Enville Simply Simpkiss

Cask (handpump) @ Robin Hood, DY8, Amblecote. Clear medium to dark yellow color with a small creamy / fizzy, fair lacing, mostly lasting, off-white to white head. Aroma is light malty, moderate hoppy, herbs, grass, citrus, light yeasty. Flavor is moderate sweet and moderate bitter with a average duration. Body is light to medium, texture is watery, carbonation is flat.

Cask (handpump) at The Market Porter, Southwark, London, January 2006. Simpkiss was a small independent brewery in the Black Country, taken over and closed by Greenall Whitley (which itself later gave up brewing to concentrate on pubs and hotels) in the mid 1980s. This is a recreation of Simpkiss Ale. It would have been fascinating to compare my notes for this recreation with those for the original. Unfortunately, although I know I have some notes on the old Simpkiss beers somewhere, I can’t find them. Anyway, the new version is a pleasant enough , straightforward, session bitter. More malt than hop, with a quite soft mouthfeel. Not terribly exciting, but not many bitters were back then. Nor were they intended to be. They were for traditional drinkers to sup in traditional boozers until the cows came home. Extra marks for nostalgia.