Eugene’s Lair is a limited edition US style pale ale from the Oakham brewery. Eugene’s Lair was the first (of many) cask conditioned beers I sampled at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo in June of 2013 and fortuitously for me it turned out to be one of the best I tried that day. The ale is a light amber/darker gold colour and at 4.3% is fairly low in ABV for an American style pale ale. However, the relatively low alcohol content was more than compensated for by the generous level…

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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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Galaxy (sometimes known as Single Hop Galaxy) is a golden ale produced by Mallinsons brewery in Huddersfield. At 3.9% ABV it is at the lower scale when it comes to alcohol content, even when compared to the golden ale category. The ale poured a light straw colour with a fluffy white head which was retained through drinking. The aroma was a subtle citrusy note but upon tasting there was less citrus tastes evident. Galaxy had a more earthy taste with hints of pine and grass and a long bitter, dry…

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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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Titanic Nautical Mild was a seasonal ale that was brewed by Titanic as part of the “Mild Month”, and it’s apparently only brewed in the month of May. It is a beer that is brewed using Fuggles and Goldings hops which is what gives it its dark malt colour. The beer pours a dark ruby colour with a thick creamy head and has a sweet, slightly fruity taste which also has an ever so slight burnt maltyness and mild carbonation. It is nicely nutty on the palate with a dry,…

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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…

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