Adnams Explorer (Bottle)

Brewed by Adnams
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Southwold, England

Serve in English pint

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Bottled, pasteurised, 500ml. Orange gold with white head. Adnams are one of my favourite breweries and this was given to me at a meet the Brewer night, so I wanted to be generous, but it has nowhere near the character of the cask beer, it is sharp and a little tinny and for its ABV, somewhat thin. There is a reasonable hoppiness on the finish, but I did expect so much more.

A bit of a disappointment this one given the other couple of Adnams I have had were quite decent. Look okay with a orange amber body and fluffy beige head. Mixed aroma with some banana paddlepop, sugary toffee and some general staleness that seems commonplace in pasteurised bitters. A bitter and sweet flavour that just doesn’t seem right, appearing to compete rather than work together. On tasting some nuttiness appears but is baseless. Rather heavy feeling, with the sweetness cloying and although there a healthy carbonation it doesn’t help to break it up. As a "light and refreshing" beer it just doesn’t work as far as I’m concerned.

Hoppy, citric and quite interesting. fuller body than expected for a ’light’ beer, indistinct malt appears as an aftertaste. Hop flavours good, quite sharp - would go well with spicy food though.

I guess all explorers are a bit eccentric - it’s pretty much a job requirement. I mean, who in their right mind kisses the missus goodbye, says "See you in two or three years - if I survive" and puts to sea in a leaky boat with no reliable map or clear idea where they are heading? This Explorer certainly fits the bill. It’s a "blonde" brewed with American hops and emerging with much of the character of a standard English ESB. The experiment can be applauded, but it’s not entirely successful. For a blonde, this one has been under the sunlamp, in the process acquiring a rich bronze tan. The head retention is above average for the British bottled ales of my experience. There’s a whiff of fresh peaches in the aroma, plus tropical fruit cordial and the usual pasteurised burnt sugars. It’s a little bit smoky, but overall muddy and ill-defined. They certainly haven’t been heavy-handed with the Chinook. There are lots of fruity esters in there - watery passionfruit and quince - with some typical nutty malts - hazelnuts - before a fairly resinous finish. Quite a chewy palate. Some citric sourness in the finish. Bit too sweet, for mine, and I’m not sure that this particular marriage of English malts and US hops has my blessing. That said, it’s slightly above average for a bottled British bitter, IMO. (500ml bottle from Camperdown Cellars, Parramatta Rd. BB 17/4/07)

Mlat hop aroma. Clear yellow colour with poor head and lacing. Stale malt flavour. Flat palate.

Bottle from Asda. poured a clear dolden colour with a little white head and light carbonation; light hoppy aroma; explodes in the mouth with a rich grapefruit flavour. Excellent bitterness to start, if this beer lacks anything it’s follow through - the aftertaste is disappointingly light.

brewed with two American hops, hence the name "Explorer", light flavoured with many flavours. Once again what is it with these Scandinavians? Sulphury?? Nutmeg? Watery?? No bitterness?? I dont know but our beers are far superior to yours

Rusty copper hue with a fast dissapating head. Light hoppy aroma. Light malty taste with a fruity, citrus finish. Malty flavour develops in the mouth long after you have sipped the beer. A pleasant enough bottle.

UPDATED: DEC 23, 2006 Another great blonde beer produced by a brewer more wont of brewing up more traditional ales and bitters for our enjoyment, but the Suffolk country bumpkins/inbreds at Adnams do a deuced fine job, if I may be permitted to thus say. Golden gold in colour and a sweet refreshing citrusy taste. Best suited to summer drinking, slightly chilled. This beer is so good, I could drink it!

500ml bottle from Tesco. Golden amber colour. Quite a blast of resinous hops here - seemed rather more pronounced than the cask version I’d tried before. Perhaps the extra alcohol also contributes to giving the bottled version more punch. The US hops do come through but, on the nose, its more tropical fruit, peaches and pear drop sweets than floral character, although the aroma is not hugely pronounced. More hops on the palate, with orange zest coming through strongly. Sharp, spicy and a little acidic on the finish. Some might find the lack of balancing malt off-putting but I thought it was a decent, assertive, thirst-quencher.