Originally published in What’s Brewing February 2003
Origin: Wiveliscombe, Somerset, England
ABV: 6.6 per cent
Buy from Tesco
Exmoor Beast
Wiveliscombe was once one of southwest England’s most important brewing towns, home to the Hancock brewery between 1807 and 1959. In 1979 a new independent company revived brewing at the Hancock site, and immediately started hoovering up awards. Now once again Somerset’s largest brewery, Exmoor entered the bottled beer market in 1997 when a bottled version of its popular Gold earned supermarket listings.
The winning streak continued in 2002 when Beast, the brewery’s second bottled beer, was named the best Autumn beer at the Tesco Beer Challenge. Once again it’s derived from a draught beer, a strong porter-style beer available from October to April and first brewed ten years ago.
The name commemorates the mysterious large animal that is said to stalk Exmoor, preying on the local livestock and thought by some to be an escaped black leopard. At 6.6% the beer certainly has a bite and 2002 was the first year it was eligible for the Challenge, which had formerly imposed a 6% limit on entries.
Brewed from pale, crystal and chocolate malts and hopped with Goldings, Challenger and Brewers Gold, the beer turns out as dark in colour as the beast, a deep chestnut brown with a bubbly beige head. There’s a fairly light aroma that is mainly malty and toffeeish, with scents of leather, coffee and gravy and faint fruity esters.
Initially the palate has a very roasted malt character which mellows out to become more like a succulent bitter, balanced by well-integrated hops, black coffee flavours and some orange fruit. The condition is quite sparkling but without too much gas.
The beer turns fruitier on the swallow, with a finish that contrives to be both satisfyingly roasty and refreshingly cool. It turns quite tangy around the edges of the mouth with moreish Challenger hop flavours emerging, but although the longish finish turns nicely chocolatey it is never really bitter.
Overall, Beast combines plenty of dark flavours at an old-fashioned strength with a light texture that makes it appealingly drinkable. To my mind this is just what you should expect from a good porter, setting it apart clearly from dark milds and stouts, and Beast does the job admirably.
The one gripe is that it’s not bottle-conditioned. While you shouldn’t let this put you off – even in pasteurised form it can give many BCA beers a good mauling – it would be interesting to meet a live beast with even sharper claws.
Try also:Aldaris Porteris (Estonia), Burton Bridge Porter, Salopian Entire Butt, Sierra Nevada Porter (USA), Wickwar Station Porter
Read more on ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/exmoor-beast-bottle/70258/
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