Ridgeway Bad Elf 6%

Ridgeway
Brewed at Hepworth
Style: English Strong Ale
Reading, England

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Dull hazy amber pour, fluffy white head. Aroma of earthy, spicy hops, along with toasted malt. Flavor is more of the same - much more! Abundant hops are very smoothly blended into the toasted malt base producing big flavor yet somehow not overpowering. A tightly woven tapestry of aroma and flavor.

Bottle- Aroma of Malts, Pour is Clear yellow with small head, Taste is smooth with a good Balance of Hops and malts, Very Warming on the Palate with Hops lingering..A little bitter but very Easy drinking. Not a bad Ale, pretty Solid actually

Light med gold clear pour,thin head,a bit of lacing. Smells like a grainy light lager with some english,light sweet malt,very subtle hops if any. Light sweet grainy malt taste with pronounced englishness,ok hop flavor and a citrusy lemon finish with the bittering. Really dry finish almost astringant. Ok beer. I thought it was going to be a winter warmer,till i read further thinking it was a hoppy english pale ale which is the case.With a simple grain bill which it probably has the bittering tends to seem more bitter than alot of ipa’s.

Bad Elf has a very thin, soap-bubble white head and a clear (a little hazy once the dregs are swished & poured), orange appearance, with lacing. The aroma is peppery, citrusy, and bready, and the taste is hop forward- citrus hops, sweet bread, bitterness, and cracker. The mouthfeel is light and watery, and Bad Elf finishes crisp, clean, refreshing, and mostly dry. The drinkability with this is ultra high. Overall, this is very good, and I recommend it. RJT

Pour from a 22oz bottle. Clear medium yellow brew with off white head. Aroma of light malts, grassy hops. Taste follows aroma. Decent grassy hops in the finsih, but nothing extreme. Overall, a good drinkable ale.

Bottle; clear golden with thin off-white head; aroma-grass, orange, some spices-possibly nutmeg, cooked vegetables; taste-light sweetness, lightly bitter, medium body, thin feel, average carbonation. Slightly disappointed

I poured a 500ml bottle into a tulip glass.

Appearance: Hazy dark yellow/gold proper color. Forms a large, bright white, creamy head which laces and retains extremely well.

Smell: Standard English pub ale with grassy hop notes. Hints of marmalade and other fruity confectionary notes, but otherwise mild.

Taste: Labels and descriptions can be deceiving. I bought Ridgeway Bad Elf thinking it was going to be a classic British winter warmer. Even though the label description mentions it being quite hoppy and potent at 6% ABV, it drinks more like a standard pub-style pale ale. Nothing wrong with that at all, but a more accurate label would’ve been nice.

It begins like all English pale ales do: slight bitterness up front with a hint of citrus flavor. It’s actually more akin to a juice sensation as I detect authentic, but very mild, flavors of orange, pineapple and marmalade. Many British beers, dark or pale, tend to have these natural fruity flavors to them and Bad Elf is no exception. There’s a little more dry bitterness on the back end, but the finish and aftertaste is quite clean. In fact, I would even describe it as refreshing. Not exactly robust, nor is it all that complex, but there are no flaws to the palate and the beer satisfies - that’s good enough for me.

Mouthfeel: The best way to describe it is by what it’s not: not creamy; not thin; not crisp; not tepid; not fizzy.

Drinkability: If I had drank Ridgeway Bad Elf blind I would mistake it for a smaller, more deliberately sessionable beer. While 6% ABV is not all that strong, the palate doesn’t really have the energy or density of such and is much closer to traditional English bitters. That makes it very drinkable, actually, especially considering the palate is pretty refreshing with a clean aftertaste and smooth finish.

Draft. Clear golden color, medium off white head. Aroma of rising white bread dough. Taste is citrus and raw bread dough. Not bad.

Bottle as shown. Pours a cloudy orange with a frothy white head leavin sticky lacing along the glass. The aroma is a a faint bready malt. Mediu Mouthfeel with sweet hop and honey. Easy to drink a very good English strong ale from Ridgeway.

Clear, orange, not much head. Aroma has vanilla to it with the taste being malty with a slight pine taste and bitter.