Burton
Tonewood Brewing - Barrington

16-ounce can from the generous jonphisher, in an act of true Beer Advocacy. No date stamp. Enjoyed in a nonic half-pint glass.

Look:
The beer is a slightly hazy pale orange-gold. (The beer is can-conditioned, so its journey from New Jersey to Oregon undoubtedly agitated the sediment at the bottom of the can.) A spirited pour raises a finger of white foam that starts out rather sudsy but settles into a nice dense mass. The head reduces to a long-lasting collar which leaves plenty of ornate lacing.

Smell:
The nose is quite dry and full of crisp, biscuity malt with a drop of honey and a gentle, pear-like fruitiness. As the beer warms it yields lively floral undertones with a hint of lemon. A pinch of sulfur appears at the very beginning and dissipates quickly.

Taste:
Starts with dry, biscuity malt with a slightly nutty character. It is enhanced with notes of pear and black tea. There's also a delicate honey note which has the flavor of honey but almost none of the sweetness, if that makes any sense. And speaking of sweetness, there's just enough of it to tie the beer together. The drying finish starts with floral bitterness and a zing of lemon peel. At the very end, a delicious and perfectly English malt flavor comes through to put in the last word.

Feel:
The light-medium body is rounded and slightly chewy, with low carbonation which suits the style beautifully.

Overall:
Tonewood Burton Golden Bitter is a fine example of a classic English bitter. It offers excellent malt flavor, appealing hop character, firm bitterness, and superb drinkability. Satisfying and moreish. I imagine this beer would be just gorgeous on cask.

(16 oz can, no date/code; purchased cold can-conditioned 4-pack from their Barrington location a few days ago... poured into a proper nonic)

L: slightly-hazy, pale orange-amber liquid; fairly dense, cottony sponge of foam... steady messy cap as it goes, big crusty lace ring at the top... kind of looks like real ale / engine pour

S: black tea, sultana, hint of bread dough, orange peel, delicate waxy note... toasty bread crust overtone maintains strong expression for its duration

T: grainy breadiness up front, quickly followed by a blast of bitter, earthy hops, finishing off with a rush of toasty grain/malt... tannic, spicy bitterness continues to linger in the aftertaste, with malt flour hanging around as well... overall, rather fresh in its malt flavors and relatively intense with hop flavor/bitterness

F: the can conditioning and/or low attenuation seems to be giving this some extra body and plushness in flow... soft spicy warmth tingling the palate... again, like its appearance, its mouthfeel is reminiscent of cask ale

O: I very much enjoyed this one, it satifying my desire for boldly-flavored, low-abv bitters almost to my ideal... going back for more (2425)

2023-11-17
16oz can served in a nonic pint. No date. @jonphisher kindly sent it to me.

Pours a slightly hazy orange-amber with a rugged head that settles into lumpy layers on a thin skin with a thick frothy ring clinging to the glass up to about a centimeter above the surface. Smell is grainy, wood-bitter, earthy, some bready / yeasty character.

Taste is mild grainy sweetness with a grain husk layer on top of it, very light citrus, woodiness is still there but very gentle. Moderate earthiness.

Mouthfeel is rich but not oppressive, lingering. Overall, very nice beer.

Served exactly as it should, from a beer engine, pumped by hand to fill a clear pint glass. There's a very nice soft white head, that seems to be enduring. It sits on top of a cloudy dark apricot-amber brew. There's a mild aroma of baking bread, with just a hint of hops. Just what to expect from this style. It's a bready drink, too, maybe sourdough. The hops knock down any unnecessary sweetness and provide a welcomed slightly tart counterbalance. There seems to be a touch of tannins from the cask. But, it's not the style that provides a taste pronounced enough to go along with the world's greatest beers. This is much more about the look and feel, especially when it's served this way. Speaking of look, the glass lacing is spectacular. Beer just can't drink smoother than when served this way and its body holds up to it. For someone who had an initial exposure to this style and manner by which it is drawn in County Kent, U.K., back in the 1970's, this is an immediate favorite and a great memory.

 

 

This is a very attractive looking beer, it pours a slightly cloudy gold with a very creamy almost nitro looking white head. The lacing was superb and lasted for the whole drink, which I slowly consumed over the course of an hour or so.

The nose is quite vibrant to me; full of biscuity bread, a honey like bite, orangey jam, some earthy and leafy hops.

Taste is close to nose but it has a minor toasty quality to it as well; leafy and earthy, subtle light evergreen note.

Great feel on this beer, light body, smooth and lower carbonation; very creamy and cask like. You can feel the dryness on the tongue and there is a low to moderate bitterness on the finish of this beer.

I really enjoyed this beer a lot, it was very aromatic on the nose and the flavors were very well balanced, drinkability was very high. I really wish this would've saw four packs, it would've been an instant two four pack purchase.