This hoppy beer is brewed by Shepherd Neame from Kentish hops. It is 4% ABV.
This beer is not a light beer as such, not like Hop or a really blonde beer, but it is much lighter than Spitfire. It is very hoppy and the bitterness of the hops is not balanced by a strong malt flavour as it can be in darker beers. It has a slightly fruity taste without much complexity or richness. It is very pleasant - a nice session bitter but that’s all.
This is an excellent ale brewed by Shepherd Neame. They say they use “Kentish hops,” which I presume just means they use hops from Kent - I don’t think “Kentish” is the name of a particular hop variety. It is 4.5% ABV.
This is a great beer. As soon as I poured it I could smell the wonderful aroma. It has a strong, hoppy, complex flavour. The rich taste of the malt barley complements the slightly spicy flavour of the hops. The finish is strong without being too bitter. Great stuff.
This is a very pleasant ale brewed by Prince Charles’ Duchy of Cornwall Trust using First Gold hops. It is 5% ABV.
In keeping with the Duchy Originals ethos, this beer is made with a traditional English variety of barley, Plumage Archer, and an English variety of hop, First Gold. It has quite a rich flavour - apparently due to the barley - but it isn’t particularly strong, not like a really dark beer. It’s smooth and deep (precisely what I mean by ‘deep’ I don’t know but I can’t think of a better word at the moment) without having any particular outstanding flavour. This is actually a good thing, as it means it is easy and pleasant to drink, as opposed to those amazingly special beers which taste fantastic but which you can’t really drink a lot of in one evening.
Osprey is a dark ale brewed by the Wychwood brewery from Northdown and Goldings hops. It is 6.5% ABV.
Apparently it is “Brewed exclusively for Sainsbury’s” so you will have to brave the hideous shiny supermarket if you want a bottle of this stuff. If I were you, I wouldn’t bother. It claims to be “strong and rich” but I was disappointed. It is pleasant but I was expecting more. I was expecting something dark and rich but it’s actually fairly bland and uninteresting. It’s not bad, it’s just not very good either. It also has quite a bitter aftertaste, so I wouldn’t want more than one pint in a row.
This is a pipe tobacco blend by Peterson. It is made from Black Cavendish, Golden and Red Virginia, mixed with “luxury broken flake” (whatever that is.)
I’m even worse at describing tobacco than I am at describing food and drink. Nevertheless, I wanted to at least document the fact that I like this blend. It has a nice aromatic flavour to it. They claim “Tropical fruit, Maple, Vanilla & Rum”. It is slightly reminiscent of tropical fruit, and there’s something else there that might be vanilla. I’m not sure about the rum or the maple though - I don’t think I know what maple tastes like anyway.
It’s very smooth. None of the flavours on their own is very strong but they are all pleasant and come together in a nice blend.
This is a light ale by Greene King. It is brewed with Tettnang hops and is 5% ABV.
It’s quite nice and very easily drinkable. It’s light but not sharp like some blonde beers. The blurb on the label says it has a “subtle soft fruit aroma & smooth citrus taste.” That sounds about right really. Although I do like some blonde beers I tend to find them a bit hard to drink, like lager, but this one is much smoother. Similarly, it is quite hoppy without being overly bitter. Overall, it’s very pleasant, I could happily drink it for an evening, but it’s nothing particularly special either. It comes in a 750ml bottle and apparently it’s meant to complement food, which sounds plausible. That would also explain, although not excuse, its previous name: “The Beer To Dine For”.
