Coniston Bluebird Bitter (Bottle)

Coniston
Brewed at Hepworth
Style: Bitter
Coniston, England

Serve in English pint

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UPDATED: DEC 27, 2010 Sept 2002: Brakspear’s bottled version. The Bluebird of the name is Donald Campbell’s boat in which he died while attempting the world speed record on Coniston Water in the Lake District, near the Coniston brewery. Brakspear’s brewery is next to The Thames which has rather more sedate boating pass-times. This beer can be both thin and soapy yet have a melting texture with floral hints. The beer lacks body and depth, but is wide ranging with interesting twists and turns - the most intriguing being the soapy floral hints. The Challenger hops are the key to this beer - modern perfume notes. Shame the malts let the whole thing down. [2.3]
August 2004: The Beer Counter bottled version. The bottle conditioning is not done well enough to allow the hops to really make a show of themselves. Reading other people’s comments it seems that either the hops have survived, in which case the beer is well received, or - as in my case - the hops have not done so well, and the beer is mostly metallic flavoured. The malt this time around seems ok - there’s a pleasant English fruitiness here - but it’s fairly average. There is hint of what the hops are capable of with notes of palma violets, apples and gooseberries, but they have suffered. In addition the carbonation is wrong, and the balance is all over the place. A nice beer, but poorly bottled. [2.7]
Feb, 2007 Compared with Chimera IPA, Wild Hare and Rolling Hitch. Thin and metallic and dry. Perfumed Challenger hops. The Challenger hops were introduced in 1974, and were among the first of the modern pine flavoured English hops. When Coniston used this hop in Bluebird Bitter in 1998 it was quite exciting, but times have moved on. It tastes less exciting now. More exciting hops are being used today. This beer feels like it is stuck in the transition between the traditional and the modern. [2.6]
Dec, 2010 A decent enough bitter. Fairly hoppy - boiled in, but retaining enough sense of pine needles to distinguish this from more traditional bitters. Beer conditioning gives this a soft, natural carbonation, and there’s none of the boiled barley sugar flavour from pasteurised British bitters. The malt, however, is a little too clean and lacking in character. It’s a drinkable beer, but lacks oomph. [2.8]

Weird aroma of pleasant vomit, nice balance of malts and bitter hops with a hint of cereals

Aroma of buttery toast and tabletop bouquet. Medium orange with fine suspension. Taste is light, dry bitter without much sweet contrast. An easy session starter, some may find in chalky. Alleged to be one of the world’s best bitters. It just doesn’t seem like these things are that well differentiated over a quality scale.

Aroma is mild caramel malt and english esters. Appearance is light copper and crystal clear. Almost no head. Taste is well balanced between light caramel and a firm bitterness. A bit of floral and tangy hops. Palate is light and crisp. Very drinkable. Overall a nice beer. This needs to be drank young. Like the bottle says, best at the brewery. Doesnt impress out of a months old bottle.

now that’s a good bitter. bags of malt profile and just the right amount of hop on top. lovely bitter finish. take me to the lakes

Bottled 500ml. -from Presporska Pivoteka ie Cafe Luxor, Bratislava. Hazy golden coloured, medium sized white head, dusty light fruity nose. Moderate malty, yeasty and light caramel with notes of rose hip tea in the finish. Let’s say huge disappointment.

Ogi’s, shared with heavy and me of course. Murky ochre body with a medium sized white head. The aroma is immediately a huge letdown, tired yeastiness... and that’s it. What the... The same continues into the taste, dull, tired yeastiness, but it’s somewhat saved by the soft mouthfeel, and it’s a bit mild. Extremely light bitterness in the finish. Oh great, the night of obviously crappy English bitters with averages above 3.

Poured from bottle into tasting glass. Very light malt aroma, with low fruitiness. A: pretty, medium gold color. Slight haze, but OK clarity for style (and bottle conditioning). Very low head. F: Medium-high bitterness, low fruity esters, a little english hop flavor shows through. Not as much malt presence as I’d like. Dry finish. M: Medium light body, low carbonation (OK for style). O: Very good example of the style. WOuld like to see more maltiness in both flavor and aroma (more crystal malt would suit this well). Back off on sulfates in water a little bit.

Bottle conditioned 500ml, best before 18 Nov 2011, drank and reviewed 26 Oct 2010. Poured carefully into an ’Abbot Ale’ tankard. Golden, light amber body, clear and bright, large white head of bubbles sat on top. The head fell away to swiftly for me, soon only a collar and a wispy half covering. The aroma was weak, typical UK Bitter with hints of light malts and a selection of aromatic hops smells. The taste is again what you’d expect, nothing spectacular, just a bog standard bitter, semi-sweet malt initial flavours followed by a hop bitterness as the mouth dries. If anything I found it slightly over carbonated and almost ’fizzy’, not what I’d expect from ’bottle conditioned’ UK beers which are usually a lot less lively. Drinkable, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Bottled. Pours clear and deep golden with an average sized off-white head. Nose of caramel, grass and citrus notes. Sweet flavor and slightly hoppy.Medium bodied, watery to creamy texture and soft carbonation. Ends up slightly bitter.

Bottle on Session Beer Day and served in No-Nik glass: pours a slightly hazy golden hue with a minimal fizzy head and very little lace. The aroma has notes of Maris Otter malt, grassy and herbal hops, some bready notes and a hint of dusty yeast esters. The taste has a fine restrained bitterness over the layer of base malt and bottle yeast. Slightly fruity and sweet but a very easy drinking brew. The mouth feel is smooth and properly carbonated for the style, slightly chalky. Overall it promises what I expected, nothing more nothing less.