Brideshead Bitter
York Brewery Company Limited

A 500ml bottle with a BB of July 2012. The label mentions that this is brewed in association with Castle Howard, although the nature of this association isn't spelled out (Castle Howard was used as the setting of a famous television adaptation of Brideshead Revisited, hence the name of the beer).

Poured into a tulip pint glass. A clear orange-amber with good carbonation. Forms a small head of white foam with a creamy texture; this subsides after a minute or so. A mild aroma of caramel malt with faint hints of roasted grain, stewed hops and yeast.

Tastes of caramel malt with a balanced bitter finish. Hints of stewed hops and dry yeast; no aromatic hops are discernible. A dry bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is smooth, but the carbonation is prickly and the body somewhat insubstantial. Quite astringent - dries the palate. Aftertaste of bitter stewed hops.

A reasonably constructed, but unexciting bitter. The balance of malt and bittering hops is good, but there are no aromatic hops to add interest or depth. The finish borders on harsh, and the mouthfeel is a bit thin and overcarbonated. OK, but no masterpiece. No need to rush out and find one.

500ml Brown bottle, best before the end of Oct 2011, some 29 days ago!

Poured into a UK pint sleeve.

Bright, clear and amber: on top an inch thick head of large white bubbles.

Good hop based aroma, with some malt esters coming through as well.

The malts rule the taste, neither sweet nor burnt, just pleasantly malty. A hop bitterness is evident also, especially towards the end of the sip.

The depth of body is fine and the 4.0% ABV feels about right, carbonisation also as you'd expect from a UK bitter: this is easy to drink and unoffensive (more than exciting), nice blend of flavours, a good example of a regular Uk bitter.