Brakspear Oxford Gold (Cask)

Brewed by Brakspear (Refresh UK - Marstons plc)
Style: Bitter
Witney, England

Serve in English pint

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[On cask at the Rising Sun, Reading] I never really liked the Brakspear flavour, even when they were independent (we used to refer to them as BreakWind as their beers could be a little sulphurous!). The takeovers by Wychwood and subsequently Marstons seem to have managed to keep Brakspears surprisingly true to its original taste - which unfortunatley, means I still don’t think much of it. This beer is undoubtedly citrus-y, but unfortunately the citrus aspect they’ve chosen to highlight is a horrible sour aftertaste. Rather dry and watery, there’s not a lot to redeem this. It’s a shame, for there are some excellent organic beers out there (eg Shep’s Whitstable Bay) and beers like this will do the organic movement no favours at all.

Cask. Dark gold with a decent head. A fairly malty aroma. Standard English malt and hop combo. Dull.

Cask @ The Windsor Castle, London. Golden amber colour, good head. Vanilla, Biscuit, caramel & malt aroma. Dry caramel malt flavour, bitter aftertaste. Decent bitter.

Cask. Frothy white fair mostly deminishing head. DArk yellow colour. Light malty and hopy aroma. light bitter flavor. Average light bitter finish. Oily palate.

Cask @ the Bree Louise. Small head with short duration. Color is golden. Aroma and taste are malt, fruits, flowers and hops. Soft carbonated and medium bodied.

Cask at The Volunteer, London. Pours clear gold with a weak, white head. Some light toasty malts in the nose with light, leafy hops. Lightly sweet flavor, dry, leafy, some white sugar and crackers. Light bodied with soft carbonation. Quite dry on the finish, with leafy bitters, faint grass, lightly toasted bread. Somewhat bland on the whole, and the condition seems sub-optimal.

Cask. Golden color. Light body, a sweet, a bit grassy. Light malts. A pretty lightweight pint. Not a nice bitter.

Hand pulled at the Shakespeare (Summer Row), Birmingham. Marshmallow sweetness with a little rice krispie. Sweet aroma, not much depth. Thin. Not great.

Golden body, white head. Malts, some citrus, some pines and nuts. Medium bitterness.

Cask at Cask. Pours dark gold into an English pint. White head crackles and recedes to nothing. Honey aromas. Soft with sweet caramel upfront turning bitter in the lasting finish.

Cask in The Coach Makers, Old Marylebone Lane. Pours golden yellow to copper coloured. Nose is sweet crystal malty and fruity English hops and some light citrous too. Taste is malty, fruity, bit of pepper. Mouthful is bit oily, medium bodied.