I decided to try out the swanky new real ale emporium in Chester having read about it in a local CAMRA mag which lead me to the Brunning and Price pub, The Architect.

Never having set foot in the place before I quickly scanned the pump clips and decided on a pint of the Blonde by Tatton Brewery. The other Tatton brews have always been pretty good (in particular the honey based brew “Lazy Haze”) so I had high hopes for this.

The barman seemed to have a nice wrist action when pulling which culminated in a nice head (enough of this Carry On…) which kept my attention until I managed to work out from my change how much the pint had just cost me. Over three and a half quid for a 4% blonde! Actual blonds don’t normally cost that much.

Although Brunnings pubs tend to be fairly dear in my experience (see Harkers Arms also in Chester) I felt like I’d been violated paying that much. The feeling was only lessened when I checked the real ale blackboard and saw a 3.2% Mild costing £3.50.

The price certainly isn’t the fault of Tatton but this reviewer was already in a bad mood by supping time. Thankfully their Blonde didn’t disappoint.

There was a healthy inch thick creamy head upon pouring and this was retained to a quarter of an inch throughout drinking.

As per Blonde beers it was light in hue, a very pleasant looking golden, slightly amber colour which offered a delicate floral nose with subtle citrus fruit flavours and aromas.

In contrast to other Blondes it didn’t leave an overly bitter finish on the palate so this could be a nice drink to introduce non-ale drinkers to the wonderful world of real ale.

A very drinkable beer which has left me looking forward to the next offering from Tatton.

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