Bitter
Bitter (or pale ale) can be used to describe an ale that is sold on draught and can range in alcohol from 3% to 7.5% ABV, although most Bitter tend to be at the lower alcohol levels. In the UK Bitter can be sold as cask conditioned or keg. The latter involves carbonation at the brewery and filtering to remove yeast and other insolubles before they are eventually pasteurised. Cask conditioned bitter is a traditional type of brewing that goes back hundreds of years and it is characterised by allowing the ale to ferment both in the cask and sometimes in bottles. No pasteurisation takes place and as such it can be a difficult ale to create well and to store to a high standard.
Continuum is a cask conditioned Best Bitter from the Hardknott brewery based up in Cumbria. At 4% ABV, Hardknott Continuum is very middle of the road when considering alcohol strength. In fact, that is pretty much the overriding impression when considering the brew. It is a standard session Bitter that is by no means an earth shattering, but is perfectly pleasant to drink. The beer pours a coppery amber colour with a small slightly off white head. There is a slight earthy aroma to Continuum – woody and piney that…
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Cotswold Way is a premium bitter offered by the Wickwar brewery from Gloucestershire. It was another of the beers sampled at the trade session at the recent Stockport Beer Festival. The ale is pretty much a quintessential English Bitter both in terms of colour and taste. At a strength of 4.2% it is also pretty middle of the road as alcohol level goes. Wickwar is a new brewery to me although they have been in operation since 1990 so they have a degree of brewing pedigree. What characterises Cotswold Way…
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