British Real Ale in a Bottle May 2010
ABV: 5%
Origin: Crockham Hill, Kent, England
Website: www.westerhambrewery.co.uk
Westerham National Trust Viceroy India Pale Ale
This beer featured as a British Real Ale in a Bottle on the bottled beer review page in the May 2010 issue of BEER magazine, sent free every quarter to CAMRA members, who can also view it online. The magazine is also available in selected newsagents.
This issue’s selection of beers is a “mixed case”, as I’ve tasted so much good Real Ale in a Bottle over the past few months that doesn’t fit easily into a theme. If these English bottle conditioned beers have anything in common other than their quality, it’s that they’re all from small local breweries with a sense of place.
Westerham National Trust Viceroy IPA (5 per cent) is the first National Trust-branded beer that uses malt and hops from Trust sources including organic Target and Progress from Scotney Castle and organic Westminster pale malt. It’s supplied by Westerham brewery, itself founded in 2004 on a Trust-owned farm in the Weald of Kent, and commemorates sometime Viceroy of India George Curzon (1859-1925) who restored the Taj Mahal as well as donating several properties to the Trust. On the mild side for a revivalist India Pale Ale, it still has plenty of earthy, resiny hops and a good malt base.
This is an prange-amber beer with a pinkish white head and a boiled fruit and sweet malt arroma with a mineral hint. The tart but malty and sweetish palate has earthy resiny hops, cadied fruit and slightly odd sulphur notes. Drying herbs develop to usher in a sweetish malty finish with rhubarb tartness and lightly peppery hops, with a slightly cloying quality, but overall a decent beer easily worthy of its august branding.
Buy this beer from AlesbyMail.com as part of a special pack containing all the beers featured on my beer review page in BEER this month. BEER readers receive a special discount by entering the voucher code shown in the magazine.
To download BEER if you’re a CAMRA member, see http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=beer.
To find out more about CAMRA membership, see http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=joinus.
For more beers featured in this article, see next post.
Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/westerham-national-trust-viceroy-india-pale-ale/108670/
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