Lakeland Gold
Hawkshead Brewery /

500ml bottle from Morrisons, Carlisle (£2.05):
Clear, light amber with a soapy lacing on top that's patchy. Pale earthy hops & English hops on the nose, biscuit & grassy notes with subtle citrus. The taste is relatively bitter with more biscuit & light malts; its clean on the palate with grassy hops to finish.

 

500 ml bottle, from Ales By Mail. ABV is 4.4%. Deep golden to orange colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of fruity hops. Fruity and zesty flavour of Cascade hops, well balanced, good bitterness, pleasant to drink.

From the bottle, it pours a nice amber with a large robust head. The head stays around for a while. Nicely fragrantly hoppy. Malty and lightly bitter in the mouth. Velvety smooth. Yum!

 

Bottle. Golden amber. Quite a tight frothy head.
Hops and light caramel to the nose.
Light bitter taste develops further at the end. Slightly buttery.
Medium body. Soft carbonation close to bottle conditioned.
A gentle beer and well worth a visit.

 

From a 500ml bottle.
L: Rich, red/amber colour. Completely clear and no carbonation visible. A two-finger, soapy, off-white head collapses slowly to leave rings of lacing.
S: Rich, soft, brown sugar.
T: Layers of caramel, honeysuckle, and golden syrup give way to grass and herbs.
F: Medium body. Crisp and dry with hop oils adding richness on the tongue. Light carbonation.
O: Really excellent, traditional-ish English bitter. Refreshing, dry, moreish. Fantastic rich malt base with grassy English hops and a fruity high five from American Cascade. Perfect in any season and in any weather.

 

 

 

 

 

Bottled
Golden amber body nice big frothy white head that pretty much sticks
aroma of brewing coppers & citrus shampoo
There's that citrus hop pitch balanced against traditional soapy British ale & bitter finish
I really must give this a try on cask

 

500ml bottle, best before Dec 2011.

This beer pours a clear medium golden amber hue, with two fingers of puffy, foamy eggshell white head, which leaves some nice twisted Swiss cheese lace around the glass as it settles. It smells quite fetchingly of dry biscuit malt, and lemony, bitter leafy hops. The taste is crackery, grainy, bready malt, mostly consumed (before me, that is) by a splendid, even, bitter leafy, somewhat citrus peel-esque, musty floral hoppiness. The carbonation is moderate, the body medium weight, and fairly smooth amongst the astringent hop fray. It finishes mostly dry, the well laid out hops still in full bloom.

Now this, this, my friends, is a bitter. Just a wee bit Yankified, but that's ok to my over-IPA'd senses. Low ABV, big flavour, what's not to love? Next time I'm in the UK, I shall endeavor to seek this out, when asked the inevitable 'What'll it be then - bitter or lager?'

A 500ml bottle with a BB of Sept 2011. The label describes it as beer from the heart of the lakes.

Poured into a Sam Smith's pint glass. A rich golden-amber colour with light carbonation. Produces a foamy white head with large bubbles - looks a bit insubstantial and doesn't last more than a minute or two. The aroma is great; a floral hoppiness hits you immediately, with light malty undertones.

As with the nose, a hoppy bitterness is the first thing you notice upon tasting. This is balanced with malt and a faint underlying sweetness. Floral notes as you swallow. Mouthfeel has a mild prickly sensation, and is somewhat astringent. A rather nice but distinctly bitter aftertaste.

Overall, a lovely beer with a fantastic flavour. A light body with good bitterness - would be perfect outside on a sunny day. Well worth trying if you happen to come across it...