3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
bottle at jans ... golden amber ... small off white lacing ... soft peppery apricot nose ... soft creamy toffee malts ... soft fruits ... ok ... light yeast in finish
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
21st February 2013
Chelmsford Winter Beer Festival in KEGS! Light haze on this gold beer. Little bubbly white head. Palate is smooth. Orange marmalade, a little floralness, honey. Trace of tropical fruits and a drop of lemon. Finishes semi dry with a medium bitter linger. Nice flavours but with this strength it could use a crisper palate.
3.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 13/20
UPDATED: MAR 10, 2013 WOO! I got to add the brewery!! So Billericay finally has its own brewery. Well, soon hopefully; this first offering was contract brewed at Dominion near Ongar. 375ml half-champagne bottle, with a champagne cork & wire, from Cellars, Western Road, Billericay. Drunk today (13/02/13). Clear, golden. Pours decent cream head, with mid-sized bubbles, diminishing fairly quickly to patchy, thin head. High carb; seems like the conditioning is going well. Sediment stays stuck to bottom of bottle. Aroma - Strong orange, satsuma citrus hops are good, but there’s a sour, yeasty, solvent-ish note to it, which seems like a bit of an off-note, but it’s not too off-putting. Possibly some acetaldehyde? Also a bit of bubblegum which is strange. The citrus hops dominate though and save it. Taste - Light sweet caramel malt, with citrussy, satsuma aroma hops - tasty & well balanced. Mid bitter, lighty dry, citrus finish. Nice citrus aftertastes - bit of dry grapefruit & spicy hop resin. But again, there seems to be a bit of off-flavour going on with some slightly harsh, alcohol solventy-ness. I’m not an expert, but i think this could be acetaldehyde; it seems to taste a bit apple-ish. Also, a bit of sour yeastiness. Bit astringent, thin and solventy palate, which lets it down. A good start, though maybe a bit too ambitious to start with a big, strong style like this - it comes across as an amateur brew, but still a good one. I’m sure with time and tweaking it will be a good professional brew. I think it just needs a bit more rounded malt and body and a smoother palate to compliment the higher abv. and the solventy issue needs sorting. Without these tainted flavours this would be a lovely beer and i’m sure it will be. Look forward to seeing some more beers from Billericay!
Second tasting: On cask at the Chelmsford Winter Beer Festival, 22/02/13. Still tastes a bit winey / solventy / harsh, but there’s a nice beer behind that.
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