Castle Rock Harvest Pale (Bottle)

Castle Rock
Brewed at Marstons (Marstons plc)
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Nottingham, England

Bottled, pasteurised, 500ml from Morrisons, Banbury. Gold with white head. Initial boiled sweetie flavour, which then makes way for a fairly crisp, clean hop. The caramelisation does continue through the beer though making this not as dry as the cask version. Enough bitterness to make it worthwhile. Reasonable.

Bottle, from Morrisons in Grimsby. Gold, moderate white head and gentle condition. Gentle initial eggy sulphur note then low fruity malt, full and hop bitter in the mouth with some background malty sweetness, gentle malt in the finish but with a building lingering hop bitterness that becomes dominant

Golden, clear and pored flat. Citrus is present and this is a well balanced beer. Pleasant.

Bottle that I picked up somewhere? Actually I think it may have been Bellingers Jet Garage, Grove, nr Wantage, Oxon. Pours light yellow with a white head. The aroma is a tiny bit stale and dare I say it maybe even a touch of vinegar which was worrying though on first taste It was apparent that the beer wasn’t infected. Taste was initially boiled sweets, some soft and safe malty flavours and an easy going bitterness. The crispness and hops present in the cask version are not showing at all here. Glad that the previous rater has had a good un’ and wonder whether my bottle may have been a little old? A4 A4 F5 P3 OV10 2.5

Pasteurised, 4.3% bottle. Pale yellowy pour with a greenish tinge and fine stable collar. Aroma pure hop goodness- soft gelatinous wine gummy lemon, lime and tangy mandarin citrus, joined by straw, vanilla, and a hint of pine. Hops carry over into the flavour, where the soapy tang is reinforced by a pungent bite of alpha bitterness approaching IPA territory, husky malts, vanilla, biscuit. Admirably bitter, hopped-up citrussy pale ale that’s come through the bottling/pasteurisation process pretty much unscathed.