Oakham Asylum

Brewed by Oakham
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Peterborough, England

Serve in English pint

Cask at Peterborough beer fest. Alround rating: Oh come now! Seriously, this takes things to a new level. This is soo soo good, like the hoppy citrus character, the juicey resinous hop, the alround outstanding amazingness of this beer. Gee man i had like 3 of them at a festival where i only had like 3 mouthfulls of every other rating there. My god this is one of the finest cask beers iv ever had. British brewing has once again been taken to another level.

You better believe I was psyched when this cask showed up at Redbones on 6/12/07. This was the only English beer I missed at this year’s cask festival.
Just an ever-so-slight haziness to it, with a soft lemon-lime tinted golden body and a cascading, white/off-white head that is impeccably well retained and completely douses the glass in lace. While the haziness is slight, I just cant bring myself to give it a 4
Even out of a shaker, this stuff just pours on the fresh, aromatic, juicy dry-hopping and wonderfully attenuated malts that are dripping with light honey and fresh woodiness. Incredibly high strength of aroma. The hops just continue on endlessly and there’s a bit of crunchy/crackery-like maltiness to give it a little oomph. Definitely a strong house yeast character, kind of reminds me of moldy bread, or damp basements, but in a good way, if that’s possible. Flawless, as well.
Succulent, in a word, is the flavor, with no overdone bitterness, yet certainly a boatload of hoppiness. Orange peel, lemons, limes, white grapefruit and light melon, it unfolds upon a backbone of angelfood cake-like sweetness, yet with the same delicate, aerated mouthfeel. Some dustiness, woodiness and hints of quasi-funky house yeast all complete the picture, giving it that extra jab of character that makes well-done English beers that much more enjoyable and unique. Simply stunning and flawless of course. I could see giving this a perfect score, but perhaps the hoppiness could be toned down a little and the malt balance/complexity improved somewhat. As well, I’d like to see it just a touch more dry and with less dextrine comfort on the palate. Minor complaints though, this stuff is marvelous.

UPDATED: MAR 12, 2009 A Mes rate: gravicask at Peterborough Beer Festival.
Beautiful clean gold colour with a thin but lasting white head and awesome condition. Straight down the line English golden ale but christ on a bike, it’s a good un. Just about the best balance of semi sweet biscuity malt and huge, utterly superb dry grassy hoppage. Masses of citrus, gorgeous cake, wonderfully drinkable and the dryness makes me want more with every sip. Perfectly pitched all round and a simply fantastic brew.

Nothing else to add note wise (other than once again, it’s stunning) but following on from having this at the New Crown JDW, I just had to up the score a little. Bloody excellent.

Holy CRAP! what a beer!!! dammit i wish i could smell things at the moment cursed blocked nose! This is a fantastic beer crazy flavours for the alc % lovely sweet body then kazaam a hop tirade that’s almost as bitter as twisted hop IPA! amazing beer, without doubt the best tasting beer i’ve had since i’ve been in the UK! damn i need more of this now!

Handpulled cask at the New Crown (JDW) Southgate. Gold with a white head. Typical Oakham Hop monster, bursting with citrus, resinous flavours. Grapefruit and tangerine overall but superb malt balance too. Wonderfull stuff.

Cask. Pours a lightly hazy deep gold, which is further accentuated by a foamy, rocky white head that recedes slowly and imparts fine sheet lacing. The aroma is wonderful. Grassy and earthy hops take center stage, followed by plenty of caramel and dusty malts, lightly toasted grains, apple skins, gym locker, orange pith, grapefruit pulp and light stale notes. All these aromatic compounds, including the stale ones, lend to a well-rounded and enticing nose. Alcohol is undetectable. No DMS, no diacetyl, excellent. The flavor is moderately bitter, lightly to moderately acidic, with minor funk emerging. Sweetness from malt is pleasantly counterbalanced by toast and biscuit malt notes. This is really delicious and has far exceeded my expectations, which were rather high to begin with. The mouthfeel is lowly carbonated, soft, quenching, light-medium to medium bodied. Finishes citric, lightly acidic, with grapefruit and orange notes lingering. This is a fantastic morphed recipe of traditional English cask bitter and mildly aggressive American pale ale. A real treat I hope to enjoy again soon. Underrated.

Cask at Southgate W’Spoons Nth London. Hazy gold colour, huge hop aroma and taste. Dry, strong citrus taste and very addictive indeed. Hop taste lingers for hours. Almost a US beer but still retaining something English in character. At last an English ale to remember!

Pours a unfiltered copper color. No carbonation. Has hints of bitter hops, and spices. This brew finished clean and smooth with a citrus fruit taste on the tongue. Thanks to boboski for saving a glass, and redlight for featuring it.