BeerCast #33 – Southwest…ish

We return to our Edinburgh studio for the 33rd BeerCast podcast, as an extended panel tackle beers from the South West of England – well, more or less. Panellist Shovels picked up the contenders on a recent trip to The Bottle in York, where they were all shelved in that particular geographic section. We have the self styled ‘ale of Cornwall’ up first – St Austell Tribute (4.2%), before moving on to Hogs Back T.E.A. (4.2%), which stands for Traditional English Ale and hails from Surrey – not exactly the South West. Our third beer definitely is from the correct region – Hop Back Crop Circle from Salisbury in Wiltshire (4.2%). We had high hopes for this, coming from the same producer as our reigning Beer of the Year, Summer Lightning. Finally we end on the typical strong note with Exmoor’s Exmoor Beast, at 6.6%. On the five-man panel this time are Richard, Shovels, Grooben, Stu and Steve.

1. St Austell Tribute (4.2%abv)
St Austell Brewery, St Austell, Cornwall.
500ml glass bottle

Now one of the largest private companies in Cornwall, the St Austell Brewery were founded in 1851 by a young local man named Walter Hicks, who mortgaged his farm for £1500 to get the necessary funds. Over 150yrs later they still remain in the hands of the Hicks family. They have 167 pubs in Britain’s most southwesterly county, but are expanding into and throughout the region. St Austell have won many awards, and their Admirals Ale was recently voted Supreme Champion of the 2008 International Beer Challenge. Tribute is their flagship ale, however, and is increasingly being found further away from it’s homeland. Brewed using Maris Otter and Cornish Gold malts, and hopped with Fuggles, Williamette and Styrian.

What They Say – “Tribute is a magnificent example of a bronze coloured English bitter, with a rich aroma of biscuity malt and tart citrus fruit from the Willamette hops. Juicy malt, hop resins and tangy fruit coat the tongue, while the finish is long and lingering, with a fine balance between malt, hops and fruit, finally becoming dry and bitter.” [Roger Protz]

What We Say…
Steve – Digestive biscuit taste to it with some citrus 9
Richard – Great hop aroma with a long malty bitter aftertaste 9
Grooben – A good drinking beer, it’s right up my street 8
Shovels – Lingers all around the mouth but it’s pretty good 7½
Stu – Just a little too bitter for me in the aftertaste 7

2. Hogs Back T.E.A. (4.2%abv)
Hogs Back Brewery, Tongham, Surrey.
500ml glass bottle

Surrey’s not exactly in the south west, but at least it’s in the south – and if a bottle shop chooses to shelve ales slightly out of alignment then that’s good enough for us. The Hog’s Back Brewery are situated in the small village of Tongham, and take their name from a geological feature nearby – the raised ridgeline of the North Downs that runs from Farnham to Guildford. Their first batch was completed on the 4th of August 1992 following the efforts of two men, Tony Stanton-Precious and Martin Zillwood-Hunt, who were put together by the editor of The Grist after Tony wrote to the magazine looking for a prospective partner to open a brewery. Like Tribute with St Austell, T.E.A. is Hog’s Back’s flagship beer, and in 2007 was a finalist in the bottled beer class at the GBBF’s Champion Beer of Britain.

What They Say – “T.E.A. is pale brown, with a hoppy and slightly fruity aroma supported by malt in the taste. A well crafted, bittersweet beer with a long dry finish. A classic Best Bitter.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Stu – I enjoyed it much better than the Tribute 7½
Shovels – A classic best bitter that’s nicer with the sediment 7½
Steve – It’s almost like drinking a Terry’s Chocolate orange 7½
Richard – Very malty but I don’t get any citrus or sweetness 7
Grooben – Smells of not much, and it does taste a bit like tea 7

3. Crop Circle (4.2%abv)
Hop Back Brewery, Salisbury, Wiltshire.
500ml glass bottle

Hop Back began in the basement of a pub – the Wyndham Arms, on the outskirts of Salisbury. When bought by John and Julie Gilbert, John decided to use the cellar to experiment in brewing beer for the pub, and made such a success that CAMRA beer festivals were dishing out plaudits within two years. The couple bought another pub in 1991 – the Waterloo Arms in Southampton – and once capacity was reached they went all out and opened the Hop Back Brewery. Renowned for Summer Lightning, our reigning Beer of the Year. But they are far from a one-trick pony, and Crop Circle is brewed with added coriander.

What They Say – “A very clean, flaxen-coloured beer with wonderful thirst-quenching properties. The subtle blend of aroma and bittering hops give a crispness on the tongue which is delicately fruity, giving way to some dryness. The inclusion of flaked maize in the grist subtlely hints at crisp corn flavours.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – Refreshing and drinkable with not much body 7
Steve – The herby taste does fade very quickly 6½
Richard – Has a sharp bitterness but not in a good way 6½
Grooben – More like Cobra than Summer Lightning 6
Stu – I think it would go well with something spicy 6

4. Exmoor Beast Strong Ale (6.6%abv)
Exmoor Ales, Wiveliscombe, Somerset.
500ml glass bottle

We’ve never featured a Somerset Brewery on the BeerCast before, but Exmoor Ales are one of the most successful producers in the UK. Founded in 1980, they had a flying start by winning the Best Bitter national award at that year’s GBBF…with only their 13th brew. That beer was known simply as Exmoor Ale, and was a classic 3.8% session beer. They didn’t rest of the laurels of that quick success, as in 1986 they then produced Exmoor Gold, widely regarded as the first Golden Ale (along with Hop Back’s Summer Lightning) – a pioneer of the quintessential British summer ale style. Exmoor Beast is a full-bodied dark porter that was first brewed in 1992.

What They Say – “Its strength means this is a beer to be respected, sipped slowly to warm up a winter’s night while the weather does its worst. Brewed with a mix of pale ale, chocolate and crystal malts, and hopped with Goldings, Challenger and Brewers Gold, it is dark mahogany-brown in colour, with the merest hint of crimson tints at its edge.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Steve – Would be nice with a fruit cake, it’s a winter one 8
Richard – There’s definitely a rum background in there 7½
Shovels – A raisiny sipper – just one pint would do I think 7
Grooben – More complex than I thought but isn’t my type of beer 7
Stu – Drinking beer with fruit cake scares the hell out of me 7

Panellists – (from bottom right) Grooben, Shovels, Richard, Stu, Steve

BeerCast panel verdict
St Austell Tribute (40½/50)
Hogs Back T.E.A. (36½/50)
Exmoor Beast (36½/50)
Hop Back Crop Circle (31½/50)