Wychwood Fiddlers Elbow (Pasteurised)

Brewed by Wychwood (Refresh UK - Marstons plc)
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Witney, England

another uninspiring british brew,mundane flavours of cheap burnt malts lacking any hop character, extremely thin with hints of soured fruits, another loser from across the pond, NOT Recommended Drain Pour

Clear bottle bodes poorly. Metallic-orange body with mild carbonation and loose soapy white head. Aroma of toasty malts, butterscotch, and a hint of green apple. Tangy, fruity, malty ale with some woody, spicy hops in the finish. Feel is a little thin and watery. More drinkable than anticipated.

Pours hazy gold with a medium lasting white head. Initial skunky aroma on opening soon subsides, showing a citrus hop aroma. Theres a bit of nutty malt there too. A lovely soft full smooth body, quite silky actually. Nice sweet nutty malt start with a dry finish. Lingering citric though slightly metallic aftertaste. Not bad, nothing special though.

Quite nice and citrusy. Very clean aroma and crisp taste. Nice and hoppy, very refreshing.

Upon opening the bottle, I was hit by a wall of skunkiness. It soon went away, but the tone had been set. Fiddler’s Elbow looks nice - a deep golden/brown, but between the smell and the bizarre grapefruit flavour that gives way to a chemical-tasting bitterness, this was a tough ale to swallow. Literally. The brewmaster has obviously tried something different, but between the skunk, the strange flavour and the poor aftertaste, this one gets a big thumbs down.

Aroma: Reminiscent of iced tea, odd. Some caramelly malt, with a mustiness that is off-putting. Not especially pleasant. Appearance: Low head retention, with a murky iced-tea like color. Not a good looking beer. Flavor: Caramelly, malty, with not much hop. Strange licorice flavor. Caramel notes almost become sherryish. Mouthfeel: Chalky, with a medium-light mouthfeel. Carbonation ok, and bitterness enough to balance. Slight sourness. Overall: I am not a big fan of this beer, but its not terrible.

This stuff isnt that bad. IT has an amber colour with no head, the nose is rusty and somewhat hoppy, the taste is the same. I was quite surprised, but there was absolutely no skunk in my bottle, maybe that is what I enjoyed it.

Re-rate with brown bottle. Much better when not lightstruck. Nice color, small head with some lacing. Faint citrus-like aspect in there. Full mouthfeel, but sticks to the palate a bit. Personally wouldn’t classify this as a bitter.