St Austell Admiral’s Ale

ABV: 5%
Origin: St Austell, Cornwall, England
Website: www.staustellbrewery.co.uk

A shorter version was originally published in BEER November 2008. For more smoky beers see previous post. See also Top Tastings 2008.

CAMRA North London tasting February 2010

St Austell Admiral's Ale

For a more subtle whiff of the bonfire (than Heller Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen – see above), alongside generous and satisfying fruit and biscuity malt flavours, try St Austell Admiral’s Ale, brewed uniquely from Cornish Gold malt which is kilned for the brewery using a special process, making it possible to obtain a rich colour and nutty flavour from a single malt rather than mixing pale and coloured malts as in most amber beers. Hops are Styrian Goldings and Cascade. It was originally developed in 2005 to mark the 200^th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

The beer is a cherry red-brown colour with a little off-white head. A humbug, burnt toffee and malted milk biscuit aroma with a spicy blackcurrant note heralds a full toffee palate with fruity complexity, with vanilla wafer, nuts, liquorice and thick hops emerging. The beer turns tangy towards a drying fruity nutty finish with a subtle roast note. A unique, very juicy and distinctive beer.

For more smoky beers, see next post.

Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/st-austell-admirals-ale/54788/