Double Header
RCH Brewery

From the CAMRA Beer Club "Refreshing Spring Ales 2008" shipment...

Appearance: orangey straw, slight haze, thick luscious pillow of creamy fine-beaded foam, great head retention

Aroma: canned grapefruit, lemon rind, grainy malt

Flavor: dryish toffee malt backbone with a grainy edge; slight acidity; lip-smacking hop bitterness on the back of a grapefruit rind taste; hints of leather and lemon lozenges; finishes dry with a lingering bitterness

Mouthfeel: medium body, pert carbonation, crisp texture

Other comments:
The closest to an American pale ale that I've tasted over here. Quite pungent hoppiness and a non-British level of bitterness.

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Bottle conditioned. ABV is 5.3%. Golden colour, hazy. Large and lasting off-white head. Nice hoppy / citrussy aroma. The flavour is also distinctly hoppy throughout, but there is also a noticeable presence of alcohol - in a blind test I would have guessed that the beer was somewhat stronger than 5.3%. There’s a moderate sweetness in the background. Moreish.

A - Pours a slightly cloudy amber with a very tight white head that sits there for the entire drink and plently of lace is left behind. Poured into a pint mug. Medium to lively carbonation carbonation.

S - Citrus, slightly floral.

T - Citrus and malts at first, but almost straight away the hops kick in and last to a nice dry and bitter end.

M - Medium body and carbonation, which isn't as lively as the appearance would suggest.

D - Very good beer. I would quite happily drink several of these in a sitting, with the ABV being low enough to allow it.

Tasted this beer in bottle-conditioned version at home on 4 May 2005, with the BBE date of July 05. The bottled version of this beer is said to have won the Best Bottled Beer in a national competition held by ASDA (a British supermarket chain) two years ago.

A: served in a big tulip wine glass, it pours incredibly foamy, even silky, milky-white, more-than-an-inch beerhead which lasts throughout tasting! A bit cloudy, the colour is dark orange to amber, with very lively carbonation, due to long-time bottle-conditioning, I think.
S: perfumy, sweetish fruity nose with hints of lime-citrus note; very pleasantly complex...
T: unexpectedly smooth on palate, given its fizzy appearance~~ My tastebuds are immediately overwhelmed by the BIG, bitter-citrusy hoppy flavour, while the throat succumbs to the intensively fruity but tangy hoppy bitterness which lingers in the background, showing no signs of retreating after one minute. The body is simply as fulsome as well-balanced, in my view.
D: this is by any standard a superb brew, although I think one bottle is enough if one wants to fully appreciate its complex, hoppy structure... I tried the cask-conditioned version of Double Header at the GBBF 2002 and it was rated by myself second only to RCH's own East Street Cream; well, this bottled version is even more outstanding, I have to say... Coupled with RCH's another great brew, Pitchfork, I ju...st love this brewery!!

Pale amber premium bitter. Nice fruity nose. Pleasantly sweet and malty with a satisfying bite in the finish. The whole thing being decently refreshing. A good ale. On a head to head comes out significantly superior to Old Speckled Hen.
Pear drops flavour. Sweetish with soft finish which gradually becomes dryish amongst the lingering sweetness.