Gales HSB

Brewed by Fuller’s
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
London, England

Serve in English pint

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My favourite beer when I lived in Hampshire. A dark amber ale with a lovely flavour enjoyable both form the cask and the bottle.

Bottle conditioned; the liquid is almost clear. The colour is dark copper and the finger thick foam builds a firm head with a nice crater. Perfect!

The smell is delicate with sweet notes of honey and some light bitterness.

The carbonation is refreshing and kind of soft, a combination that I really appreciate.

The taste got, at the same time, both a creamy mildness and a strong united character, just what you want from English Bitters. I found flavours of some salt, diacetyl (butter and hard toffee), dough, canned apricots and honeycomb candy. The bitterness is noticeable but at a level that makes it very easy to gulp down. The rather long aftertaste got notes of short crust pastry and a slowly building bitterness (with some traces of mint) that finish with a somewhat metallic dry bitterness.

You have read it on hundreds of bottles: Bottle conditioned – almost like a cask conditioned ale! But this time, I do agree: Not really like a bitter from a well-kept cask, but damn close: A truly exceptional bottled bitter!

Cask at the Union Tavern - London. Pours perfectly clear amber with a fine, frothy white head. Lightly toasted brown bread in the nose, some berries, purple grapes, suggestions of brown sugar. Medium sweet flavor, lots of sweet, semi-sugary brown bread malts, light leafy bitterness, more ripening berries. Light bodied with fine carbonation. Lightly sweet but dry finish, more berries and grapes, rich brown bread that’s almost cake-like, toasty sugars, ripe dark fruits, prunes, plums and some figs. Just a delicious beer start to finish. Perfect balance. Great work.

A dark brown colour with a loose white head. Spicy, wheaty aromas and a slightly spicy flavour. (Draught - The Bull Inn, Sonning, nr. Reading, Berkshire).

Bottle. Pours a deep mahogany. Nice creamy coloured head leaves some lacing. Aromas shows plenty of biscuity malt, dark fruit and bready yeast aromas. Nose is quite fruity with some alcohol coming through. Expected hop aromas are very subtle and very secondary to the aromas. Some hop Taste is pretty much the same. Lots of caramel sweetness initially, followed by some bitterness (both hops and alcohol) near the finish. Mouthfeel is a little watery but a very good beer all the same.

Tsted on handpull at The Basketmaker's Arms in Brighton (a very pleasant little pub incidentally.) This is one top-notch bitter. Deep ruddy brown with a scattered white head. Lots of fruitiness, esters, and some tart beery aromas in the nose. Wondeful mealy maltiness ... like a cereal. And the fuggles comes in to provide a proper balance. This beer has lots of little things going for it, and they all add up to one terrific brew.

Hazy, dark amber with a moderate head. The aroma is nice with notes of caramel and the mouthfeel is quite full. The flavour is - uhmmmm - nice. I think it’s a wonderfully balanced bitter (might be more bitter though). It has notes of caramel, roasted malt, fruits, flower and honey and nice bitterness and a long finish. Nice indeed.

Half pint pulled at The Castle Inn in West Lulworth (Dorset), a clear brown with a think creamy head. A flowery aroma. Flavour is sweetish (caramal). Palate is smooth with great bitterness.

50cl bottle from Bierzwerg, BBE 10/2011. Poured dark/red copper with a creamy, white nicely lacing head. Aroma has biscuits, fruit and some grainy notes. Flavor is biscuits, toffee, caramel and grain. Lovely smooth, fruity finish. Wow! Made my day.

Cask. Nice full-bodied malty bitter. Some mild nuttiness and caramel, smooth finish, hint of hops, quite drinkable. Oh yeah.