Adnams Extra

Brewed by Adnams
Style: Bitter
Southwold, England

Handpulled cask at the Bre Louise, Euston. Amber with a white head. I remember this beer well from its former life and to me it hasn’t changed much at all. Juicey malt and pungent plucky hoppage with and unmistakable Adnams house characture which I can’t put my finger on.

[Cask at Dunstable Arms, Sheringham] Slightly cloudy deep orange colour; moderate off-white head. An atypical Adnams - less of the Adnams malt and a far higher hop profile. Rather bitter at first, but this mellows into a straw and farmyard flavour with a good fruitiness behind. After getting over the shock of the initial "this isn’t the malty Adnams that I know and love", this grew on me, but it’s certainly not my favourite of their brews.

Cask. At The Wenlock Arms. Slightly hazy deep amber with a large and lasting frothy white head. Leafy and mildly sweet/fruity aroma, initially a little soapy (end of cask?), had a bit of a minerally tang to it. Taste was solidly bitter - grassy with crushed appleseed, again leafy, and very dry - a hint of alcohol presence. Somewhat thin-bodied, seemed a bit astringent, a touch flat, with a fairly long dry bitter finish. Decent, could have had a bit more life to the mouthfeel.

Cask in the pub in old street that iv forgotten the name of. Alround rating: Bitter english grassy hop, toffee character, bit boring and kind of iv had this soo many times before about it.

Super red berry fruit on the nose & pours a very deep gold that just looks so appealing. A lovely rounded flavour on the palate, that fruit remains but gets overtaken slowly by a ever more dry hoppiness. I hope Adnams continue to make great real beer like this instead of some of the blander beers they seem to have creeping into their range.

I’m not old enough to remember this from first time around so all I have to go on regarding it’s previous demeanor is opinions from a few people I trust. Having tried Extra by myself in a 250yr old cellar preceded by a burst of pure Fuggles when the peg was ousted, I could almost say - this is Adnams Extra. But what it used to be like means little to my present palate, it’s what it has been like for the past week and a half that has mattered. And oh, what a week and a half! Instantaneous recognisation on smelling - THIS IS ADNAMS! That not overly estery yeast, the whiff of sand and sea and Southwold, pure fuggles in the way they should be used - abundantly. At this stage of writing I’m thirsty. A full, slimy, round mouthfeel with seriously good quality malt flavours carrying the earthy, floral, hoppy hops, racing around the mouth in celebration. It’s not aggressive and doesn’t need to be, the finish is carried beautifully and the bitterness builds and builds and builds. To me, this is just as hoppy a beer as some West Coast double IPA’s - it showcases hops, I don’t need to be hit around the head with a full hop sack to realise the flavour and I could enjoy 10 of them. This is not a rant against strong hoppy US hopped beers, they are enjoyed by myself to great extent, this is justification of the greatness of cask ale and a word I never get bored of using - subtlety. I don’t care if it’s never brewed again (although I hope it will) because my first experience of it will live with all my drinking life. A friend of mine who used to run a great pub in London said that when his father would visit him from Scotland, he would have a pint of Extra on departure from London and upon waking up in Edinburgh could still taste the hops and bitterness. Extra and Innovation in cask for my birthday? I hope so.

Interesting to see this one back from the dead. I hope to see it somewhere during the course of this week. However, whilst trying to put some of my old scribblings in order I just happened to stumble across the following notes yesterday - from the Harbour Inn, Southwold, 1992 (June at a guess). I took this as a prompt to resurrect these vintage observations too. "Adnams Extra - 4.3%, OG 1043 - Nothing finer than sitting outside the Harbour Inn on a brilliantly sunny day, watching the comings and goings in the rather ramshackle harbour and its even more ramshackle associated buildings, with a pint of this wonderfully drinkable best bitter in your hand. Crystal clear and darkish amber, in perfect condition with just a thin crown of foam that persists well down the glass. Gently fruity and assertively bitter at the same time. A very dry finish makes for an exceedingly refreshing pint." Whilst Googling around I unearthed an article from the same year written by Michael Jackson advocating drinking the very same beer from the very same establishment. Perhaps we were even there on the same day. Who said nostalgia ain’t what it used to be.? Now I just have to find the new version for comparative purposes. Fingers crossed.

Cask conditioned handpump Romany, Northampton. I recall this beer winning CBOB back in the day. For some unknown reason Adnams stopped brewing it. That was a shame as it was a quality beer; relatively hoppy for its time. Well it’s back. Apparently resurrected for cask ale week but let’s pray it can be more permanent as it’s still pretty good. Sure we are used to hoppier beers now in the UK but this still holds its own. It’s dark copper and pours with a nice white head. There’s a little soap in the nose amidst the citrus hops and a little spiciness to balance the hops and malts in the mouth. It’s just a lovely personable English bitter, the likes of which Adnams do so well. Whippersnapper British raters who didn’t see this when it was originally brewed should not miss this if it does turn out to be a one off.