Freeminer Trafalgar India Pale Ale

Originally published in What’s Brewing June 2004

Note this beer is no longer available in a bottle conditioned version, only in cask or filtered versions.

Origin: Cinderford, Gloucestershire, England
ABV: 6 per cent

Freeminer Trafalgar India Pale Ale

Freeminer Brewery, established in 1992 in the Royal Forest of Dean, is the source of some of the most distinctive and uncompromising bottled real ales in Britain: brews like seriously big Deep Shaft Stout or gingery Shakemantle wheat beer. The brewery celebrates the independently-minded local tradition even in its name: a “freeminer” is a local who has earned the ancient right to own a coal mine in the Forest.

Now, as Jeff Evans reported in last month’s Beer, the brewery is wisely investing spare cash from the cut in beer duty into marketing initiatives. As a result, several key bottled lines have had an image makeover, with labels and glassware more appropriate to high quality specialist products, and are enjoying supermarket listings.

Trafalgar is the brewery’s interpretation of a traditional India Pale Ale, strong and generously hopped to withstand a long sea voyage. At 6 per cent it’s a not quite 19th century strength but it’s also not one of the “inferior four point something” versions, as the brewery’s website puts it. It’s brewed from floor-malted Maris Otter pale malt sourced from Warminster Maltings in Wiltshire, with a touch of crystal and both wet and dry hopping with a single variety: Goldings grown around Ledbury, Herefordshire. Bottling is now at Marstons in Burton.

The result is a deep and glowing amber beer, quite dark for an IPA, with a busy sparkle and a thick yellowish head: a sticky sediment in my bottle made it easy to pour perfectly clear. Unsurprisingly, hops dominate a fresh and blossomy aroma, with touches of citrus, honey, faint gingery spice and hessian malt.

The complex palate is malty, soft and rounded at first, with traces of chaffy, cereal flavour and a slightly oily toffee quality. The hops kick in early, orangey at first and becoming quite bitter around the edges of the mouth. There’s perhaps some apple fruitiness and a slight burnt toffee flavour.

The finish brings a firm flourish of bitter hops, pronounced but never completely overwhelming tasty cereal malt. Big earthy resin tones emerge, turning more gentle and spicy as the finish develops.

Overall, this is a distinctive and flavoursome quality product, and it’s great to see it in packaging that does it justice: I’m not surprised to hear it’s doing well in posh Indian restaurants. Those brewers still disguising equally fine products with cartoon labels and laddish “joke” names take note.

Try also Burton Bridge Empire Pale Ale, Goose Island India Pale Ale (USA, filtered), Marstons Old Empire (filtered)

Read more about more recent versions of this beer at http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/freeminer-trafalgar-ipa/5832/29087/