Bede's Chalice
Durham Brewery Ltd

gravity pour cask conditioned served on the second night of the eighth Independent Salford Beer Festival at the cask bar, the first time I was a customer
Golden beer with great white head
lots of spice, nutmeg and cloves

Purchased at Purvis Beer in March 2022. Drunk in February 2023.

L: Pours the colour of soft, chewy caramel - the type you find in the centre of a chocolate - that becomes more opaque and shifts towards an apricot nectar hue as the end of the bottle is poured in. There's a fast-disappearing white head and sparse bubbles marching up the centre of the glass.

S: At first the beer is utterly neutral. After repeated attempts I was able to coax some soft, creamy fruit note and a slight grain body, but there's nothing going on here that jumps out of the glass even as the beer warmed. Addendum: I sat on this beer for well over an hour and by that time the beer had warmed and those fruity notes I mentioned had turned to strong tinned peaches and pears notes, and also very clear band-aid notes. I have kept my original rating because no normal drinker will sit on this beer that long.

T: The taste is apricot, tinned peaches and pears, and a candied orange note. Warm alcohol and spices show up late in the swallow. The candied orange becomes more pronounced as the beer warms. Despite that warming note I'd not have picked this beer for 9% ABV as it's quite smooth and that candied orange note helps the beer finish with a sharp, refreshing note.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth and full. The carbonation is minimal but does not detract from the beer at all. All is as should be in this category, but nothing stands out as particularly memorable, either.

O: A slightly underwhelming look and very underwhelming nose is saved by a delicious,smooth drinking experience that belies the beer's strength and papers over those other inconsistencies. The great tripels of the world drink so smoothly for their alcohol content and this one definitely holds its own in that category. This is a lovely beer that would hold up well on a hot summer's day or a cold night by the fire. Its warming properties are subtle yet enjoyable and the sharp, crisp finish makes subsequent sips happen far more quickly than is advisable for a beer of such strength.

Cheers!
#198

Cask at the GBBF 2008. Deep golden colour, low head. Lovely aroma of oak, rhum-drenched raisins and fortified wine. Warming mouthfeel. The flavour is again full of oak and raisins, also notes of bitter oranges and toffee, with a hoppy bitterness in the finish. Excellent beer.

 

500ml Bottle from Fenwick's, Newcastle (£3.99):
Quite an interesting beer, this one opened with a huge amount of sweetness & fruits on the nose with some caramel malts towards the end but come the taste these characteristics took more of a backseat as the alcohol content of the beer made itself known alongside, although there was still some fruits & sweetness at this point too. It was a strong beer with a light body, still easy to drink but one with a definite kick towards the end too.

 

 

500ml poured into a pint glass

Look: Pale golden yellow with a hint of haze. There's a big ol' head on this one- it took a few attempts to get the entire bottle poured, but on the plus side it gave me ample opportunity to sample this venerable brew. Plenty of off-white, sudsy head which left some lacing and foam around the glass as it receded.

Smell: The bottle describes this as a Belgian tripel, and going by the smell alone it's bang on the money - heavy on the yeast, iwth hints of orange, pineapple and coriander. Some malts, with a hint of hops and a healthy dose of alcohol rounds out the picture.

Taste: Despite coming from the north-east of Engliand the taste is unmistakably Belgian too - plenty of yeast, citrus, a dash of malt and a slightly phenolic twang. Surprisingly sweet, too and, not entirely surprisingly, quite boozy with it. It certainly tastes like a 'traditional' tripel too.

Feel: For 9% ABV it's not a heavy feeling brew by any means. Quite the contrary, in fact - it's light enough to be eminently drinkable despite being a heavy hitter ABV-wise. Overall, quite sweet and yeasty.

Overall: Durham Brewery do a couple of Belgian-inspired beers, and if they're anything like this one they're going to be difficult to tell aprt from the 'real thing'. This is a sippin' beer, to be sure, but well worth the effort.

 

 

 

Good Belgian Ale. With yeast so dominant, in no way is this an English strong. A foamer. Quality fruity yeast, cloudy orange fruit coloured body with lace dots and Caesar retained head. Boozy in finish and in the aroma, still nicely drinkable nightcap.Above average mouthfeel. Thanks Presario.

 

 

500ml bottle. While not exactly drained into a chalice worthy of Bede the Venerable, I think this particular wise man would appreciate the simplicity of the simple American pint glass...if not, well, that's his loss...

This beer pours a slightly hazy pale golden amber hue, with two fingers of thin foamy bone-white head, which leaves a low-lying coastal scape of lace around the glass as it settles. It smells of bready malt, some mild indeterminate spice, and a nice leafy, citrusy hoppiness. The taste is bready, underwhelming caramel malt, zingy muddled citrus and tangy leafy hops, with an undercurrent of uprising, mildly threatening booze warming. The carbonation is just on the inside of actually noticeable, the body medium weight, and smooth in the fruity sense. It finishes still rather sweet - caramel, bread, and wheaty breakfast cereal the usual suspects, hardly offset by the heretofore prominent, sassy hops.

One uncompromising, colonies promoting, weird-ass offering. Few beers are usually this strong in the mother-island, outside of barleywines. Since this is nothing of the sort, I defer to the label: Oi! This is apparently a Belgian Tripel? Boozy, in a well-obfuscated sense, sure. Any other Belgian attributes? Well, no, so I'm off to do some more pontificatin'...

Hazy golden colour with a medium, off-white head. Medium head retention.

Bright citrus and spice aroma with some light malt. Some darker fruits. Interesting.

Lots of sweet malt which dries out nicely with some Belgian yeast esters and light phenols adding depth. A bright and delightful beer.

Medium-full body with moderately-high carbonation. Smooth.

A wonderful beer packed full of esters and sweet malt. Really quite easy drinking.

Apricot-y colour with a porous, lacy head. Smooth malt scent, very light spice. Banana and light citrus hop notes. Very light metallic note to it.

Dry malts, noticeable wheat taste. Hops and a hidden, lingering alcohol taste. Bread, mild spiciness and citrus. Notes of Belgian yeast. An interesting mix of an English strong ale and a Belgian tripel.

A bit heavy-handed on the carbonation, but not horrible. It lingers and doesn't ease off as the beer sits.

A good beer - not quite what I expected, but I'm not put off by it. I'd have this again.

The brew pours a light apricot hue with average carbonation that leaves behind a half finger head and no lacing,the smell is raisins,citrus and alcohol,it has a light to medium bodied averagely carbonated mouthfeel and exudes tastes of sticky date pudding,boiled candy,orange zest,melon,light toffee and ends with a tropical bittersweet finish and overall its alright without being standoutish and ive noticed more and more from sampling this brewery's brews that they dont really nail the style they are attempting and probably wouldnt revisit anytime soon.

An all around very decent beer showing everything i would expect of an old style ale - noticeable raisiny alcohol presence slight hop bitterness and some dried fruit.

The drinkability is high considering the abv but more than a pint is challenging...

BB October 2009
a) Bronze orange, slight haze. Crackly offwhite head
s) Powdery, floral perfume. Faint lemon sherbet note. Crystal malts lift on warming.
f) Rich, molasses/licorice flavour, slight ethanol hint. Fruitcake
m) Filling and rich. Lightly syrupy. But light tingle on tongue. Enjoyable.
d) Not a quaffer. Slow, winter sipper.