Batemans Strawberry Fields

Formerly brewed at Batemans
Style: Bitter
Skegness, England

Serve in English pint

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UPDATED: SEP 16, 2007 Cask (handpump) at Penderel’s Oak (JDW), Holborn, October 2006. Amber colour with a big tight head (served through a sparkler obviously). Fruity, slightly bready aroma, which could be said for most Batemans beers. Rather reminiscent of malt loaf. Not too much strawberry in evidence. The flavour is again, typically fruity Batemans bitter but, again, not too much strawberry. Sligtly sharepr mouthfeel than the Batemans norm which, I guess, might suggest some added fruit. But, overall its more a bitter with a slight strawberry accent than a full on fruit beer. When I did a Batemans brewery tour a few years ago, they told me that they had tried a strawberry beer but it gunged up the pipework so badly that they had to resort to using cider (presumably the acidity did the trick) to clean them, and then sold a few barrels of strawberry flavoured cider in their pubs! Perhaps they decided not to go through that again and toned down the fruit content radically. OK but a bit dull really.

Tasted this in the Saltcot, Saltcoats (JDW) in October 2006. Cask, handpump dispense. Clear pale ruby in colour with a thin white head. Strong and intense aroma of fresh strawberry tarts from the baker! Refreshing but thin mouthfeel and poor lacing. Pale malts give a slight woody redcurrant note which really fades fast and no sign of any strawberry fruit in the taste. A dry woody aftertaste with hop resins adding bitterness. Finish is dry and bitter and not sweet as the seductive aroma promised. Duped and disappointed with the fruit beer let down.

I’m no beer conoisseur by any stretch of the imagination. But when I tried this at Wetherspoons Beer Festival back in October in Bridlington - I instantly loved it. I have always preferred lager, but when I tasted this I fell in love with the taste. I don’t live in Bridlington though, and now I am back home in Barnsley, I have not seen this beer anywhere since. I would love to see this locally, even if it was only in cans at the local supermarket. Anyone know where I could get this please?

ruby coloured, light strawbery in the aroma. very bitter but not strawb in the flavour.

JDW, Eastbourne. Slightly tannic with strawberry hints and a softy, fresh, hoppy Goldings bitterness that develops into a lasting finish. This is a fine hoppy bitter with strawberry hints from the added fruit. Tasty.

A Sim rate (on tap at JDW): Strawberry liquor aroma. Smells a bit syrupy but the flavour is surprisingly natural in its strawberryness. Slightly bitter initial hit but great aftertaste of fresh strawbs. Nice and refreshing without being too sweet.

Cask conditioned - handpump - JDW Northampton. A light amber colourd beer with a whitish head and lacing. The aroma has some faint fruit which is sweet and a little syrupy. The taste isfairly hidden strawberry against a normal ordinary English bitter. Not awful but unspectacular.

Cask at The Pilgrim’s Progress (JDW), Bedford. Old Gold, slightly hazy, with a small, off-white head. Very odd sweet, jammy aroma. The fruit taste was reminiscent of frozen strawberries. This needed sourness and dryness. Then it might have been quite good.

Cask at JDW, Penny Black, Bicester 22-10-06. Reddy/Brown in colour very little head, aroma fruity and sweet this is replicated in the taste with a definate sweetness and syrupy fruitness I could liken it to being a bit like eating a strawberry opal fruit then having a swig of a standard bitter, unfortunatley I was also drinking the Belgian Fruit Beer Brasserie d’Eccousannines??, whilst lovingly cradling my just purchased Thomas Hardy ale to take home, Loz had thoroughly detested the Belgian beer and was now sharing this, so my taste buds were being tortured with all manner of fruit flavours none of which tasted particularly authentic. Not as bad as the Belgian beer but that is in no way a ringing endorsement.

Cask handpull at Folkestone Wetherspoon’s. Red/copper colour with disappearing beige/pink head. Artificial perfumed strawberry aroma. Awful in mouth. Fruit and beer not integrated. Chalky. Like drinking liquid strawberry Rennie indigestion tablets. Awful.