Federation Angel Ale

Formerly brewed at Dunston (Heineken UK)
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Gateshead, England

Serve in English pint

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Attractive squat clear bottle, informative label. Ale is beautiful medium copper. Pours small head which leaves a tangle of huge bubbles in the bottle. Head fades quickly, alas, leaving a skim of foam and some lacing in the glass. Aroma is fruity, with apple, pear and quince. Some citrus and herbs. A hint of spice. Flavor is solid malt, apple, and big hop bitterness. Some herbs and chocolate, spice and burnt malt. Wonderful mouthfeel. Starts solid and tingly, finishes lighter with lingering pucker. Great ale, and 550 ml as opposed to usual 500.

Pours a brownish amber, with a small white head that sticks to the glass as the beer finds a new home in my belly. Aroma is very nice. Mild sweet maltiness with a solid aroma of english hops. Flavor is sweet, with a bit of nuttiness and a good hop profile in the finish. Moderately effervescent, but with a small bubble mouthfeel, so it doesn't seem to detract from the taste. Medium bodied. I was a little put off by the labeling, since it looks really commercial and corporate high end, but the beer is pretty solid. I'd have to try this on tap. The bottle is a cool shape. Save that one for homebrewing. And for once a british beer not in a clear bottle!

I like this one. Body like "hon McPherson", sweet lika "hon Bullock", blond like "my second big love" and bitter like "hon that certainly was never an angel". The head is a bit atificially firm though. More of this !!

Dark amber appearance with a well hopped toffee aroma. The flavour is equally hopped with a very dry finish. A very good well hopped bitter.

Flamy yellow colour. Grassy aroma with tomes of roses. By the brewery said to come from the Fuggles hops. Hoppy flavour with spicy tones. Dry. The strangest thing about this beer is that it comes 550 ml bottles in Sweden. Almost everything else is 500 ml (1/2 l).

Bottled. When I poured this beer into my glass, it poured a large off-white creamy head with large bubbles. The head was fully lasting and there was excellent lacing on the sides of my glass. The body was clear and the hue was amber. The aroma was light in hops and had a moderate malty aroma to it. The initial taste was somewhat bitter and it finished the same. There was no carbonation observed with this beer.

(550ml, bottled) Very nice bottle and label! Slightly hazy, amber color, small head. Very hoppy aroma - could be confused with Urquell if smelled from an opaque glass. Flavor is malty, fruity and dry, with a long, bitter finish. A very nice, strongly hopped ale.

This is a very nice bitter. Well hopped and balanced with a good bit of caramel malt. Color and aroma typical of the style. Intriguing brewery.

The best of the Federation beers in my opinion. Nothing spectacular or surprising - just a well balance ale. The finish is slightly soapy.

i’m really thirsty, so let’s make this short and sweet. the angel spurted when i opened it, (probably because i ran it from the fridge over to my computer where i type my impressions). i won’t deduct for that, but before i was just thirsty, now i’m thirsty AND irritated. there now, it’s in the glass. look, it’s amber orange, yeah yeah, whatever-- big surprise. (gulp). great head, woop de do. let’s get a serious drink. (deeeeep gulp). ahhh. oh yeah. slurp, smack. another. (gulp). mmm. okay, that hits the spot. yeah. weeeeellll, now we can scrutenize. (sip, sip, gulp). it’s not huge, and it’s definately sweet. (sip, sip). consider the aroma (sniff, swirl, sniff) honey and frosted flakes, candied pecans, a bit of (sniff, gulp) orange rind-- tho not the outer orange part of the peel, the fibery white part inside. (swirl, sniff, sip). very light carbonation feel, (sip) almost milky cream feel. i’m not irritated anymore (burp). it’s nice, fairly rich malts, (gulp, hold up to light, gulp). a british oktoberfest, caramel creamy sweetness, with a tinkle of uh, (sniff, swirl, sniff, gulp) would you say, uh, citrus bitterness-- no, (sniff, gulp), let’s say uh, grapefruit bitterness (truncated gulp). christ, it’s gone. do i got enough info for a rating? shit (lick edge of glass). that was mild but pretty good. well, back to the ol’ fridge, lets have another. (final distant belch).