Tudor Blorenge

Rake Welsh Beer Festival February 2010 

ABV: 4.4%
Origin: Y Fenni, Sir Fynwy, Cymru
Website: http://www.tudorbrewery.co.uk/

The Blorenge. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jemwilliams/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

I must confess I’d not heard of this brewery, one of a number of new Welsh micros, and chose the beer from the cask selection at the Rake festival largely on the grounds of its relatively low ABV, not wanting to undermine my faculties before a serious tasting. I was mightily pleased with what I got. British micros have become adept at churning out session strength golden beers they hope will lure the lager drinkers, and some of them are becoming rather uninspired and uninspiring, so Blorenge was a particularly pleasant surprise.

The beer poured a slightly hazy mid-gold with a foamy white head and a lightly perfumed elderflower aroma. The dry and lightly bitter palate had firm malt and refreshing herbal notes, bitter but not overly so, leading to a herby finish that was surprisingly smoky, given the colour, and slightly gritty, with biscuit and mineral flavours. A light-hearted, refreshing and very well made golden ale.

I’ve since discovered it originates from a brewery established in 2007 at the Kings Arms pub in Y Fenni / Abergavenny, taking its name from the town’s Tudor gate. Like Blorenge, the other beers are named after mountains in the nearby Brecon Beacons national park — if this example is anything to go by, they’re certainly aiming for the heights of brewing skill.

Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/tudor-blorenge/99524/