Originally published in BEER March 2006.
Beer sellers: Meadow Farm Shop
ABV 4.5 and 4.7 per cent
Origin Brecon, Powys, Wales
Buy from specialist shops, brewery (tel 01874 623731)
Website www.breconshirebrewery.com
Breconshire Red Dragon
With St David’s Day imminent as this issue hits the shelves, this month’s column finds a welcome in the hillside for real ale in a bottle with two small breweries that are relatively new and notably enthusiastic exponents of fine bottle conditioned beers.
The Breconshire Brewery, in the idyllic setting of the northern edge of Brecon Beacons national park, originated in 2002 when well-established distributor and wholesaler C H Marlow decided to experiment with offering its own beers alongside other people’s.
With kit from the defunct Pembrokeshire Brewery and a brewer, Justin Grant, rescued from the ruins of Brakspear, the brewery was soon winning prizes for its tasty draught beers: its standard bitter, Brecon County Ale, was recently named best in class at CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Wales competition for the third year running.
Bottling followed in 2004, originally off site, and the range has expanded with a number of imaginative and interesting lines, most of which I tasted for this column. Given my other life as an employee of a national walking organisation, I was tempted to feature strong bitter Ramblers Ruin (5 per cent ABV) but the two most enjoyable of the bottles turned out to be a great best bitter and an unusual red ale.
Brecknock Best is a celebration ale brewed to mark the 250th anniversary of the Breconshire Agricultural Society, the oldest organisation of its kind in Britain. Like all the brewery’s beers it features floor malted Optic barley, in this case hopped with Pilot and the distinctive Bramling Cross.
It’s a classic deep amber colour, showed off to good effect with my bottle which poured obligingly clear. An inviting fruit salad aroma with hints of yeast and sulphur leads to a beautifully fresh palate that’s chewy and malty with roasty and spicy notes.
A tingly swallow is followed by a rounded, well-balanced finish that develops a lightly bitter sting and some juicy, slightly astringent grapefruit notes. Some cherry flavour and close maltiness are apparent later.
This is a straightforward and not especially complex beer, but it’s beautifully balanced and provides easy and delightful drinking. The Agricultural Society should feel complimented by such a fine brew, which has now become established as a regular line.
More unusual is Red Dragon, which links the mythical beast from the Welsh flag with wider Celtic references by nodding to the Irish tradition of malty red ales, throwing in a hint of the dry, sappy red-brown ales of northeast England for good measure. The recipe includes generous quantities of crystal malt, alongside Pioneer and 93/50 hops.
The beer pours a slightly cloudy rich cherry red, with a foamy off-white head. A complex nutty, spicy and fruity aroma includes almond tones. It’s smooth in the mouth, nutty, woody and slightly musty, reminiscent of the signature of wild yeast with a sprinkling of twiggy fennel notes.
A chocolatey swallow leads to a hoppy roasted peanut finish that develops an astringent dryness and deep spicy notes. A pleasingly distinctive bottleful that doesn’t taste quite like anything else I’ve encountered, although the influence of the likes of Double Maxim and Newcastle Brown is evident.
More Welsh beers reviewed in next post.
Read more about these beers at ratebeer.com:
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/breconshire-brecknock-best/46512/
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/breconshire-red-dragon/34606/
Leave a Reply