XB Bluebird Bitter
Coniston Brewing Co. Ltd

Coniston Brewing Co. "XB Bluebird Bitter"
16.9 fl. oz. brown glass bottle coded "BBF 03 09 26"
$8.15 @ State Line Liquors, Elkton, MD

Notes via stream of consciousness: Upon pouring the beer I could smell the citrusy hops. Its body is a clear amber, and the head's a finger's width of white foam. I'm getting citrus that includes lemon, some mild floral character, a hint of earthiness, and bready malt. On to the taste - as is quite often the case, the flavor mirrors the aroma, but bigger. There's of course more malt to it, but the hops remain the same. Ah, there's some apple and pear from the yeast as well. It doesn't seem that bitter but it is dry in the finish, and it does linger for some time along with the citrusy hops. The label states that the hops are Mt. Hood but that doesn't seem right to me. I'll assume that they've switched them up for whatever reason. I like it exactly as it is, but if this is an unusual version then I'd like to try the regular version as well. But wait, the label says that the Mt. Hood is giving it "robust citrus aromas" and that can't be possible unless I've lost my mind as I don't remember Mt. Hood ever giving me citrus notes. OK - forget the hops. The malt is sweetish and bready, and biscuity as the English say. Everything works really well together, and it's nicely balanced. I would imagine that you could easily drink a few of these in a row if you wanted to. How strong is it? It's 4.4% ABV which is a little stronger than I thought it might be, but still perfectly fine. I also note that the label lists barley and wheat as ingredients. In the mouth it's medium bodied and smooth. I didn't realize that this had American hops in it until I poured it, and I know some Englishmen have a problem with that but I love it. I might prefer the standard Blue Bird but I'm not sure, and this would certainly make a nice change of pace regardless. Nicely done!
Review #9,522

 

500mL bottle stamped BBF 3-09-26 poured into a mug at 55F (as suggested on label) 4.4% ABV. The beer pours bright light golden amber with off white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. The aroma is mild with sweet pale malt and faded citrus zest. The taste is semisweet pale malt with hints of fading lemon and orange. Mild bitterness. The feel is soft, thin bodied, yet substantial. Just less than medium carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, very good despite it's freshness date and having been stored at room temp or worse until I picked it up a month ago.

RB transfer

 

500ml bottle. Poured out a clear, golden amber color with a small, off-white head of foam. It left thin trails of lace on the glass. It smelled of toasted caramel, citrus and floral notes. Sweet caramel taste with toasted bread and a sharp bitterness.

Appearance: Medium Amber, fluffy off white head, good retention

Aroma: Herbal, grassy, with subtle fruity ester

Flavor & Aftertaste: Biscuit and light toast, light stone fruit esters. Low bitterness.

Mouth feel: Soft, low carbonation, medium length finish.

Overall: Tasty, refreshing British Pale Ale. Nice soft mouthfeel with low carbonation. Malt is biscuity with light toast. Funny thing about the hops. Brewery describes the Mt. Hood hops as "robust citrus" aroma. I'm getting nothing but robust herbal and grassy notes - which is exactly what Mt. Hood hops should be like. Go figure. Hard beer to score because it doesn't bowl you over with aroma and bitterness like a lot of American Pale Ales, but it is definitely a pleasant, well crafted beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a orange-tinged golden color. Completely clear. Thin white head dissipates leaving just a partial splotch of bubbly foam on top of the beer.

Aroma is light and mild with notes of pale malts and some mildly fruity aromas.

Taste is light, with mildly fruity notes coming through, hints of pine and ripe fruit, with a clean pale malt backbone. Flavors and quite simple and yet nicely pleasant.

Feel is light, smooth and session-able. Mild carbonation. finish just kind of dies off quickly.

Overall this is a nice English bitter. Would love to have this on cask, but even in the bottles its a really nicely done example of the style. The American hops are well integrated and do not overtake the style.

 

 

500 ml bottle, from Det Gode Brygg, Sandnes. ABV is 4.4%, Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Surprisingly dull aroma, notes of grain and dust, only the faintest hint of fruity hops. The flavour has a much better presence of hops, notes of citrus and berries. Nice to drink. The finish is not very bitter though.

 

 

From the 500 ml.bottle with a date stamp of F18-103. Sampled on June 27, 2017.

It is a typical looking light to medium amber pour considering the style and a modest, lingering white head. Some floating sediment when you pour the whole bottle in.

The aroma has a caramel and toffee malt sweetness with a vague papery feel and a light, clean crisp grassy hop note.

Light to medium body but creamy, clean and refreshing.

Basically a sweet yet citrus zingy flavor that ends mildly to moderately bitter but overall finishes quite clean. Very typical for this style and I could see myself downing one of these in a traditional British pub.