Adnams Lighthouse (Bottle)

Brewed by Adnams
Style: Bitter
Southwold, England

Serve in English pint

Bottle from Centra, Oslo. Lovely ruby color. Very fruity, sour cherries, hoppy aftertaste. Lots of aroma packed into this one, shows that you cam make amazing low alcohol beer if you really want to!

Smells of wheat fields after they’ve been harvested. Lovely copper brown colour. Wonderful mouth feel; thirst quenching. Initial leafy flavours and hints of mustard followed by a big nettle-hop bite. A light body and long bitter finish help it along no end. A really good session bitter.

Bottle. Bronze with a malty fruitiness. Slightly hoppy finish with more flavour than I had expected considering its low strength.

500ml bottle at Chris o New Year tasting 08/09. Pale amber, thin beige. Actually quite a nice bitter. Good biscuit. Excellent biscuity bitter. Surprisingly good. Nice. Will definitely be having this again.

I bought this in the Adnams shop in Richmond. First thing I was say is that the colour is great. Clear red/golden/copper colour. Very little head, Someone else said that the aroma was a bit like freshly cut crops and I have to agree with that. I can taste citrus, raisins and there is a very slight ginger or spice flavour in there. The first taste I had I was not that fussed, but it seams to get better after a few mouthfuls. Long lasting after taste. Its very mild, I mean I could drink a lot of this. Now really keen to know what this is like on tap.

UPDATED: MAR 6, 2011 The British are known for making beers low in alcohol that still have genuine flavor (not unlike our "lite" beers here). The Adnams Lighthouse is a beer I’d love to pit against any macro light lager in a taste test. While it may not be the most delicious or robust beer in the world, it does have a nice flavor and high drinkability.

I poured a 500ml bottle into a Victorina nonic pint glass.

Appearance: Pure amber color. Crystal-clear with plenty of noticeable carbonation. Nice eggshell-colored, frothy/creamy head with decent retention and lacing.

Smell: At first it smells a tad skunky, but upon closer examination it’s more of a cereal malt scent. This beer seems very similar to a generic American summer seasonal, but without any wheat or fruit (well, perhaps a touch of white grape).

Taste: A difficult palate to describe. This is a deliberately mild beer, so the flavor here must be reached for. I get a slightly sweet, slightly doughy, Cheerios-like flavor across the front and middle. The finish and aftertaste and the same - mostly clean, but a tad malty. This beer has an almost lager-like taste that’s a little tangy, but easily tolerable.

Mouthfeel: Surprisingly thick and soft for such a light beer. Despite the many bubbles in my glass, it feels quite tepid.

Drinkability: An extremely chuggable beer and if I were drinking this on a hot summer’s day that’s exactly how I would want it to drink it. Finishes mostly clean, but there is a touch of dryness in the aftertaste.

Overall, a fine English pub-style beer to session for hours on end while watching rugby or football. Not as robust as I’d prefer, but I appreciate the drinkability of this one.

NOTE: Watch the video version of this review at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSuyQP_yyIE

Bottle from Morrison’s. Aroma& flavour of hops, malts & caramel. Medium brown colour. Light & refreshing.

500ml Bottle - Amber in colour. Fruity aroma with berries, dried fruit, spicy malt and caramel. The aroma also reminds me of Shandy Bass (I’m getting nostalgic now!). Nicely balanced taste with fruity and hoppy notes vying for attention. The taste has notes of caramel, spicy malt, dried fruit and peach. An awful lot of flavour for the strength.