Hepworth Iron Horse

Brewed by Hepworth
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Horsham, England

Serve in English pint

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Bottle. A bit dull. Some dry grainy malt, with some rusty, green hops. Surprisingly void of flavour in the middle of the tongue. Not much happening.

i was surprised to find a bottle of this at ambrosettis in berlin. pleasant floral and cookie dough aroma with some varnish. quite a hard mouthfeel, some stone fruits, not bad

Bottled. Amber, bright and clean. This beer had exceptional balance. The malts and hops worked perfectly together. Smooth malts come across first but are supported well by a good solid bitter structure. The length on the palate is fantastic.

Bottle. Copper color, thin frothy head. Hoppy, butterscotch and a hint of licorice, some caramel and cake dough. Medium bodied. Long hopbitter afteratste. Quality ale.

Cask, Battersea Beer Festival, London 2004: deep honey golden color, little layer of a head. Honey and apricot nose. Flat bitter taste.

Rather a malty bitter. Not really my favourite style, but perfectly acceptable. Cask (gravity), Battersea Beer Festival.

UPDATED: MAY 14, 2007 Feb, 2003: Bottle.Andy Hepworth was known for the quality of his bottled ales while head brewer at King & Barnes, including two years in charge of the legendary Worthington White Shield so it’s no surprise that with his own brewery, The Beer Station, he is able to produce decent quality beers. This is a cold filtered beer, nicely done so it hits one initially as fresh and fruity. I got out a bottle of Worthington White Shield and a Belgium brewed Bass Pale Ale as comparison. The colour of the three is almost impossible to separate, though White Shield is slightly the darker, and Iron Horse the lighter. The head on the Belgium Bass was longer lasting, and collected in interesting spit gobbets. The Iron Horse head was the smoothest and best behaved; Chrissie described it as a tuxedo compared to the Bass’ jeans. White Shield had an upfront pine-resin, while the other two had fruit. The Belgium yeast of the Bass gave it an interesting medicinal quality. The Iron Horse impressed most initially with its burnt caramel. The beer with the most alcohol had the fullest body - White Shield; while the beer with the least had the lightest body - Iron Horse. Iron Horse was the most dry and the best finish - a touch of grapefruit and some tobacco; but the journey was the quickest - the malt fruit passing away too soon, leaving the hops to do most of the work. The Bass was the most complex, the aroma involving lemongrass and muscadet grapes, the main taste bringing in more vegetables than fruits, some cabbage, turnip and parsnip, while the medicinal aftertaste included a hint of sweat. The White Shield was the most balanced and enjoyable - the aroma involving caramel, coffee and butterscotch, the main taste involving raisins and apple, and the aftertaste involving leather. Although the Belgium brewed Bass Pale Ale was certainly interesting and complex, the overplay of sweetness and lack of hop development led to White Shield, with its overall balance, winning this informal battle of the Pale Ales. Or maybe ... perhaps that Belgium sweetness is more tasty after all? [3.0]
Jan, 2005:Bottle. This was a gift from Paul Webb, brewery manager at Hepworths. It’s a cleanly brewed beer with good malt flavour and a decent spank of bitter hops to offset the opal fruits sweetness. This is my sort of beer, and I find this very enjoyable and well made. But I don’t find myself lifted by it, not in the way that I am by Dark Star’s Festival for example. All the right stuff is here, and it’s all in the right order, but it’s all just a bit too clean and well behaved. [3.2]
May, 2007 Bottle from local Spar. A pleasant malty bitter with a fruit and nut character, and a good rub of earthy hops. Nice. [3.3]

A good pale ale that is somewhat lighter and more drinkable than some alternatives.