Tomos Watkin Old Style Bitter
The Hurns Brewing Co.

Tomos Watkin Old Style BitterTomos Watkin Old Style Bitter
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From:
The Hurns Brewing Co.
 
Wales, United Kingdom
Style:
English Bitter
ABV:
4.5%
Score:
84
Avg:
3.69 | pDev: 11.92%
Reviews:
24
Ratings:
35
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 10, 2020
Added:
Nov 03, 2005
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  1
A rich red premium cask ale produced using pale ale, crystal and wheat malt. A full fruity/citrus hop flavour of willamette and fuggle with the light aroma of goldings.

Bronze medalist at The GBBF 1999 and runner up in The Champion Ale of Wales 1999.
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Ratings by drperm:
Photo of drperm
Reviewed by drperm from Virginia

3.88/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Paying homage to my Welsh ancestors with this one.

A: An English-looking ale (don't tell the Welshmen I said that) -- copper-brown, nicely hazy, thin lacing.

S: Subtle grassy notes. Subtle malt. Subtlety all around.

T: Malty, bitter, flinty, good. The mineral-water quality may be a bit much for some (my wife doesn't care for it) but I find it charming and refreshing. A nice floral-yeast finish to boot.

M: A bit slick, a bit sweet, but no real complaints.

D: Highly sessionable; great with mild Indian curries. It gets better -- comes alive, really -- as it sits in the glass. And the price round these parts is great, especially considering the large bottle size.
Jun 22, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of Steve555
Reviewed by Steve555 from Wales

3.73/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Nice reddish brown hue with decent tan head that fades quite quickly. Smell is of dried dark fruits and some old books. Taste is dried figs and a hint of banana, quite malty and sweet with a little bitterness. Feel is quite thin but pleasantly unassuming making it quite quaffable for the style. One of my favourites in my least favourite style.
Jul 10, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by ZCW from New Jersey

Nov 06, 2014
 
Rated: 2 by BogAl from Indiana

Oct 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by sjjn from California

Aug 08, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by KAF from Iowa

Jul 09, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Jerseyislandbeer from Jersey

May 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by BillRoth from Maryland

Dec 08, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Hopheadjeffery from Illinois

Aug 03, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Slatetank from Pennsylvania

May 26, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by mecummins from Illinois

Mar 04, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Rwalford74 from Australia

Feb 23, 2013
Photo of emerge077
Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois

3.05/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
New brewer, new country, Wales. Here goes...

A lot number and time appear to be printed on the neck "L0276 01:44".
On the price tag there's "05 11" which may be a received date... hmm.
Back label says "Imported by Cloverdale International, Algonquin, IL".

Open the bottle and whiffs of oxidation waft out. Bummer. Malty and bready with telltale mustiness and cardboard. It's color is actually nice, a dark saturated reddish auburn, with a half inch of tan foam on the surface. The foam dissipates to a skim, then to a bare circle around the edges of the glass.

Taste is malty and bready with some fruit qualities, raisin and apple, some tangy astringency though. Oxidation is present. Mellow cask-like carbonation level. Hope to find a fresher bottle of this down the road to re-review, if in fact it's still imported.
Feb 02, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by CwrwAmByth from England

Feb 27, 2012
Photo of damndirtyape
Reviewed by damndirtyape from Ohio

3.83/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Single bottle poured into a tulip stout glass. While there was a digital stamp on the neck of the bottle, the numbers didn't obviously mean anything to me.

Appearance: Translucent orange-copper beer with a very light tan head. Poured an impressive 1/2" thick head initially, which died down to a thin head across the top with lots and lots of lacing all over the glass. Head comes back with a swirl and stays around a bit with still plenty of lacing.

Smell: Toffee-like malt with a tea-like hop smell. Very much like a classic bitter.

Taste: Toffee and caramel malt up front moving quickly into a bitter finish. Every now and then there is some nutty flavors in there...peanut, walnut? Can't place it. The bitterness isn't quite as tea-like as it was in the smell, more like an English bitter finish. Very simple in the flavor profile here, with the bitterness being most of the flavor once the sweeter malt moves out of the way.

Mouthfeel: Plenty of carbonation on the tongue with something sticking to the teeth, but otherwise just a hair thicker than water. Actually, quite a lot of carbonation for a bitter. Otherwise, nothing special.

Drinkability: After drinking this, I think it would be better with food. The carbonation does a good job cleansing the palate, and I think with the simple flavor profile, it would compliment food nicely rather than get in the way. By itself though, it's just okay. Maybe a lot warmer or on cask (less carbonation) I would enjoy it more by itself. Good looking beer though.
Mar 06, 2011
Photo of EricCioe
Reviewed by EricCioe from Montana

3.99/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
It pours a medium brown with a nice one finger head that fades to a small ring around the edge in a short while. There is no lacing to speak of. On the nose it's like a date or banana bread. On the tongue there is so much going on it's kind of hard to follow in a very pleasant way. There are apples and definitely raisin and other dark fruit notes right up front that lingers for a while, giving way to a really nicely restrained bitterness further back on the tongue that also sticks around. In the mouth it's a medium finish defined by a slightly prickly, again in a good way, slight carbonation. I can see myself sitting down for a ploughman's lunch with two of these. Really a nice beer that I bought on a whim because it was a style I've just recently come to enjoy.
Oct 06, 2010
Photo of SaCkErZ9
Reviewed by SaCkErZ9 from South Carolina

3.43/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pours from a 16.9oz bottle into an imperial pint glass. Caramel tea colored with a creamy white head. Mostly clead but somewhat of a chill haze is formed.

Aroms is really bready and biscuity. Sweet and some dark fruits are apparent as well. Not sure I am liking the sweet caramel aromas of this one. I was hoping for something a little more blalanced, meaning not as sweet.

Sweet on the tongue at first but followed by some roast bitterness and chocolate. I am liking the roasty bitterness but still a bit more caramel than my liking. Plenty of biscuit flavor makes this one a nearly full bodied beverage.

Due to the sweetness, I dont see this as a top tier version of the style. A little less caramel would really be spot on. I guess I liked it but I dont think I will revisit.
Aug 31, 2009
Photo of morebeergood
Reviewed by morebeergood from Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Picked up a bottle at the Wine Gallery Kenmore for about $4. Poured into a British pint glass. Caramel brown and reddish color. Nice head retention. Ample carbonation. Smell was a bit hoppy and fruity, almost like apple. Had a nice malty flavor to it, with perhaps a slight twinge of pine noticed. It's a thin beer, as it's made that way. Got a bit of a dry cotton feeling in the back of the throat about three quarters of the way through the bottle. Low abv makes this an easy drinker. Maybe not an all night beer, but a few would be no problem.
Jul 22, 2009
Photo of oberon
Reviewed by oberon from North Carolina

3.7/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
A nice after work beer here.Poured into a imperial nonic a dull slight hazed copper/bronze with a thinner white head.Malt dominated aromas to be expected,caramel/biscuit and fruity esters with a hint of brown sugar.True to stryle the beers nuances came thru more as it warmed a little,toffee and caramel dominated the fklavor profile with just a light smack of leafy hop in the finish.A big time quaffer,light but flavorful,a nice bitter.
May 17, 2009
Photo of branko7
Reviewed by branko7 from Illinois

4.44/5  rDev +20.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Hazy, reddish amber in color. A little bit of foam that lingers.
The smell was a bit bitter---the only part I didn't like too much.
The taste was very satisfying---bready malt predominates, with a bit of citrusy, herbal hops.
Not very carbonated---the way I like it.
Very drinkable. I was very pleasantly surprised. I like this style in general, and I'd rate this example near the top.
Apr 14, 2009
Tomos Watkin Old Style Bitter from The Hurns Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 35 ratings