Wellington Arkell Best Bitter

Brewed by Wellington County Brewery
Style: Bitter
Guelph, Canada

Thanks again to Hogtown Harry for this. Dark straw pour with slightly bitter caramel malt aroma, plus hops, citrus, and pale skinned fruit. The flavor is roasty malty, with some slight cabernet and hops, and a little honey, yet the palate remains tannic. Gets a bit rauchy as it warms.

Bottle. Pours a clear, light amber without much of a head. Fruit on the nose predominates. Taste seemed to be like apricots or pineapple. The latter is weird I know, but thats what I got. Some bitternesss but less than you would expect from this style. A little thin, but I enjoyed the fruit and easy drinking nature of this brew. Thanks to Blankboy for the bottle.

Hand-pulled cask at Duke of Kent, Toronto. What a damn fine pint of bitter. Friend of mine -- a publican and CAMRA member from Nottingham, UK -- was over for a visit in August 1999 and we popped in and he couldn’t get enough of Wellington’s Best Bitter. Seriously said it was one of the best Real Ales he had ever tried. This bitter has a nice, clean pour to it and a slightly fruity taste/aroma. If you haven’t tried it, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Bottle: Courtesy of HogTownHarry via trade. Aroma is nutty, caramel, fruit, grass, and flowery hops. Pours a bright transparent amber with a minimal white head that really struggles to become much of anything. Flavor starts lightly nutty with some caramel. Hints of fruit in the middle fades to a minimal grassy and flowery bitterness. Not bad, but nothing stands out to make this any better than mediocre.

Aquired via trade with HogTownHarry. I personally wouldn’t give this brew the title of being most flavorful beer in ontario. I’ve only had one other brew from ON at this point and this is already second. Pours a deep amber copper color with a white head that dissapates into a ring. Smells of hops, some malt. There’s the same in the taste a somewhat decent balance, but there’s an offsetting taste from the type of hop used in this beer. I’m just not a huge fan. It’s far from the best bitter i’ve tasted, but not horrid either.

Bu au Highland Pub à Ottawa (Décembre 05). Pas beaucoup de goût et trop amère. Pas fort!

Copper colour with a thin head. Floral scent. Warming taste with slight bitterness. Somewhat thin. Some malt.

Draught at Pauper’s Pub. Pours a clear bubbly orangey-gold with a small creamy white head. The aroma, well, I did not find it very pleasant, it smells kind of like feet. The taste is marginally better but again there’s something in there I can’t place that I don’t care for very much (In the past I have disliked beers with Golding hops but I’m not certain if this beer uses them). Over time I found the taste improved and I could mildly taste some caramel malt, grain and hops. This beer is much better on cask but its still in my opinion one of the weaker Wellington beers.