Black Sheep Monty Pythons Holy Grail

Brewed by Black Sheep
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Ripon, England

Ok I have to admit that I bought it just for the name since I am a MP fan. I expected something average or even below that , but was pretty surpised. A decent good looking bitter. Crisp and malty. Balanced taste of fruit and spices. Very nice.

I found it to be very smooth - not too much hoppiness (which Brit beers seem to be known for). I thought it might be a drain pour based on the hokey name but it turned out to be quite smooth. Lacked some flavor however..

(03.15.06) One pint, 9 fl oz brown bottle purchased from Whole foods, Deerfield, IL. Pours clear orange with average white head. Soft carbonation. Fruity esters and sweet malt in the nose. Medium bodied that starts dry with tiny malt sweetness and fruity/toasted malt/nutty flavor. Finishes dry and clean with light bittnerness and light malt fade. Good drinkable dry ale that goes well with food.

From a 1pt.9oz. hop embossed narrow neck brown bottle with no bottled/freshness. Made a good appearance, poured a hazy copper with a large fluffy, rocky white that slowly settled into a thin creamy lacing, good carbonation. Had a sweet caramel malt and grassy earthy hops nose with some herbal and citric aromas in the background. A smooth, slick medium bodied mouth feel, good drinkability. Tart fruity with caramelized sugar, lemony, earthy and herbal hoppiness, mild and rolling in it’s bitterness, a butteriness shows up in the middle, and a sweet grainy finish. A decent English Pale Ale, quite enjoyable, like getting hit over the head by a dead chicken from a armored knight.

..a novelty beer...similar to but distinctly lower in quality than Black Sheep......still not bad on a hot day.........................

Nice aroma, smells faintly of summer time with notes of hay and the faint scent of hops. Nicely bitter, smooth across the tongue, faint aftertaste. It *says* it’s "Tempered over burning witches", but I didn’t taste a single note of witch in it :( It’s an amusing bottle and a beer worth buying, with a taste a step above what you’ll find in the beer section in most grocery stores.

Poured from bottle into Imperial Pint. Light clear copper with nice initial head, but quickly subsided to a very thin layer. Aroma of bready malts and strong fruitiness. Bready malts, some tea-like character and very light bitterness. Despite the flat look, it seems overly fizzy. Also, a little thin. Easy to drink EPA, but nothing out of the ordinary. Would love to have this at a pub in England, instead of bottled at home.

Bottle. A - Light amber color with a modest white head. About normal retention. S - Slight floral and apple scents with bready scents also coming through. T - Tradition bready English malts. The hops also provide light floral and herbal flavors. The malt and hops are pretty balanced. There is also a slight hint of fruit (mostly apple) and some spice. M - Medium bodied with a decent amount of carbonation. D - This is pretty easy to drink, and it doesn’t have any offensive flavors. However, it also doesn’t have anything that makes me want to come back for another one. Notes: Well balanced but fairly subtle flavors. Kind of a middle of the road beer, but it’s a decent British session beer. Other than the novelty factor, I probably wouldn’t search for this specifically, but it may be worth a try.