Vale Brewery Reviews

imdownthepub	3.2 Vale Fork Handles Cask conditioned at the White Rabbit, Oxford. Straw colour with white head. This proved to be a light and fruity beer from the start. Citrus notes along with peach hints and some guava. It's okay. Wednesday, May 8, 2024
GuideDogSaint	3.6 Vale Black Beauty Cask pint at the Assembly Rooms, Epsom. Pours dark ruby with a beige head. Aroma of roast malt and chocolate. Chocolate taste. Bitter finish. Friday, May 3, 2024
MrTipple	3.5 Vale Black Beauty Vanilla Porter 02Aug2023 Fruity, dark roast malts, dried, dark fruits, candied plum. Hazy, very dark brown, small, creamy, beige head. Light bitter. Bitter, dark roast malts, cacao, chocolate, burnt molasses, dark, dried fruits, soft carb, full bod. Very nice, great aroma. Cask at GBBF22. Sunday, April 28, 2024
dragnet101	3.7 Vale Black Beauty Cask at Briar Rose, Birmingham. Pours a dark brown-mahogany with small tanned head. It was very roasty in flavour with coffee and liquorice coming through as well as chocolate, smoke and a touch of berry sour. Just about enough sweetness amongst the bitter roast to balance. Rich, medium bodied. This one doesn't hold back in terms of the style- a bit underrated I think. Saturday, April 27, 2024
berkshirejohn	3.3 Vale Hoptimist [Cask at the Back of Beyond (JDW), Reading.] A bright pale amber pour with a tight white head leaving lots of lacing on the glass; fresh English hop aroma; smooth bready body with a dry hoppy taste; then some sweet bready malts and fruity hedgerow hops to finish. Very tasty. Thursday, April 25, 2024
ladnewton	4.2 Vale Black Beauty Cask at the Duke of St Albans, Highgate on 23rd April 2024. Deep sepia black with tan foam and scant lacing. Rich and intense coffee roast malt aroma. Lush roasty malts in-mouth with woodsmoke and coffee. Lasting roasty finish. Full bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. Tuesday, April 23, 2024
moleha4	3.5 Vale Black Beauty Cask, 1/2 pint at The Rake, Borough Market. 20.4.24 Mahogany brown, with a tan head. Medium mouthfeel. Aroma of malts with chocolate (slight) in the background. Taste of dark malts, hint of chocolate. Sunday, April 21, 2024
mabuzzer	3.6 Vale Black Beauty Vanilla Porter Cask at JDW, Cambuslang. Dark brown with a creamy off white head. Vanilla and coffee aroma, flavour is coffee and chocolate, with a fruity aftertaste Sunday, April 7, 2024
GuideDogSaint	3.4 Vale Gravitas Cask pint at J J Moons, Ruislip Manor. Pours clear golden with a white head. Aroma of malt. Malt taste. Dry bitter finish. Saturday, February 24, 2024
FatPhil	3.5 Vale Santa’s Ale Draught (Bricklayers' Arms, Luton) (7:4:7:4:13=3.5) Mid amber, small loose head. Lovely caramelly malty aroma. Nutty bitterness in the taste. Soft palate, just how you want a real ale to be. Twiggy and nutty finish, lovely! Wednesday, January 31, 2024
berkshirejohn	3.3 Vale May Be Next Year? [Cask at the Hope Tap (JDW), Reading.] A slightly hazy amber pour with a tight cream coloured head; malty aroma; fruity malt taste; then a woody herbal bitterness leading to a very dry finish. Monday, January 29, 2024
berkshirejohn	3.3 Vale Tickety Brew [Cask at the Back of Beyond (JDW), Reading.] Bright amber pour with a tight creamy head; malty aroma; smooth and creamy in the mouth with a fruity malt taste and a light hedgerow hop bitterness; then a biscuity malt finish. A gentle old-fashioned malty bitter. Friday, December 1, 2023
omhper	3.8 Vale Red Kite --Cask at Queens Head, Kings Cross, London. -- Clear copper colour, small head. Intense toasty nose with raisins and leafs. Mid sweet with light to medium body and well rounded mouthfeel. Intensely roasty with leafs and hay. Long bitter finish. Friday, November 3, 2023
planky84	3.5 Vale Brill Gold Cask at The Park Tavern, Eltham. Gold pour with a white head. Orange toffee, peach & tangerine aromas. Orangey flavours, bitter malts. Good easy drinking ale. Sunday, October 29, 2023
planky84	3.8 Vale Something Wicked Cask at The Park Tavern, Eltham. Copper coloured pour with a white head. Nose is toffee apple, red fruits, malts. Taste is orchard fruits, toffee, malty bittersweet action. Nice. Sunday, October 29, 2023
Cheeseboard	3.1 Vale Pale Keg at Live & Let Live, Cambridge. Pours straw yellow with a white cap. Pale malts, fruit, light citrus aroma. Light to moderate sweet & bitter, cereal, again some citrus. Light to medium body with soft carbonation. Basic but fine Thursday, October 19, 2023
Rune	3.1 Vale Red Kite Gravicask, half, 4.3 % abv, at St Albans Beer & Cider Festival 2023. Deep ruby dark body, off-white head, fair lacing. Slightly roasted brown malty nose, hints of fruits. Caramel-fruity flavours followed by a bittersweet finish. Decent, easy to drink. (St Albans, 27.09.2023). Saturday, October 7, 2023
Rune	3 Vale Pale Draught, one-half, shared with Finn at St Albans Beer & Cider Festival 2023. Stable, bubbly white head, lacing rings down the glass, and a clear late straw coloured body. Moderate malt-fruity aromas. Blended malt-fruity flavours, ripe citrus, mango, and cereal malts. Rounded malt-fruity ending. Quite alright. (St Albans, 27.09.2023). Saturday, October 7, 2023
Rune	2.9 Vale Skyhopper Draught, one-half, shared with Finn at St Albans Beer & Cider Festival 2023. Decent white head leaving lacing rings down the glass, cloudy golden body. Moderately apricot on the nose. Dough fruity flavours joined by caramel malts. Rounded ending. Satisfying. (St Albans, 27.09.2023). Saturday, October 7, 2023
Rune	3.1 Vale Lock Prop and Barrel Gravicask, one-half, shared with Finn at St Albans Beer & Cider Festival 2023. Slightly unclear mahogany coloured body, dotted spots on the glass, filmy layer. Brown malty aromas, mid-sweet, promising. Flavoured with caramel malts, bread, and some impacts of ripe fruits. Mid-dry bittersweet end. Decent. (St Albans, 27.09.2023). Saturday, October 7, 2023
Rune	3.4 Vale Best Vale IPA Half-pint, gravicask at St Albans Beer & Cider Festival 2023. Shared with Finn. Clear copper-amber body, bubbles on the surface, clingy lacing. Promising caramel-fruity aromas. Well blended taste of leafy hops, caramel, and earth. Bittersweet ending, semi-dry. Well crafted. (St Albans, 27.09.2023). Friday, October 6, 2023
Cheeseboard	3.8 Vale Black Beauty Cask at St Albans Camra Beer Festival 2023. Pours deep brown with a beige to tan cap. Light coffee, roasty aroma. Taste is chocolate, liquorice, little sour note. Thin body with light carbonation. Lovely stuff. Always enjoy trying the old recipes Monday, October 2, 2023
Cheeseboard	2.8 Vale Best Vale IPA Cask at St Albans Camra Beer Festival held at the Alban Arena. Pours clear gold with a white cap. Mild aromas of toasted grains, caramel, earth. Taste: light sweet & bitter, toast, earth. Light body with light carbonation. IPA, ha! Sunday, October 1, 2023
Finn	2.9 Vale Pale På St. Albans Beer&Cider Festival 2023. Delt med Rune. Stråfarget. Skumring. Syltynn lacing. Lett grapefruktaroma. Smaken tropisk frukt. Beskjeden. Litt bitter avslutning. Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Finn	3.1 Vale Skyhopper På St. Albans Beer&Cider Festival 2023. Delt med Rune. Mørk stråfarget. Litt uklar. Lavt tett skum. Litt lacing. Aroma av rosiner & bringebær. Smaken som aromaen. + litt vanilje. Lite bitterhet. Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Finn	2.9 Vale Lock Prop and Barrel På St. Albans Beer & Cider Festival 2023. Delt med Rune. Amber. Litt uklar. Lavt luftig skum. Lett fruktaroma. Smaken kjeks & plommer. Tørr, forsiktig bitter avslutning. Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Finn	3.5 Vale Best Vale IPA På St. Albans Beer & Cider Festival 2023. Delt med Rune. Mørk stråfarget. Klar. Luftig filmskum. Litt lacing. Lett kjeksaroma. Hint av frukt. Smaken som aromaen. Balansert. Tørr bitter avslutning. Wednesday, September 27, 2023
imdownthepub	2.9 Vale Skyhopper Cask conditioned at the Great Northern, St Albans, Herts. Gold with white head. Boiled malts to the fore, sweet butterscotch notes, caramel, toffee. There is a sweet vanilla ice cream note then a hint of citrus. It's okay. Sunday, August 20, 2023
planky84	3.6 Vale V.P.A. (Vale Pale Ale) Cask at The Park Tavern, Eltham. Golden orange pour with a white head. Floral, citrusy aromas. Taste is honey, citrus, bitter malts. Fruity bitter finish. Nice. Monday, August 7, 2023
Brugmansia	3.3 Vale Orca Friday, August 4, 2023
fonefan	3.3 Vale Orca Friday, August 4, 2023
madmitch76	3.2 Vale Black Beauty 2nd August 2023 GBBF Day 2. Cask. A light haze on this darkish amber brown beer, small pale tan head. Palate is light and semi dry, reasonable fine carbonation. Dry choccy malts, mellow, a little dry cream. Mild esters. Ripe fruits before a dry finish. Alright. Wednesday, August 2, 2023
HopsAromas57	3.5 Vale Black Beauty Friday, July 7, 2023
berkshirejohn	3.4 Vale Orca [Cask at the Back of Beyond (JDW), Reading.] A slightly hazy pale amber pour with a tight cream head leaving lots of lacing; fresh hoppy aroma; full of fresh hops in the mouth with a vegetal bitterness that strips the palate; meaning that the middle and the finish are just more of the same. A nice hop bomb, but leaving me wanting something different. Tuesday, June 27, 2023
deanso	3.2 Vale Black Beauty Sample at the agate house JDW. Thin beige head. Clear amber pour. Lots of dhocolate Thursday, June 15, 2023
Martinsh	3.9 Vale Black Beauty Cask at Picture House, Stafford. Asked for a half, paid for a half – got served a pint ! Luckily my train was 10 mins ate, so I didn’t have to rush it too much. Anyway, pours a very dark reddish-brown with a medium sized foamy beige head, and good lacing. The aroma has roast malrs and dark fruits. In the mouth it is smooth, with some hidden bitterness. Main flavours are chocolate and roast malts, plus hints of coffee and toffee. Some floral hops come through after a while. Finish is quite bitter. This is pretty good, a really nice porter. Wednesday, May 17, 2023
berkshirejohn	3 Vale Yellow Submarine [Cask at the Hope Tap (JDW), Reading.] A pale amber pour with a creamy white head; lemony aroma; weak lemony taste with a bready body; and a dry finish with some tart berry fruit. Tuesday, May 16, 2023
ManVsBeer	3.1 Vale Brass Monkey Cask @ Barum Top Inn, Halifax. Dark amber with a glow and a creamy-smooth head. Malt aroma but a little more interesting in taste with some smoother tasting mildly herbal and darker malt tastes, albeit very very light. Friday, April 21, 2023
sammig21	3.2 Vale Wychert Monday, April 17, 2023
gazmod	3.5 Vale Black Beauty Vanilla Porter Decent malty aroma at first leading to a subtle coffee and fruity aroma. Definite coffee taste with a subtle vanilla finish. Slight bitter aftertaste but enjoyable. Smooth and easy drinking session ale Saturday, April 15, 2023
Desverger	3.3 Vale Brass Monkey Cask at JDW Wibbas Down Inn, Wimbledon (27/03/2023) - JDW Spring Fest 2023 - toasted malty with notes of sweet biscuit malts, touch of caramel, cereal, light nutty accents, medium body and soft cask carbonation with a smooth mouthfeel, bitter hoppy and lingering malty close. Ok. Monday, April 10, 2023
DJMonarch	3.4 Vale Brass Monkey Cask Handpump at Penny Black, Northwich 06/04/2023 Hop aroma. Large white head. Clear golden coloured, hoppy and fruity with a hint of dryness in a crisp and slightly sulphurous malt finish. Sunday, April 9, 2023
downender	3.1 Vale Brass Monkey Cask-conditioned, on gravity, at the Commercial Rooms (JDW), Bristol March 2023. Deep and ruddy brown in colour with a slight, off-white, head. A malty bitter, with fruity sweetness, ripe malts and a moderately bitter finish. Not much of a winter warmer due to the ABV, but drinkable. Sunday, April 2, 2023
GuideDogSaint	3.2 Vale Brass Monkey Cask pint at the George, Croydon as part of the JDW beer festival. Pours amber with an off white head. Aroma of malt and toffee. Similar taste. Bitter finish. Saturday, April 1, 2023
berkshirejohn	3.2 Vale Brass Monkey [Cask at the Back of Beyond (JDW), Reading.] An amber pour with a cream coloured head; hedgerow aroma; berry taste; and a dry floral finish. Nothing at all like the Wetherspoon’s description, but very drinkable. Friday, March 31, 2023
Martinsh	3.3 Vale Brass Monkey Cask at Moon Under Water, Wolverhampton. Pours a bright ruby with a small off-white head and good lacing. There malts and spices in the aroma plus hints of marmalade. In the mouth it is slightly sweet with malts, ginger and traces of lemon and spice. Later on there is some treacle too. Spices again in the finish. This is quite reasonable, Wednesday, March 29, 2023
imdownthepub	2.7 Vale Brass Monkey Cask conditioned at a Wetherspoons. Amber with white head. There is a thinnish maltiness to this allied to a thinnish hopped, citrusy note. Tastes quite watery really with a stewed vegetable hint. It's okay(ish) Saturday, March 25, 2023
mr_h	3.3 Vale Brass Monkey 1/3 pint (4%; festival ale) by handpump on 22 Mar 23: weak fruity, citrus aroma, clear golden amber, thin bubbly cream head, ring of bubbly lacing, orange, marmalade, little metallic flavour, grainy texture, fairly carbonated, dry bitter finish. Wednesday, March 22, 2023
berkshirejohn	3.3 Vale Lock Prop and Barrel [Cask at the Hope Tap (JDW), Reading.] A chestnut coloured pour with a thin white head; malty aroma; earthy malt taste with some Demerara sugar; then a dry finish with an earthy bitterness and a little spice. A pleasant malty bitter. Tuesday, February 14, 2023
DJMonarch	3.2 Vale Jekyll and Hyde Cask Handpump at Society Rooms, Stalybridge 04/04/2022 Hoppy aroma. White head. Golden coloured and a little hazy in appearance. Fruity berry flavour with a hint of dryness in a bitter and malty finish. Friday, January 6, 2023