 Whelk (124), Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
Jan 27, 2008
Cask at the Fox and Duck. Pours a pale gold with a thin white head. Aroma is citrus hops and a little spice as well. Flavors are slight malt, grass, citrus fruit (orange, lemon).
Mes_and_Sim (4320), Highgate, Greater London, England
Jan 13, 2008 A Mes rate: Cask at the Wenlock.
Pale gold with a very thin white head. Heavy tobacco in the aroma with some lovely citric hops and lots of green fruit. Flavour is along the same lines but even better. It’s all about the finish. Bitter and grassy with really good length. Slight tobacco and lots of orange. Almost like vitamin c tablets. (Could do with one of those right now actually...) Plenty of other tropical fruit notes too but the orange takes centre stage. Decent stuff.
imdownthepub (4017), Banbury, Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, England
Sep 30, 2007 Cask conditioned at The Salutation inn, Nottingham. Pale gold with white head. ESBman has summed this beer up perfectly. A light, if a little thin, malty bitter with noticeable citrusy Northdown hops. Lemony, garpefruit and dry. A pleasant, easy going summery beer. Good stuff.
ESBman (50), Andover, Bedfordshire, England
Jan 31, 2007 Tasted by a half-pint at the Swim Inn, a JDW pub in Sheffield. Served by a handpump w/ a sparkler.
Appearance: pale yellow in colour like a baby duck, with a very tight and creamy white frothy head that lasts throughout the drink… very low in carbonation.
Aroma: an ashy and spicy note comes through the thick froth, gradually Northdown’s aroma of citrus-peels reveals itself… the hop profile is balanced and mild, with a good sour kick at the back and minimum malt entry. Somehow the thick froth has hindered the free movement of the potentially nice aroma, but that’s the price to pay for a good-looking pint of real ale…
Flavour: a wave of assertive, vertical bittersweet maltiness dominates the palate, like pop-corns, with a buttery touch closely behind; the malts come hand in hand with a mild aroma of lemon-grassy, citrus-zesty, straw-ish and floral hoppyness, followed by a 3D-structured and superbly-lingering hop bitterness, pleasant touches of spiciness and tannins in the aftertaste.
Palate and Overall: creamy-smooth and refreshing at the same time, the aerated froth and texture makes this beer a really soft nectar; despite its light body, this deliciously hoppy Blond Bitter tastes intense with a clear theme and high complexity due to the nice structure b/w pale malts and juicy hops.
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