Hydes Celebration

Formerly brewed at Hydes
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Manchester, England

Cask Handpump at the Dog Inn, Over Peover 30/07/2005 Amber golden coloured hoppy and slightly fruity. Dry lasting malt finish.

Cask (handpump), The Colonies, Westminster, London, July 2005. At the same sitting, I tried Hydes Celebration and Ridleys Spectacular. They were both golden summer ales from established regional breweries that were very similar and failed to hit the mark for the same reason. In my book, in order to succeed these beers need to be generously hopped. Either with US hops for that floral, aromatic style and with continental hops for that more grassy, delicate, lager style. These beers just didn’t have enough hops. Consequently, whilst they were perfectly drinkable, the just came over as dry and mildly bitter, with no great depth of flavour. The result was innocuous, with no va va voom. Its the same criticism that I levelled at Fullers Discovery a few days earlier. Not Spectacular and nothing to Celebrate (OK others got there before me on that quip).

Cask Conditioned at Spooners Bar, Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Wales. Gold amber with little head. Still, flat beer with thin body. Quite flowery and perfumed, but overall disapointing.

[cask at theakston brewery] light yellow colour with a moderate head. Nose is light and fruity, body is light. Light and drinkable if a little bland.

Cask conditioned @ South Western Arms (28/07/05). Nothing to celebrate. Rough yet uninteresting hop character. Some Crystal apparent. A bland paint by numbers bitter