London Drinker Beer Festival March 2010
ABV: 5%
Origin: South Woodham Ferrers, Essex, England
Website: http://www.crouchvale.co.uk/
Crouch Vale Amarillo
Beer blogger Mark Dredge, of Pencil & Spoon fame, pointed me in the direction of this fine hoppy golden ale at the London Drinker beer festival. From one of Britain’s oldest and most respected new generation micros (founded in 1981), it makes a great feature of the distinctively fruity US hop variety from which it takes its name.
My sample was a rich gold with very little head and a rich, almost whiskyish aroma, with floral and fruity notes that brought to mind Lucozade and apricots. There were more apricots on a full hoppy palate with a slightly herbal bitterness, a touch of burry hopsack and very full bodied malt that made the beer taste a percentage or two higher in ABV than it actually is. Citric orange and lime notes came to the fore on the swallow, with a long, tingling orange and apricot finish that eventually became firmly peppery-bitter, with plenty of balancing malt and fruit and none of the harshness some of the newer hoppy beers exhibit.
Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/crouch-vale-amarillo/24922/
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