Burtonwood Top Hat

Formerly brewed at Thomas Hardy (Burtonwood)
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Burtonwood, England

Serve in English pint

First tasted this in Gabriels, Paisley in June 1998. Cask, handpump dispense. Clear pale garnet in colour with a thin white head. Slight hint of berry fruit in the short malty aroma. Thin mouthfeel and good lacing. Pale malt gives digestive biscuit in the robust malt base with a fruity tang of blackcurrant also present. Bitter hop resins impart a dry bitter aftertaste which compliments the woody malt well. Finish is dry but bitter sweet with woody notes ever present. A robust ESB style ale which is full of flavour and an ideal session ale.

Darkish bitter with a decent head that lasts through the pint. Malty taste, without lots of character but decent enough beer.

Cask Handpump at the London Hotel, Llandudno 06/05/2001 Smooth on the palate with a malty aftertaste.

Did someone say Premium? ESB? Not even Average. Looked thin, tasted instantly forgettable. Smells of something most brewers would throw away at an early stage.

Cask Conditioned at a Wetherspoons. A light brown beer with rich head. A heady floral bitter, sweet and refreshing. My pint tasted a little old, but I was in a Macpub. Heavy bitter hoppy finish, shame about the quality of the pub dispense as I'm sure this could be a great beer.