Ridgeway Bad Elf 6%

Brewed by Hepworth
Style: English Strong Ale
Horsham, England

Oxford Beer Festival 2003, (retrospectivel added from notes taken at time). This was a new brewery in 2003 and made it’s debut at the Oxford Beer Festival in October, this beer ran out quite quickly and one can see why. Copper coloured beer with some good malty and hoppy notes, flavour again both quite hoppy and malty but with nice underlying toffee sweetness very tasty and very moreish.

Ehh, I was expecting a bit more. Pours out a golden yellow color with a small white head. Aroma was slightly malty and maybe some hops to it. Flavor was somewhat sweet and malty. I didnt detect very much hops at all. Its ok, but not the greatest by any means.

Good amber/orange color,small off white head that had a short hang time then faded to leave little behind.The aroma was lightly malty with somce nice hop hints and maybe a spicy side to go along with the citrusy side.The flavor was mildly malty with some hops and citrus coming through as well as a slight caramelish taste in the background.Not exactly a brew i want to return to but for a first time i guess it is okay.

500 ml bottle from PWalk. Interesting beer here. If I hadn’t have read the bottle, I would swear this is an American Pale Ale. Surprised that it’s from England, as it doesn’t taste anything like any other beers I have had from that region. I actually smells rather floral and hoppy, and looks great. Nice amount of lacing left on the glass. I happened to read "product of England" right before taking my first sip, so I was thinking I was going to taste another Bass knockoff. Some good floral hops here, with lots of bitterness and spice going down. Color is a nice amber hue. Mouthfeel is a little light, but refreshing. Overall, A pretty good brew.

(500 ml bottle: $5.29 at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) By no means a hearty winter beer, Bad Elf presents a lightly sweet, grainy malt base and mildly bitter hops, then offers a fair amount of spice in the finish to give it that "winter" feel. The beer doesn’t seem as hoppy as we’re led to believe, but there’s no question it tastes hoppy, floral, herbal and very tea-like. Actually, it’s kind of like watered-down hop juice. Not much malt in the nose, so even though the floral hops isn’t especially aromatic, it pretty much takes over the general aroma. The beer is light-medium in body, dry, and lightly carbonated on the palate. Golden-amber in color and fully clear. For all the talk on the label about this beer being bottle-conditioned, there’s hardly any yeast on the bottom of the bottle, and even pouring the last few ounces, the beer remains quite clear in my pint glass. The whitish head pours small and fades to a partial film, leaving occasional small patches and spots on the glass. Overall, the best part of this beer is the label of the evil elf, and that’s probably why a big reason why it sells in stores. Bad Elf is mediocre beer at a premium price. Seriously Bad Elf has considerably more flavor and that’s the one to buy.

Same beer as IPA but stronger, more alcohol both in aroma and taste, good hopy winterale

Bottle sampled with Stegosaurs. Pours clear copper color, with a white head, aroma of hops, citrus, and alcohol. Flavor is citrus, hops, bitter finish. Ok brew, not to harshly bitter.

Clear brown amber with a minimal head. Aroma is sweet fruit, malt and floral and citrus hops. Flavor is smooth toffee malt, citrus and pine hops. Nice medium body(if a touch watery) with a good hops finish. Very nice.