Duchy Originals Organic Ale

500ml bottle
5.0% ABV
I tried this beer on March 3, 2008 after purchasing from one of my local LCBO outlets. The beer poured a slightly hazy pinkish red with very little head. The aroma was mainly malty with some nutty and hoppy tones. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied with high carbonation. The flavour was surprisingly hoppy with some malty tones.

Clear deep amber with meidum off white head. Sweet aroma with caramel and hoppy notes. Sweet fruity flavor with hops, caramel and malty notes. Ends bitter. Very good balanced beer.

500ml bottle from the LCBO. Meh, what can I say about this one. A generic example of a style I’m not a huge fan of. I’ll rate it fairly, but it still didn’t blow me away. What this one actually has going for it is some very decent hop flavours in the finish, as well as some bitter bite to it. Something I find missing a lot in a style that’s called "bitter". This is almost pale-alish. I still have yet to find an ESB that really impresses me.

Bottle. Pours a translucent reddish brown with a decent off-white head, which diminishes not too quickly, but is far from long lasting. The flavour is SURPRISINGLY well balanced for an ESB. Very nice touch of hops, but aside from that the fruitiness is very prevalent, and a very nice dry finish! Very well brewed.

Quite nice aroma... immediately of bananas and malt, but also hints of hoppy spice and earth. Pours a great clear, dark red/amber/brown color with a one inch frothy off-white head that is quite long-lasting. Flavor is smooth with noticeable hop bitterness as well as malt sweetness. A tiny bit of chocolate in there at the beginning, with a lot of earthy flavor as well. Labeled: "Duchy Originals Organic English Ale" in America. 1 pt. 0.9 oz. bottle.

Bottle from Sainsburys. Pale copper coloured with a decent off-white head. Earthy malt aroma with a whiff of grassy hops. Flavour was malty, with a touch of orange peel and a decent bitter finish. Ok.

Duchy is an ok beer, at least for an organic. It is not a traditional bitter, and has a significant hop flavor and aroma. Dry and bitter.

Sampled at Cellar’s WIne & Spirits weekly beer tasting in St Paul, MN. Pours a hazy copper amber brew with a fast dissolving white head that leaves behind a fine film and ring. Aroma of some golden malt, a touch of figs, basket wood, and some grassy hops. Taste is medium bodied with flavors of mild multi-grain malt, grassy hops, and dry herbal tea and light fruit. Finish is slightly watery, some herbal tea aftertaste with a mild bitterness that quickly disappears.