Ballards Duck House

Formerly brewed at Ballards
Style: Barley Wine
Petersfield, England

Serve in Snifter

Bought from the brewery on the release date dec 2009. Its passed its BBE. Pours completely flat, no head whatsoever. Dark ruby. There’s balsamic vinegar and sherry on the nose. Very complex medium body reminiscent of an oud bruin. Oxidised of course with a lot of vinegar, some soggy cardboard, autolysed yeast marmite flavours, a hint of lactic acid, rounded body, quite sweet, vinous fruit. Long savoury finish with more marmite.

Cask - White Cliffs Festival 2010, Dover. Oh dear. Ok, so it looked average - a dark brown with a fine & frothy, disappearing beige head but apart from that... Aggressively acidic & tangy on the nose, I’ll go as far as calling it Balsamic vinegar rather than regular malt vinegar but little else is on offer. Taste is pretty much the same, maybe some raisin notes in there but I may just be being kind. Yea, the palate is alright as well - apart from being a bit cloying - but nothing more than average.

Dover Beer Festival 2010. Another Old Bounder, another foul beer. Malt vinegar aroma. Rough malt and ugly tobacco hops. There’s very little to commend this. Cereal, thick, unpleasant. Barely drinkable.