Hambleton Stallion

Brewed by Hambleton
Style: Bitter
Ripon, England

Bottle. Pours a dark brown body with a small bubbly white head. Pleasing aroma - very nutty and caramel-esque with some ryeish tones. Nutty flavour, some bitter grassiness, and watery character. A bit thin but it’s not terrible by any means.

Bottle 500 ml
Very fine haze, black tea like with stroke of copper. Minimalist fizz and ring of foam around.
Richly composed aroma, medium dark malts. Dark heavy honey like nose, sap and green bitter hops. 6,5/10
Woody bitter like front, lighter earthy below. Sweet, thick brown sugars noted .Green leaf on top. Hint of black tea floats around. Multi layered ale. Decent but not mostly coherent brew out there.

Cask at the Wharf. Nice malty sweet aroma. Dark copper/brown colour. OK head. Very nice flavour, sweet fruity hoppiness, a little spicy. Finishes on a good bitter note, cleaning the palate. Pleasantly low carbonation.

Cask Conditioned at Charlie’s Pub, Copenhagen
Amber color; thin persistent head. Common aroma, the flavor is much better, malty, with caramel; fresh, easy drinkable, with light malt fruitness; and it has a good hopping, even if not particularly aromatic. Long final. Good.

Nose is hoppy and sharp with some grapefruit. Pours medium amber with a thin head and some lace. Flavour is ok if unremarkable with it’s best feature being the long dry finish. The overcarbed mouthfeel spoils it a bit though, and ultimately this is far from the best from this stable, which includes some winners.

Catford Beer Fest. An English hoppy best bitter. Good malt. Good meld. Decent beer. A bit too old fashioned for me, but tasty enough.

Cask conditioned at Catford Beer Festival. Reddish coloured bitter. Strange flavoured fruit malt with a touch of mandarin, full body tannin dryness, sour and musty fruit finish. Not to my taste.

Cask (gravity dispense), Catford Beer Festival 2006. Rich coppery colour. A nicely balanced best bitter. The aroma is dominated by hops - floral and resinous, but with an earthy touch too - with some underlying soft malts. The malt comes through more strongly on the palate, with some berry fruit notes and, again, plenty of juicy, hoppy character. Good lasting, bitter finish but, again underpinned by mellow malts. Rather impressive. The cask (when its on form) is clearly better than the bottle.