Originally published in What’s Brewing July 2003
Origin: Horsham, Sussex, England
ABV: 4.2 per cent
Buy from supermarkets
Coniston Bluebird Bitter
When the directors of Brakspear cashed in their prime piece of Thames-side, not only their own brands were affected. Among the homeless were a number of contract brews, including supermarket-listed Coniston Bluebird, originally an award-winning cask beer from the tiny micro at the Black Bull pub at Coniston in the Lake District which in bottled form had moved south when demand outstripped capacity.
At a time when a recognised geographical origin and a distinctively local character are increasingly seen as the key to sustaining the market in fine traditional produce, contract brewing rings alarm bells. This is especially true when, like Bluebird, the product flaunts its local credentials: the name commemorates the craft in which Donald Campbell met his death while attempting the world speed record on Coniston Water, and the label calls the Black Bull “the home of Coniston Bluebird”.
The actual brewery of origin was acknowledged in the small print of the Brakspear version, but though the beer has now moved to Hepworths at Horsham, recent bottles still carry an Oxfordshire address. This turns out to be the business base of former Brakspear brewer Peter Scholey, who took the contract with him upon the Henley brewer’s demise.
Bottled Bluebird is still a slightly stronger version of the draught variety, made with Maris Otter pale malt, about 5% crystal, and Challenger as a single varietal hop. The result is a rich coppery-golden beer with a white head, a nicely even condition and a notably hoppy aroma: resinous and slightly sweaty at first, developing spicy and flowery honeysuckle and geranium notes later.
The crisp cereal-malt palate has drying hops evident from the first sip, with more floweriness and a slightly salty tang. The hops become more pronounced in a peppery swallow, developing over a complex finish which is always firmly hoppy but never overbearing, with cedar, grapefruit, ashy hints and a persistent but rounded bitterness.
Scholey has worked hard to match the Brakspear version, and the beer’s creator, Coniston’s Ian Bradley, says he can’t tell the difference. Based on my notes of its predecessor, I’d say the Horsham beer may be slightly heavier and less strikingly flowery, though with a longer finish.
Overall this is a refreshing ale that exhibits an American-style flair for hop character balanced by a very British idea of a rounded bitter, and I’m relieved that such an enjoyable beer is still on the shelves. Let’s hope the misleading labelling will be corrected: a beer this good doesn’t need to pretend.
Try also Butts Barbus Barbus, RCH Pitchfork, Anderson Valley Poleeko Gold (USA), Jopen Haarlems Hoppenbier (Netherlands)
Read more on ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/coniston-bluebird-bitter-bottle/5493/
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