Coniston Bluebird Bitter (Bottle)

Brewed by Hepworth
Style: Bitter
Horsham, England

Bottle. Reddish amber with foamy off-white head. Very refreshing earthy & bready malt aroma with herbal and floral hops. Light bodied with normal carbonation and avery refreshing flavour. Nice!

I had this beer along with a toasted sandwich and I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t overwhelm me with flavor, but it was tasty in a subtle way. The label hinted at a floral taste which I was able to pick up on. As a relative novice, I would definitely try this again.

This beer is orange and has a medium and compact white head that is not persisitent. Light aroma of citric hops. Soft mouthfeel. The flavour is malty with orangey hops, that give a good aromatic bitterness that lingers for some time. Not outstanding but I really like this kind of beer.

hazy gold with a medium sized creamy white head. flavor is grapefruit, orange, lemon and hops. light carbonation. no sharpness. light bodid. definitely some tangy american hops in there with a nice bready english malt.

500ml: Aroma of apples, fruit, and malts. Poured amber in color with a small/medium, rocky, off-white head that diminished. Clear. Lightly sparkling. Flavor is awful. There is little to the flavor but some malt notes. Lightly sweet. Medium bitter. Doughy acidic finish was chalky. Light body. Thin and watery. Flat carbonation. Overall, a terrible brew. Poor flavor, no body, not really bitter, not worth it.

Gentle, citrusy malt aroma in good balance with subtle British hops. Pours an almost clear, peachy copper with a lacy and lasting bubbly blanket. Delicate ale flavour: citrusy fermentation finish (i.e., not citrusy hops) in front of light malt with a small contribution from the hops. Although this beer doesn’t really have balls, it is in very good balance and is not pissy lager. Light body, moderate carbonation, clean finish. Extremely quaffable.

RERATE: After some guilty feelings, I thought it best if I re-rated thisone for two reasons: 1) hey_kevin thought so highly of it. 2) For a couple of weeks prior to sitting down with it I’d been pounding Belgians like it was my job. From 5 to 7 for aroma, 2 to 3 for appearance. The rest stand. Mea Culpa...Mea Maxima Culpa. Original Impressions: Pours dark gold and cloudy with a large and very white head. Aroma of bread, dirt, and hops. Kind of bland flavor, I find myself going "Yeah...AND?" but I do like the hoppy bitterness at the end. Basicaly I guess I feel it’s just kind of dull. Maybe I’m just in a Belgian mode these days...

2006 bottle drunk at Publick House on 12/14/06
White head is full and mostly lasting, creating gentle lacing in patches. Peachy-marigold color with a ruddy auburn glow. Clear and bright, leaving any sediment in the bottle (don’t think there’s much). Plenty of large bubbles rise in the liquid.
Very peppery nose. Like dusty/spicy hop pepperiness. A hint of very light orange rind and passing resemblances to grapefruit, but a dry, doughy yeastiness seems a bit too pervasive and dulls the hop aromatics somewhat. So it remains mostly dusty and dry. Malt is full of biscuits, graham crackers and dry barley flavors. Dosent seem like much of the maris otter makes it through. Not that full, somewhat sticky, round sweetness that I’d expect, anyways. Probably in part, due to the attenuation, but the crystal malt just seems to add too much dryness/hardness. Still, it’s definitely got a good strength to the aroma and even if things tend a little dry/crusty, there is still plenty of malt character.
Sweet, warm, honey white dough wraps around the palate upon first sip. Some deeper brown bread and cracker-like notes begin to assert themselves, but a gentle spiciness from the hops, with a mild, but noticeable bitterness helps keep things balanced. Leafy, very dry citrus peel, with definite earthy undertones and spicy and dusty notes, characterize the hops. Very indecisive palate. Not quite hard, yet not quite soft. I would expect more softness from the maris otter, though. Carbonation, while quite voluptuous, is actually rather tight, creating an almost creamy effect on the palate. Honey and crackers linger, with more hop spiciness. Sweetness actually comes to be more dominant than the dryness, with warming/breathing. Quite drinkable, but I remember it being significantly more fresh and drinkable on cask.