O’Hanlon’s Tesco Finest Bottle Conditioned Ale

O'Hanlon's Brewing Company Ltd

First published in BEER February 2008.

ABV:  5 per cent
Origin: Whimple, Devon
Website www.ohanlons.co.uk

[Note this beer may since have been discontinued.]

In the interests of variety and even-handedness I aim to avoid featuring the same brewer on this page more than once a year. Over the past few months I’ve made a rare and well-deserved exception for O’Hanlons, and having just tasted the own label Real Ale in a Bottle they’ve just started brewing for Tesco, I’m obliged to do so again, especially following recent discussion in What’s Brewing on Marks and Spencer’s new RAIB lines.

Own brands aren’t always the most characterful products but that’s not the case with this substantial but refreshing brew. The beer is mid-brown with a good off-white head and a notably spicy aroma with blackcurrant, toasty malt, liquorice and humbug notes. A dry, nutty palate fills the mouth with spicy hops and seedy, twiggy flavours without being overbitter. The finish dries out further with some smoky malt, developing peppery hops and a deliciously fruity undertow.

The fact that Tesco has moved so quickly in launching an own brand British bottle conditioned ale is a vote of confidence for Real Ale in a Bottle that would be good news even if the beer turned out to be only reasonably good. But I’d welcome a beer of such quality to the shelves of Britain’s biggest supermarket no matter what label it was under. What a cheering start to the year.

Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/tesco-finest-bottle-conditioned-ale/80290/