Tribute
St. Austell Brewery

 

Had on cask in London. Well balanced and a bit zesty. I'm a fan.

Edit: Also brought a can home with me to America. Even canned Tribute is very enjoyable.

Bottle purchased from M&S FoodHall Stratford; which has a nice, but limited, collection of southern English classics.
A pretty golden that is thinking about becoming amber, so some colour intrigue. Smell intrigue is only slightly above average. I Smell sweet malt laced with a bit of citrus. Quick in the attack, I still Taste a well-balanced traditional English ale whose hops linger subtly. Better than Medium-mouthed; gently cleansing of the tongue for a variety of cheeses. Like my Melbourne mate, OZfrom Az, I'd like to try Tribute on cask. How soft could that be?

Here's the best part of drinking Tribute: I was eating Shropshire Stilton on oat cakes. When that was gone, Tribute worked on the aged cheddar well. Tribute cleansed my palate and washed down the biscuits and made me feel as though I'd just experienced a slice of English life. Because I had.

I also give very good Overall Hugs because St. Austell is a hospitality company with 166+ inns, brews for its restaurants and is active in its Cornish culture, albeit probably too much a supporter of non-competitive football.

3/11/26 Purchased 2025 Vintage at Waitrose; so I'm glad Tribute is getting good distribution. Edited the above. I would try the 2026 rendition to compare.

 

 

I drank this one on draught at The Charles Dickens Tavern in Melbourne in March 2025.

L: The beer is amber brown with a very thin smattering of head. A few desultory bubbles work slowly up the glass. As far as first impressions go, this is not the greatest.

N: A sweet, almost vanilla note leaks from the glass, but nothing else stands out.

T: There's a nice, strong hit of tobacco-like, earthy bitterness as soon as the beer hits the mouth, enhanced on the swallow by a creamy and smooth, slightly toffeed, malt base. The finish is sweet with a creamy side note. Bitterness hangs around retronasally.

M: The body is smooth and full, and the carbonation is nice and prickly.

O: A tasty and unique flavor profile rescues underwhelming first impressions. I would love to try this on cask.

Cheers!
#694

 

Had on tap. Pours gold colour with thin foamy head leaving noticeable lacing. Light citrus/cereal but other than that muted aromas The flavours range from bread to citrus to malts giving with an overall sweet and hint of pepper kick on the feel. Medium carbonation. Bitter finish. Or as the bartender who served me the beer said, 'it's Cornish'. Lots going on here. Enjoyable.

 

 

An interesting beer for one more used to Yorkshire pale ales. Smells and tastes much darker than you'd expect from the clear golden colour. Pours a very thick and tight off-white head with good retention. Smells malty and bready, with a leathery savoury quality; tastes sweet and hoppy with a smooth mouthfeel and a bitter finish.

Not one to start a night on, but a very good second beer, and an exemplar of a dying breed of ales being bought up and shut down by megabrewers who have no desire to create anything except profit. Let's hope St Austell avoids the fate of Wychwood and Marston.

 

500ml chilled bottle into a pint glass at The Red Cow in Cheshunt Herts, while watching Bro play darts. Best by October 2024.

Crystal clear pale amber body. Small white head, specks of lacing. Neutral aroma, taste is clean, somewhat sweet, perfectly balanced between hop and malt. Finish is clean, very easy drinking pint.

L:
-pours a clear deep golden with a small,foamy,white head
-low-to-medium carbonation visible
S:
-orange zest,lightly grainy,herbal
T:
-zesty,spicy,grapefruit,bready
-medium bitterniss
F:
-medium carbonation
-light-to-medium body
O:
A bit too mild for me, especially the Malt Base.

 

On tap at Duke of Wellington pub in Bourton-on-the-Water. Respectable British pale ale to read a book with.

Light orange amber with a slight haze to it and an orange-tinged off-white head. Some vague biscuit malt and citrus fruit on the nose. Citrus fruit, sweet fruit juice, a brief hint of pepper, and biscuit malt on the flavour, malty towards the finish, but with citrus lingering on the tongue the longest. The description on the can mentions using hops from the US and the UK. The subject of American hops in traditional old-world styles is controversial, and rightly so. Sometimes they are just overpowering and detract from the tradition. In this case, the citrus fruit character of the American hops is definitely noticeable, but balanced out by that quintessentially English stiff-upper-lip biscuit malt, and a brief hint of some peppery English hops. The citrusy American character is present but restrained, and indeed the balance is more sweet than sour or bitter. Slightly thin in mouthfeel, but not enough to detract from enjoyment. Overall a very good English pale ale that incorporates New World hops the right way without being overshadowed by them.

From notes.
Pours reddish brown , clear with a tigh bubbled white head. The smell is sweet, light hops, mild citrus, good amount malt. The taste is mildly sweet, malty, citrusy, slightly bitter and flavorful yet light. The mouthfeel is good viscosity with Tony bubbled fizz.
Overall, light, flavourful, well balanced and not too strong.

From cask via hand pull at The Swan/Greene King in London. This is a really nice beer. Great hop character, perfect temp to accentuate the malt character, properly bitter, super smooth and easy drinking. Can’t go wrong here.