Good Bottled Beer Guide 2009: Selections

First published in BEER August 2009.

Jeff Evans, The Good Bottled Beer Guide, 7th edition

The Great British Beer Festival sees the launch of the 7^th edition of CAMRA’s Good Bottled Beer Guide, the swelling dimensions of which bear eloquent testimony to the resurgence of UK Real Ale in a Bottle. With each edition editor Jeff Evans uncovers inviting new entries on the wants list, and this one is no exception. Here I’ve tasted five beers new to the Guide, including four débuting breweries.

Nigel Wright’s Hopshackle Brewery in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, established in 2006 and specialising in superb beers based on historic styles, is one of the real discoveries. His Double Momentum (7 per cent) is an unusual British take on an Imperial IPA, worthy of cellaring. Dosed with generous quantities of Challenger and Goldings and cask aged for at least two months before bottling, this is a golden ale rich in honeyed flowers and ripe plum fruit, with a marvellously complex citrus and rose palate and a rooty, peppery finish, the hops big but smooth around the edges and not overbearing.

Also dating from 2006 is Spire Brewery in Chesterfield, borrowing for its logo the town’s twisted spire landmark. No doubt brewer David McLaren’s former career as a bandsman in the Scots Guards has something to do with the surprising presence, among an already unusual range of ales,  of an extremely rare beast: a bottle conditioned Scottish 80/-. 80 Shilling Ale (4.3 per cent) is a mid-brown beer with a toasty aroma and a rich malty, sappy, chewy palate with tart gooseberry notes, finishing roasty dry with a touch of salt.

Newer still is the immodestly named Outstanding Brewery in Bury, launched in 2008 – although the involvement of one of Britain’s leading suppliers of microbrewing kit, David Porter, shows an experienced hand, as does the wide range of beers, from smoked ales to Californian-style extreme hop brews. The one I enjoyed most, though, was a simple classic bitter, OSB (4.4 per cent), full of ripe autumn fruit and biscuity malt, with orange and peach syrup softening a firm bitter finish.

Imperial Stout Acorn Gorlovka, named after the Ukrainian twin town of the brewery’s Barnsley base, is an impressive bottle conditioned début from a renowned cask supplier. At 6 per cent, a relatively low gravity for the style, this still packs plenty of flavour, with cream, nut, blackcurrant, chocolate, coffee and leather, a good wallop of hops and a dash of farmyard aroma – a great addition to the Imperial Stout family.

Old Chimneys in Market Weston, Suffolk, is a Guide veteran for brewer Alan Thomson’s unusual and inventive ales. Among his new beers is Amber Porter (4.8 per cent), based on brewing records from 1785-1827 rescued from Ipswich’s defunct Tolly Cobbold brewery. Authentically reddish brown rather than black, this has a big malt aroma and a smooth but very toasty palate and follows through with tart fruit, charred wood and chocolate.

With Real Ale in a Bottle in such good health, who knows what delights the 8^th edition of the Guide will bring?

Buy the books from amazon.com:

• Jeff Evans, The Good Bottled Beer Guide: The CAMRA Guide to Real Ale in a Bottle, 7th edition

See also Jeff Evans’ Inside Beer page.