Durham White Magic

Brewed by Durham
Style: English Strong Ale
Durham, England

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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First tasted this at the Three Judges, Glasgow in January 2005. Cask, handpump dispense. Clear pale amber in colour with a thin white head. Strong citric fruit note of gooseberry, kiwi and pineapple with floral hops. Good creamy mouthfeel and decent lacing. Pale malt base gives full juicy citric notes of pineapple, kiwi and tart gooseberry. Strong dusty floral lemony hops in the resiny astringent aftertaste.Slightly sweet in the finish with golden syrup flavours present in the warming alcoholic finish. A really good strong traditional IPA and well recommended but not as good as Thornbridge Jaipur IPA though.

Bottle conditioned from Beer & Spirits, Knaresborough, N.Yorks. Gold with big white head. Almost a Belgian yeasty note at the start, some spiciness in amongst a honeyed, jammy flavour, oranges, peaches. Full on the palate, lasting, never gets any bitterness though. Decent.

Bottle from an offie in Knaresborough, N. Yorks. Pours lager-like with a spiralling bead and massive, impractical whip of foam. Restrained aroma; lemony hay, banana and faint pears, green herbs (parsley), marmalade (it needs to stand, de-chill and settle for a good half hour before these aromas emerge). Flavour halfway between Duvel and White Shield; yeasty and delicately fruity in a decidedly European way (pear, banana, parsley and sherbet hints), with suggestions of custard, slate..and the pepperiness of booze. Finishes bluntly with bitterness and some of the rubber glove and almond qualities of an industrial strong lager. Mouthfeel mousse-like and spritzy. Ends up an uninteresting strong beer at the ABV; probably authentic and all but I’m seriously tempted to tip some Punk in it.

Handpump at The Shoulder of Mutton, Wantage, Oxon 15.04.11 with Peter (ex Pitstop brewer) and owner of this new pub Pours mid gold good clarity. There is an impressive thrusty bitterness to this, lovely & hoppy, quite wonderful. A7 A4 T8 P4 Ov15 3.8

UPDATED: MAY 5, 2011 500 ml bottle conditioned, as Durham Magic IPA, only the side information reveals that this is White Magic. ABV is 7.0%. Bought at The Cheese & Wine Shop in Darlington. Pale golden colour, huge and lasting white head. Moderate aroma, notes of herbal hops and mild spices. High level of carbonation. Distinct spicy and hoppy flavour, some sweetish fruity notes too, and a solid and rather sharp hoppy bitterness in the finish. The alcohol is not particularly well hidden. Would benefit from less carbonation and a more pronounced malty backbone to balance the bitterness, but is well worth sampling as it is.

From 500ml bottle at tasting with Jan & Charlotte on 2 January 2011. Pretty much in the signature Durham mould. Very pale yellow - more whitish straw than gold. Generous fluffy head. Strong hop presence on the palate. Majors on grapefruit. Lingering bitter finish. Sharp mouthfeel. Very enjoyable, if not the most complex.

Bottle from Beer Ritz, Leeds. Shared with Slothez. Golden pour with a mid sized white head. Aroma had traces of citrus, grassy hop and booze. Similar qualities permeated through the flavour, but the hops weren’t quite assertive enough. Ok if largely forgettable stuff. If this beer was a magician it’d be more of a Paul Daniels than a Houdini.

Bottle 500ml.

Clear medium yellow color with a large to huge, frothy to creamy, good lacing, fully lasting, white to off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, toasted, moderate hoppy, grapefruit, grass - silage, alcohol, light alcohol - aceton. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with a average to long duration, sharp, lemon - grapefruit, perfume. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to flat. [20110102]

Bottle from Mr Lawrence Wine Merchants, Brockley- with ’Magic IPA’ on the label. Dusty golden pour with a white head. Hops, herbs and caramel in the nose. Vanilla and light spice flavours. Strong hop presence in the finish.