Ridgeway Bitter

Brewed by Hepworth
Style: Bitter
Horsham, England

Serve in English pint

Soem head, deep yellow. Light and spiced nose. medium body and some length, Nice soft with a litle hoppy bitter exit. nice.

Small head. Fruity nose, flavor of apples and lots of malt, some burned sugar and hops. good to linger with in front of the fire. Enjoy!

Good fruitiness mixed with a hop punch and decent maltiness. Pretty good bitter all around.

I poured a 500ml bottle into an English nonic pint glass.

Appearance: Mostly clear orange hue with slight cloudiness. Forms a large, yellow, soapy head of suds. It dissipates quickly, but not completely and leaves on minor lacing on the glass.

Smell: Next to nothing to describe. Perhaps a slight fruit scented candle sweetness, some light malt notes, but otherwise completely unaromatic.

Taste: The bottle carries CAMRA’s seal of approval, but the beer does not carry mine. Just a few sips into Ridgeway Bitter I had to seriously wonder why a beer like this, a traditional English Bitter and a "Real Ale", is worth of such hostile snobbery in the beer geek community. Seriously, what is it about beers like this the Brits like? Is it the sweetness? Well, it’s very minor and similar to something you’d taste in a child’s lollipop (I find that’s typical of beers brewed with Marris Otter malts). There’s a slight orange marmalade on toast component to the palate as well, but again, it’s very muted and subdued. Next to no bitterness, which is par for the course with beers of the style (isn’t that ironic?). Not that there’s anything really repulsive about the palate here, just nothing to really latch onto and enjoy.

Mouthfeel: Thicker than water, but about as tepid.

Drinkability: Just because a beer is quaffable doesn’t mean it’s good. If that were the case then Ridgeway Bitter would be a world class beer. The soft, gentle, comfortable mouthfeel combined with the mild, neutral palate and clean aftertaste make it highly quaffable. Also factor in the 4% ABV and you’ve got a highly sessionable beer. But I can’t see the average craft beer enthusiast getting beyond more than one bottle or serving of this, especially considering it’s over $6 a bottle.

Overall, Ridgeway Bitter represents everything American drinkers like me just don’t understand about the British "Real Ale" scene. I’m sure it’s brewed with care and craftsmanship, but the end product is unimpressive.

Bottle from Presporska pivoteka. Golden color with medium white head. Aroma of citrus, caramel,hops and spices. Taste, fruity, spicy with nice long bitter finish. Nice.

Poured a clear honey color with a medium sized foamy off-white head. Aroma is fruity with some berries. Taste is full bodied and flavorful. Lots of berry flavors and grains. Slightly soapy. Finish has good malty flavors with bread and cereal. Slightly metallic with a hint of nuts. Overall pretty good.

Copperbrown beer with a weak and white head. Aroma is medium fresh, aromatic, pure malty and some fruits. Taste is medium dry, biscuity malts, some lemony fruitness. Overally taste is based on malts and it is quite mild. Light to drink, but still nice. Nice and sophisticated bitter with great freshness without musty.

50cl bottle from Citymarket. Poured copper color with a small head. Fruity, toffeeish, nutty aroma. Flavor is caramel and toffee, fruity hoppy notes. Ok bitter