Coniston Old Man Ale (Bottle)

Brewed by Hepworth
Style: Old Ale
Horsham, England

Looking at the other ratings, this must be a pretty inconsistent beer. Mine poured a generous white bubbly head on top of a hazy orange brew. Cloudier than it looked in the bottle. Biscuity romas of malt, peach, apricot, and oolong tea. Solid, if a bit thin on the taste. Easy to drink, but nothing exciting.

50 cl bottle. Pours a slightly hazy light amber with a thin, sudsy, linen white head that disappeared after the first couple of sips. Scant aroma of malt; I really have to concentrate to get a whiff of anything out of this beer. The flavor is quite similar with a trace of malt and that’s about it. Dry at the finish with a thin mouthfeel. When I think of old ales, I think of malty creatures with a nice chewy mouthfeel. This beer is demure and weak.

50 cl. Clear copper with a medium-sized lasting head. Apple, green herb and caramel aroma. Flavor of dried apple, bitter herb, toasted nut, and slight caramel. Light-medium body is dry.

Pint glass. Amber with orange tinge. Thick huge head that rises above the glass without spilling. Biscuit honey malt aroma with a little grassy hop. Very understated taste. Mainly the malt and some herbal tea. Pleasant flavor but not enough taste. Mild finish. Thin to medium body with smooth mouthfeel. Doesn’t look, smell, or taste like an old ale.

50cl bottle. Poured a deep, clear gold with highlights of orange and a medium-sized, off-white head. The aroma was malty with hints of soft fruit. The aroma also had notes of grassy hops. The flavor was malty and fruity (figs, raisins) with some flavors of caramel. The finish has some balance of herbal hops, but is mostly sweet. The flavor, overall, is mild. The mouthfeel is light and appropriately carbonated. Overall, not very interesting. And an old ale that is only 4.8%? Perhaps a strong bitter is a better appelation.

Bottle 50cl from Jungle Jim’s. Poured clear golden color with an average white head that diminished slowly with good lacing. Medium aroma of sweet malt. Medium body with soft carbonation. Good flavor of sweet malt and medium bittersweet finish of moderate duration. Solid drinkable beer.

Bottle conditioned (allegedly), 500ml. From Taste Buds, Adderbury, Oxon. Pale gold with thin white head, carbonation. I’ve had cask Coniston Old Man in the Black Bull, Coniston, as this suggests on the label and I know that this wasn’t the correct beer in the bottle. This was thin, insipid, tasteless and quite obviously incorrectly labelled. Coniston should know that Hepworth are doing a poor job for them. I feel conned.

500ml bottle conditioned. Reddish gold with a cream head; citrus aroma and taste; with a dry bitter finish.