I have to say this is probably the best beer I have had. I tried it several times at the Oxford, Kentish Town, as well as at a private party. It has an aroma that hits you long before the glass reaches your lips. The main characteristic I can give it is grapefruit, although I have had other beers with presumably this hop which were too much like grapefruit juice, not what I want in a beer! Couldnt get enough of this and downed many pints!

Cask (gravity dispense), St Albans Beer Festival, September 2007. Supposed to be the One Hop beer for May/June 2007 but here it is in September, and Grand Union hasn’t published the running order since August so I don’t really know what is going on with the One Hop series. Anyway, this is a mid gold beer with a loose white head. Lashings of leafy, spicy Simcoe on the nose. Lots of grapefruit and resinous notes in the flavour, although perhaps marginally more laid back than the aroma, with just a hint of biscuity malt. The mouthfeel is crisp, sharp and refreshing. Showcases the Simcoe hop brilliantly in a UK context. Not sure why they repeated this one but I’m sure glad they did.

Cask. At The Wenlock Arms, London. Oh, my - after a week and a half of pretty much nothing but bitters and ESBs, this was quite a welcome change; Golden Ale? Not by half - try IPA, mate! Poured clear gold with an average creamy/frothy lasting white head. What an aroma - lush, acidic, full-on Simcoe resin/lemon funky bitter hoppiness, just enough mild grainy malt to remind you there’s more than hops to it. Taste - well, the malt was more pronounced, definitely fresh cereal grain, strong hops but more evenly balanced than in the aroma. The body seemed light but had that wonderful cask chewiness to it, solidly astringent and high in alpha acidity, with a very long, tenacious hoppy finish and aftertaste - simply terrific, IMHO.

(cask - Coastguard, St. Margarets Bay) pale gold with dense white head, some lace. Citrus hops aroma. Great Simcoe hops flavor. An awesome cask ale.

Gravity, Merton Beer Festival. Bright gold, lots of dense white foam. A stunning clean and bright hop expression; piney, catty, grapefruit hop goodness, reaching out of the glass to slap your face and assert respect. Catty carries over to the flavor, adding cinnamon and mineral. Mouth filling, nose tingling--a really serious hop punch-up at 4.5%! Just enough light toast to counterpoint the hop expression. I suppose it’s odd that the most genius expression of all-American Simcoes I’ve had is an English beer, but maybe not. At any rate, this is it.

I’m pining for more...