OHanlons Royal Oak

Brewed by OHanlons
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Whimple, England

cask Aberdeen Beer festival 07 ... Copper colour ... sweet malt nose ... sweet fruity malt with decent fruit balance.

Bottle. Dark amber color with a medium, creamy, long-lasting, beige head. Malty aroma with some hops, some nuts, mild fruitiness, and light toastiness. Sweetish malty flavor, a bit of caramel, a bit of biscuits and slightly bitter finish. Rounded and medium-bodied. Not bad.

Bottle. Not too bad, some nutty, malty bitterness, with some light caramel. Finish quite bitter and slightly green in character, pretty decent stuff.

Brown coloured. Nice fruity aroma. Fruity flavour with some bitterness in the finsih.

Boring, like most English ales... Sparkling clear, light amber ale with a creamy, white head and sparse lacing. The nose is fairly nondescript with the exception of some light, grassy, floral and citrus notes. Tastes like a very typical English bitter. Pleasant, but bland. Light to medium-bodied with a watery mouthfeel and lively carbonation. Short, woodsy finish.

Bottle. Cloudy amber/orange. Refreshing, hop aromas with accents of pineapple and melon. Somewhat fruity flavour and pleasant-but-average palate creates a nice experience but needs more malt and depth to take things to the next level.

Pours with a lightly hazy, darkish, ruby amber color. The head is topped by an amber-tinged, tan colored head that leaves a bit of lace as it falls back into the main beer. As I pour this beer an deep fruity note is immediately noticeable; a sort of cross between red grapes, raisins and sweet plums. As I go in for a deep smell, an immediate tart note is noticeable. It is a bit like tamarind, and definitely reminds me of a sour plum.

The beer is quite well carbonated, at least much more than I was expecting. There is still a touch of sweetness here though, it accentuates a caramel like note that in turn accentuates a raisin, sweet plum and even apple like fruitiness. A touch of hop bitterness is found throughout this beer, it adds a bit of tingle to the throat, which competes a bit with the tart flavors. There are other hop flavors here as well; lightly grass, a bit herbal, and even a touch of fruit character (a hint of citrus, and even some currant like berry notes perhaps).

This is on the verge of being quite tasty, I can’t tell if the tartness is just a product of the yeast (sort of doubtful), or is a low grade bacterial infection. Either way it is still quite drinkable, I easily finished this bottle of, perhaps slightly infected, brew.

<font size=-4>Purchased: <a href=http://www.58degrees.com/>58 Degrees & Holding Co., Tucson, AZ<font size=-1>

This ale pours a deep reddish orange colour with a nice white rocky head. To the nose there are scents of apple cider, vinegar and ripe fruit. First taste was clean and smooth. flavours of apples, malt and a little smoke. Finish is a little hoppy with the end, ending with bitter taste to the tongue. Very good.