshing. At just 4.3%, it’s very quaffable. Not one to nurse and savour but intended to be drunk by the pint, in big gulps, with friends, smiles & laughter.

It’s beer like this that explains English pub culture. Rounds. A group of 4 mates = 4 pints each. 4 pints of 4.3% nectar and the world is alright. In a US bar, 4 pints (keeping in mind an English pint is 20oz!) of 6.5% IPA and those same 4 mates would not be in such good shape…

Lovely ale, classic packaging. Poured from bottle. Deliciously malty with toffee and hops on the nose. Taste follows with delicious ale like features. Depth, complexity and nostalgia for an old school London pub. What more could you ask for?

Appearance: Poured with a thumb of head that quickly disappeared and did not lace. The body is a mostly clear amber, reminiscent of Newcastle Brown ale but at least shows a lot of carbonation.

Smell: Mostly absent, I think I am getting a bit of malt and some dry herbal hopes that oddly reminds me of Pechaud's bitters. Warming didn't really help it come out.

Taste: Slight caramel malt start, but it's mild and I think there's a psychosomatic effect going on here with brown ale, because it's very mild and then the caramel turns more into a stale bread and herbal note. It's not anise but it's similar as it's dry and builds with an earth hop end that I just can't get behind.

Mouthfeel: It's really dry in the aftertaste...way too dry and it focuses the stale bread note with a slight hint of the hops. The carbonation is fine, but the transitioning, well it does pass onto different parts of the beer fine, but it's passing along a downward spiral.

Drinkability: The dry note kills a lot of drinkability of this beer, as it's not refreshing and it's way to potent to make you want to keep drinking. On the lighter side of medium body, which is a bit of a saving grace here, but it's not doing it for me.

Final Thoughts: As of the writing of this review, this is apparently the top English Pale Ale and that flabbergasts me. This is a rare time I'd be fine if this was hoppier or more bitter, but instead it's dry. I don't think I've ever had a beer this dry, which makes this undesirable to drink. If you like dry wine, maybe this is your thing, but this is a hard pass for me.

Enjoying on cask in London. I'm spoiled for my return home to the US

 

 

 

A pint pulled by hand from the cask at The Queens Larder in London. Very excited for this. Been waiting a long time to try a beer from Timothy Taylor’s. From first sip it’s obvious why this is the number one English Pale. Quite hoppy for the English. Any more than this and it’s APA territory. Perfect temp, great flavor, so smooth, easy drinking. Could have pint after pint of this.

And in fact I did. Likely 10-15 pints of this at various pubs throughout the five day trip to London. Not bad. Even bought a bottle to take home but it’s a bit disappointing considering from cask it’s so delicious.

Look: Golden amber ale.
Smell: Fruity and Hoppy.
Taste: Fruity tang with citrus smoothness.
Feel: Hoppy tang on the tongue.
Overall: Acceptable, drinkable ale.

Copper golden with fine bubbles, carbonation three fingers of white head. The smell is of apple juice and dried hops. A bit of caramel too. Taste follows the nose. Light and crisp feel. Got at LCBO in Guelph, drank in New Hamburg July 20, 2023.

Had on cask several times on trip to London & Oxford. Beer heaven.

Great taste. Great mouthfeel. Very smooth and sessional.

Pretty good cask pale ale is session-able but still has underlying citrus and bitter hops.

 

 

 

 

On cask at the Lincoln Arms in Dorking. Quite bitter, herbal and grassy. The slightest hint of sweetness and citrus. Clear amber with a thin off white head. Limited aroma, not hoppy. Medium light body with a dry lasting finish.

Had on cask at The Bell in London. Hoppy at first but pleasant caramel malt finish. Not used to the slightly warmer beers in England but it was pretty good!