O’Hanlon’s Royal Oak

Brewed by O’Hanlon’s
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Exeter, England

Serve in English pint

Royal Oak Pale Ale, brewed in Devon, full of legends and Parliaments, and kings, Cromwell’s Roundheads, grilled meat and cheeseboard. Opaque, dark amber hue, maybe maroon?, highly carbonated, with a big fizzy head that drizzles down quick. Big cherry aroma, rich and malty, nice hops, rather mild, though. Sweet and serene. Nice. Remains sweet and tasty on the tongue. Decent hops, not too large, but a neat, if mild little firedance in the mouth. Continues bitter and sweet throughout. Cherry flavor dominates. Nice, but... Not one I’ll return to, unless I get filthy rich sometime soon. Quite different from other british pale ales, perhaps overly carbonated, a little too much for my taste. Just not loving it. MEh.

Bouteille de 500 ml obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie. Arôme: Odeur boisé et de caramel. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée voilée avec une forte densité de bulle. Présence d’un énorme col mousseux beige sculpté et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de noix et de cassonade. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture crémeuse. Forte effervescence en bouche. Présence de noix pétillante en arrière goût. (Rating #598)

Pours with a lightly hazy, darkish, ruby amber color. The head is topped by an amber-tinged, tan colored head that leaves a bit of lace as it falls back into the main beer. As I pour this beer an deep fruity note is immediately noticeable; a sort of cross between red grapes, raisins and sweet plums. As I go in for a deep smell, an immediate tart note is noticeable. It is a bit like tamarind, and definitely reminds me of a sour plum.

The beer is quite well carbonated, at least much more than I was expecting. There is still a touch of sweetness here though, it accentuates a caramel like note that in turn accentuates a raisin, sweet plum and even apple like fruitiness. A touch of hop bitterness is found throughout this beer, it adds a bit of tingle to the throat, which competes a bit with the tart flavors. There are other hop flavors here as well; lightly grass, a bit herbal, and even a touch of fruit character (a hint of citrus, and even some currant like berry notes perhaps).

This is on the verge of being quite tasty, I can’t tell if the tartness is just a product of the yeast (sort of doubtful), or is a low grade bacterial infection. Either way it is still quite drinkable, I easily finished this bottle of, perhaps slightly infected, brew.

<font size=-4>Purchased: <a href=http://www.58degrees.com/>58 Degrees & Holding Co., Tucson, AZ<font size=-1>

Cask at Charlies. Clear orange coloured with an off white head. Aroma of malts, caramel, fruits and hops. Sweet flavour of malts, caramel, fruits and hops. Hoppy finish.

OHanlons Royal Oak. Pint bottle. Unknown bottling, best before date of 02/05, gustated 08/06. Medium Pour in an English Pint Glass. Poured a hazy brownish amber with a thick fluffy offwhite 1 inch head. Slowly diminishing 1/8 inch head remained, with excellent lacing. Smelt of molasses and a hint of candied cherries and cognac. Taste begins with dry smokiness and toffee malt, with a quick hop kick. Then an unpleasant sourness peeks in for a fraction of a second to let place to a body of molasses sweetness and fermented dark berries, as it all dies down slowly in a earthy well balanced malty and biting hoppy finish. Mouthfeel was light and lively carbonation. Overall, a pleasing bottle conditioned slightly aged English Pale Ale that barely survived 6 months past the freshness date, as indicated by the slight sourness, but taste was otherwise well rounded. Will be revisited with a fresher bottle.

Hazy reddish amber with some sediment. Large off-white head. Subtle and intriguing aroma: spicy and sweet with some fruit, perhaps melon or gooseberry. Taste malty but a delightful fresh raspberry sourness as well. Plenty of bitterness makes this an outstanding bottle-conditioned English ale.

Great overall taste. Very crisp and goes down smooth with a hint of smoked taste. Overall one of my favorie beers!

(500ml bottle) Purchased at the BC Liquor Store on Cambie in Vancouver, for $4.93. Pours a highly active cabonated copper body with a lasting almond-coloured head. Nose of British caramel malts and nail polish. Flavour is very strongly malted and the finish is bitter. Average.