Chardonnayle
Red Lion Ales

Beer Geek Stats
From:
Red Lion Ales
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English Pale Ale
ABV:
5.1%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.87 | pDev: 8.79%
Reviews:
2
Ratings:
2
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 04, 2010
Added:
Jun 08, 2004
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Recent ratings and reviews.
Photo of soulgrowl
Reviewed by soulgrowl from England

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A touch too dark, golden, and frothy to be confused with an actual Chardonnay - but maybe after a few drinks it would pass. The nose is all butterscotch, honey, seeded bread, and ripe pears. I guess it's kinda Chardonnay-like in its buttery/fruity character, but just about any Belgian blonde ale shows far more affinity to white wine without even trying. Distressingly, the flavor also fails to live up to its name. It is an above-average English pale ale in the Landlord vein, but that's all; tangy citrus, sharp rocket, and biscuity grain make for a nice bitter but nothing that might captivate the palate of a hardcore Napa Valley oenophile. It's a good beer, for sure, but why bother with such pretense?
Aug 04, 2010
Photo of TheLongBeachBum
Reviewed by TheLongBeachBum from California

4.21/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Presentation: Sampled during my recent Easter vacation trip back to the UK. Dispensed fresh from the Handpump at O’Donoghue's (see BeerFly) in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. Chardonnayle is an old friend brewed in my home town of Ossett, by one of the original partners in the Ossett Brewery. Now on his own, Bob Hunter is creating his own beer at the Red Lion Brewery, also in Ossett. Bob was renowned for his hoppy golden Pale Ales whilst at the Ossett Brewery, and this is something he has continued at Red Lion.

Appearance: A man-sized proper Imperial Pint served in a straight sided sleeve glass that I love to hate. Light golden body with a pastel straw hint. Extremely lucid the light hardly bends as it travels through the golden body. Excellent conditioning, partially thanks to the freshly tapped Cask and the tight fitting sparkler on the Beer Engine. The creamy white heads forms slowly but perfectly to create a white cap that sits serenely atop a fine looking Ale.

Nose: Incredibly fresh, it leaps out of the glass. Fruity aromatic Hops and a light pilsner malt odor. Fruity bitterness that is true to the Cask style, never overpowering, never understated, a nose that will see you nicely through a Gallon in a 4 hour Session

Taste: Brewed with Willamette Hops from the US, this beer is so aptly named. It most certainly exhibits the better of two fermentable Worlds. It benefits from the juicy inviting and refreshing light body of a Chardonnay, yet retains the silky mouthfeel of a finely conditioned floral and hoppy Cask Ale that retains quaffability so legendary of this style. Could this be a “Win-Al-e”? Gorgeous.

Mouthfeel: Supremely balanced. Fine carbonation from the Cask is rarely bettered. Every tip of the Pint glass produced an intense creamy activity at the beers surface which slowly settles until the next gulp, which is never far away.

Drinkability: Imbibed in copious quantities, on several occasions during my vacation, whenever I saw this offering from Red Lion Brewery, I knew that the “quick pint” I promised myself would inevitably become a drinking session, especially if any friends were in bar. Highly quaffable.

Overall: An excellent brew that drinks like a true “Session” ale, but at 5.1% which is above average for a UK Cask Ale, it had a tendency to creep up on you after 5 or 6 Imperial Pints. Absolutely superb, and well worth seeking out. One of my favorite Cask Ales during my recent trip home.
Jun 08, 2004
Chardonnayle from Red Lion Ales
Beer rating: 3.87 out of 5 with 2 ratings