Dragon Slayer
B&T Brewery Limited (Banks and Taylor)

 

Pint served by handpump into straight pint glass.

A- 2 finger cream head with a straw cloudy amber body. Lacing and head retention are both good to average.

S- Sweet biscuit malt, faint hop bitterness, nothing too surprising really.

T- Sweet malt upfront balances well into the hop bitter finish, no obvious floral notes, but i do note a slight spice in te aftertaste.

M- Low carbonation, medium body.

D- Certainly a drinkable well balanced ale, nothing exciting about it, but certainly has all the balance, mouthfeel and drinkability of a session ale.

Having tasted this beer on cask for many times at my local pub, this time round it happens to be the freshest and most enjoyable. Thus I've decided to write down a note about this beer, to do it some justice after a long while, that is.

The tasting date is 8 May 05 and the beer is served in a straight pint-glass. Different from the strength of the bottled version, the cask version is 4.5%abv.

Appearance: it pours a clear, still, pale-golden colour, with a delicious foamy beerhead... beautiful.
Smell: pleasant but a bit straight forward to me--some mixed light honeyish and lime note, with a very understated fruity scent of preserved dark-cherries going underneath...
Taste & Aftertaste: the best part of this beer for sure--some refreshing floral scent first arrives, accompanied by smooth palate of honey-tea; then lively fruity (lime or grapefruit peel) hoppyness gradually takes over, until all elements are rounded up by a dryish-bitter, lingering finish...
Mouthfeel & Drinkability: though a light-medium bodied ale, its vertical structure is clear-cut and each layer of taste builds upon the previous one; it's an extremely satisfying ale for both tasting (for pleasure) and an evening session with good friends around. Recommended.

This beer poured a very light gold which I found a bit weird. Head was on the thin side and lacing a bit spotty but lasting. A very long hoppy finish that was a bit dry was this beers trademark. I noticed a more aggressive hopping in many new brews I tried this year. Some grapefruit notes and good malt base. A very refreshing, drinkable ale that I enjoyed totally.