Live Organic
W.H. Brakspear & Sons plc

 

A - Red copper colour with an off white head that reduces to a film.

S - Plenty of malts and spicey aromas.

T - Lots of malts and a slight biscuit flavour that leads to a bitter finish.

M - Smmoth low carbonation and medium body.

D - Not a bad drop at all and would recommend.

Reviewed 04/01/08

Appearance: Poured cloudy amber with a fluffy white head.

Aroma: Lemony, slightly herbal and sweet.

Taste: Medium-mild bitterness, bit spicy, citrusy with a tangerine finish.

Mouthfeel: Light and quenching.

Final Statement: Would be good in the summer if there wasn't too many other better beers to drink instead.

Pours a slightly hazy orange gold with thick fluffy head. Dissipates quickly, leaving a nice ring and some lacing.
Floral and citrus odours come through strongly, but don't overpower. Fruity sweetness makes an appearance.
Taste is a slightly muted citrus, floral hops with fruity esters and a roast caramel mixing with light bitterness to finish.
Mouthfeel is a little thin until the end. Carbonation is barely noticeable.
Light and refreshing, this is a tasty beer to enjoy on a hot day. Sessionable too.

500mL bottle purchased from LCBO. Consumed late January with a Feb 28, 2008 best before date. Pours a lovely cloudy light gold. A faint English hop aroma can be found on the nose, as it is on the palate. The mouthfeel is a bit thin at first, but ends up with a rounded hop bitterness, albeit a bit restrained.

Bottle conditioned.

Aroma: Floral, citrus. Lemon zest. Some subtle malt aromas.

Looks: Small head, with poor head retention. The head was off-white in colour. Some lace. The Beer was a cloudy amber/orange in colour.

Taste: Well balanced with a nice bitter finish. Citrusy. Lemon, orange peel.

Mouthfeel: Low volume of CO2. Smooth creamy mouthfeel. Medium bodied.

Overall, it's a nice sessionable Beer.

Bottle conditioned from the LCBO. A nice non-too-bitter bitter, with a crisp taste. The pour yields a cloudy copper pint topped with a frothy white head. A fresh, hoppy aroma greets the nose enticingly. The taste is not too complex, but quenching, with a mild hop body supported by malt and citrus. A perfect summer beer, except I don't taste it until long after summer Damn supply chain and red tape!

Bottle: Poured a hazy yellow/orange color ale with a small foamy head with minimal retention but some good lacing. Aroma consists of fruity ester with some floral malt. Taste is a mix between some floral malt with some nice fruity ester and a medium sweet hoppy finish. Medium body with some medium carbonation. Well done overall for the style and appears reasonably fresh which is always welcome.

A - Hazy orange golden colour with a couple of centimetres of white head.
S - Nice floral, tropical fruit hop notes. Some light biscuity malt touches.
T - The same floral, fruity hop notes as the aroma on top of a nice biscuity malt base.
M - Light to medium bodied with quite a dry finish.
D - Bring it on. A very tasty, yet not overpowering ale.

Pours a light and slightly hazy straw-yellow, with a one-finger pure white head that lasts reasonably well and leaves some lacing. Aroma is light and quite fruity, hints of citrus come through next to the tropical scents which dominate next to dry, biscuit-like maltiness. Taste emphasizes the bready malts at the expense of the hop character. Not much in the way of hop presence at all really, maybe a hint of pineapple alongside the honey sweetness. Mouthfeel is quite good though, smooth and with good body, and drinkability is also above average. Not a bad little bitter.

This is the best organic beer that I have had the opportunity of trying. It starts off with a half decent head, little retention and lacing. Has a cloudy light copper color.

On the first sniff I thought I was going to be disappointed but after a couple of minutes, a bit of warming and swirling , notes of floral grassy hops, pale malt and citrusy fruits came trough nicely.

Tastes of tropical fruits, good malt presence to balance everything and make this bitter very drinkable. On another note I would like to thank the L.C.B.O for having this beer available to me as fresh as possible ( I am being very sarcastic by the way).

This is delicious. Hazy orange with a half finger head. I like my yeast in my beers, so I did not decant. Sediment floated around the glass, but it was even. No yeasty chunks. Very sweet and citrusy aroma, with a touch of toast and floral hops. Oooh, did it taste good. One of those beers that just seems to hit the spot. Sweet and tangy citrus, bit of a malt backbone, and a metallic flavour that actually blended in and seemed right. Mouthfeel was light and somewhat chewy. An excellent session beer, at 4.6%.

Saw this bottle conditioned ale for sale at the LCBO the other day and had to try it. It poured a really cloudy, almost like a Belgian Tripel, with some puffy head. Smell was rather sour, really didn't smell too appetizing at the start, but once I tasted it that all changed, it is bitter, but has a somewhat butterscotchy finish. Unbelievable smoothness, with a slight bite. Perfect drinkability too. One of the easiest drinking brews I've had to date.

A great Bottle-Conditioned ale. What I wouldn't do to have this on Cask.

500ml bottle, BB February 2008.

The write-up suggest I could also enjoy the beer cloudy by introducing the sediment; although it wouldn't seem any is needed, the appearance is considerably dulled as is. A sickly looking honey colour with very poor retention. The thin spit of head that exist is holed and looks moth eaten (although it would leave sticky lacing). The presentation - from colour to complexion - appears unhealthy.

I have far fewer - if any - complaints about the aroma. A delightfully bold bouquet of esters and fruit tones. Minor hints of exotic flavours like pineapple and mango, grapefruit as well, all which carry a very "green", plant/vegetable like overtone. There's a really distant spice to the hops too...

The nice thing this beer does is via it's hops, which harmonize sweetness with bitterness. The two features together, balanced, make for a very nice drinking beer. A worthy session. Slightly metallic, high mineral character that is always present in the British bitters. Despite a light flavour profile, the body has some weight to it. The taste of honey lingers. A grainy taste of wheat dries out some of the flavour, although pineapple and grapefruit still come through, dried apricots more and more. The spice from the hops becomes apparent as it warms.

Considerably enjoyable. The hoping is fantastic and creates a seamless balance between sweet and bitter. I'd take this over many other UK bitters...

A - Pours a hazy orange with a decent sized head on a hard pour. Decent creaminess and stick.

S - Fruity, notes of orange and tangerine/mandarins. Slight metallic twang and subtle yeastiness.

T - Again, a slight yeasty twang and a big juicy fruit. Not overly bitter, but hoppy in flavour. Very muted toast and nuttiness.

M - Body is solidly medium, creamy and smooth.

D - The strong point of this brew for sure. Just a solid, drinkable, bitter. Tasty, but not palate-destroying, with a nice fresh hoppiness.

A: Hazy copper, fluffy off-white head, modest retention, good lacing.

S: Grainy, earthy, slight orange-citrus, peach, hint of fruity esters.

T: Earthy-orange, minerals, grainy malt, good bitterness. A little oxidized (flat cardboard flavour).

M: Light body, modest carbonation.

D: Fairly average.

Sessionable bitter. Target and Goldings hops. Cantillon-like sourness, coming across a bit of astringent yet qite drinkable. wheat malt aroma. Yellow with lace and a decent white head. This is a malted, faint honey bitterness experience which will be confirmed by the next bottle.

1/2 liter bottle

Poured a hazey honey colored ale in the glass with moderate carbonation and a decent 1 finger sticky cap which lasts and laces well.

Aroma is nice light peach fruit and grassyness with some botanical aromas.

A lovely malt-rich and mellow bitter with surprisingly smooth silky mouth feel..interesting mild botanical-fruity tones in a rich malt body and a lightly dry finish where some great hop presence leaves a tart taste in the mouth.

I’m not an ESB person but I like this.

I love the husky bee on the label.

This Bitter pours a hazy apricot color with a frothy smallish head that leaves swathes of lace behind. The aroma is lemony and herbal with cookie dough in the background. The taste is briskly hoppy with a classic Goldings flavor; tangy and citrusy with an earthy, woody dimension. A very light biscuity malt profile is definitely the second chair in this duet. The yeast flavor is dry and lacking in fruit/diacetyl esters for a british ale. Light tangy hops linger in the finish. The mouthfeel is light and creamy with carbonation.

This is a very tastey, light bodied bitter. It has a great hop presence and goes down very easily. Im surprised at the low rating.

Exp Feb 28/08. Tangerine colour with a thin white head, lots of large bubbles stuck to the sides of the Guiness glass after pouring, carbonation is quite active to begin with. Not much lacing to speak of. Smells of hops, sweet honey dew, apricot. Hoppy taste and mouthfeel, malted barley comes through, the amount of bitterness seems to strike a nice chord. Fruity notes in the mouth and finish, again a sweet-ish apricot fruit with just enough dryness and bitterness to make it work, slightly astringent. Overall, a pleasant beer that's likely to have broad appeal.