Grumpy Troll British Bitter

Draft at the brewpub. Advertised as 45 IBU’s. Poured a clear medium orange color with a hint of red. Head was thin and consisted of off white soap bubbles. Not much aroma other than a whiff of malty caramel. The beer was served cold and carbonated, so it certainly wasn’t reminiscent of any of the bitters I’ve had in England. Too bad they didn’t use their beer engine (which they have) to serve this from a cask. Dry on the tongue and a bit on the thin side with mild hop bitterness. There wasn’t a whole lot of flavor other than some lightly toasted bread and subdued grassy hops. Not the best.

This beer was pleasant, but inoffensive, a bit boring, and not much to write home about. It was advertised as being fairly hoppy, and I didn’t get that. I also didn’t get the rather pronounced maltiness usually evident in "British IPAs." The beer was a hazy light amber with a little head. Aroma is pretty much non-existent. Flavor wasn’t very pronounced, and wasn’t very hoppy, but instead was a fairly refreshing copper metallic flavor. There was some very mild bitterness. I thought it was OK; I’d weakly recommend it. I had this on tap at the brewpub.

On tap at brewpub

I saw this last time I was visiting but passed it up for the brown ale. This time I figured I’d give it a shot. It has been a while since I have tried a bitter and I still am trying to avoid heavy imperial stouts/IIPAs. The Belgian IPA will have to wait for next time. I don’t have many points of reference but it wasn’t too bad. There is not much complexity but how many bitters are?

Aroma / Appearance - A one finger foamy head decorated the chilly beer. It was a cloudy bronze that I had plenty of time to look at as I waited for it to warm to a reasonable temperature. Chilled apple cider, sweet malts and cotton candy grace the nostrils along with fig leaves. It is airy and open.

Flavor / Palate - The bitterness is on par with that you would get from used tea leaves. It has a slighty hoppiness that pleases the senses but is not as aggressive as an IPA. The mouthfeel is thick for the style. A cedary aftertaste fades quickly. The hops get more evident as it hits room temperature but the beer as a whole declines. It’s a solid release depending on your expectations.