McNeills Summer Bitter

Brewed by McNeills Brewery
Style: Bitter
Brattleboro, Vermont USA

Poured a medium golden color with an averaged sized off white head. Some floaters. Aromas of light fruits, some citrus and light toffee. Tastes of citrus, caramel and some grass in the finish. Lively body. Starts out lightly sweetand ends on a light hoppy bitter finish.

The Lure:
Peaches, grapefruit and cantaloup fruitiness roam atop floral hoppiness. Sweetness appears butterscotch-like at times, and for now dominates the hops, surprising for a McNeill’s brew.

The Festivities:
The low but adequate carbonation seems to attempt an emulation of cask bitters. Wooden hop dryness gets a little chalky at times. Grapefruit juice and cantaloup slices sit strong, as flowers grow sparsely around. Fruit get relatively sweet as caramel emboldens them, all the while remaining very drinkable due to airy spaces between flavors.

Transcendence:
Getting your clothes dirty, but at a picnic.

At the pub, on draft ($2.75 pints; gotta be the best deal in New England). Couldy amber color with medium lasting head; peach/apricot aroma and flavor. Very smooth for a bitter, yet hops are present all the way through and the finish gets bitter enough. Could be a little heavier, perhaps, but I guess it is a ’summer’ brew. Another quality beverage from McNeills.

Poured a hazy golden color with a thin, off white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of citrus hops, yeast, light banana, and caramel malt. Taste of grassy hops, some citrus, toffee malt, light pine, some yeast, and a bitter hoppy finish.

2004 bottle sample June 2004, compliments of Bucknaked. Pours really well. Good foamy head, white and lacing. Dark brown to dark amber orange straw. Big bubbles. Bottle conditioned. Aroma of light light fruit (nectarines, peaches). Some caramel and toffee, but light and not overly sweet. Hops are juicy, bursting with flavor, but not tremendously bitter, which is great. Balance is yet again wonderful, not too sweet, not too bitter. So drinkable, medium light body, some light fruit hints on the finish. Carbonation on this must be all natural from the bottle conditioning, it’s perfect. Fruity and lightly bitter, balanced. This is about as good as it gets for a summer session ale. This should be classified as a bitter, not an amber, I would think.

On cask at the brewery, 8/5/2005. Wonderful! I’m glad it holds up to my memory. Just perfect influence from the yeast, moderately dry fruitiness, nectarines and apricots, creating almost a cedar/beechwood sort of effect, with flavorful English hops, grassy, sweaty, hay-like at times and an engaging, lovely mouthfeel. Pours bright and seemed in top condition. Good to see that McNeill’s takes care of their cask properly. I think they pulled it through a sparkler though.

Thanks to HopDog for this. Pours a cloudy peach with floaties and a small white head that laced the glass. Aroma is bitter with lighter fruits and some spicness. Fizzy feel a little lighter in taste than aroma. Not very bitter taste. Slight caramel and pine in the finish.

Cask conditioned. Clear amber pour with a thin bubbly white head. Appealing aroma of floral and citrusy hops. Flavor of floral and citrusy hops with caramel. Medium body, smooth, confortable texture, soft carbonation.

On cask at the brewpub: Light hazy orange with a fluffy white head that doesn’t want to leave. Light flowery aroma, with bit of malts. Light bodied and very lightly carbonated. Starts and ends bitter with a long aftertaste. One very refreshing brew.