First published in BEER October 2006 as part of a page marking the publication of the latest Good Bottled Beer Guide. For more beers featured on this page, see previous post.
ABV: 4.7 and 5.5 per cent
Origin: Thorpe St Andrew, Norfolk, England
Website: www.thewhynotbrewery.co.uk
Why Not Cavalier Red
Eastern England is becoming Britain’s beer heaven and Norfolk in particular boasts a long and impressive list of craft brewers. The tiny Why Not brewery (as in “Fancy a beer? Why not?!”), run by former hobby brewer Colin Emms from a shed behind his house near Norwich, joined the list in 2005 and is already holding its own among some very distinguished company.
The brewery boasts of the local provenance of its barley, grown at Branthill Farm, Wells-Next-the-Sea and malted by Crisps of Fakenham. All three current beers also feature English Fuggles and Goldings hops.
Colin is one of the few British brewers who started with Real Ale in a Bottle then branched out to cask. All the beers are well-made to distinctive original recipes, but the two featured here are the ones I found most interesting.
Cavalier Red is an unusual bitter with a ruddy twist created by judicious use of crystal and chocolate malts alongside Maris Otter pale, pouring a dark reddish amber with a little off-white head.
An inviting nutty aroma has a hint of stewed gooseberries alongside spicy roast notes, leading to a generously nutty, sappy, lightly roasted malt palate, lightly carbonated with drying but restrained herby hops. Lemon barley notes emerge in a drying and bitterish but still juicy finish.
Chocolate Nutter has a similar recipe but ups the proportion of chocolate malt to produce a very dark dry brown ale, once again with a reddish tinge, and a bubbly fawn head.
A coffee and baked vine fruit aroma sets up a chewy, very malty and slightly sweetish palate with fruit cake and chocolate notes, but light bodied and refreshing considering the colour and strength. Well-balanced burry dryness and leafy bitterness emerge and develop in a slightly smoky finish over rich malt character.
Read more about these beers at ratebeer.com:
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/why-not-cavalier-red/59599/
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/why-not-chocolate-nutter/63109/
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