Saffron Brewhouse Belle

Brewed by Saffron
Style: Bitter
Bishops Stortford, England

Cask Handpump at the Fat Cat, Sheffield 18/04/2009 Malt aroma. Small white head. Golden coloured floral and a little spicy with some bitterness and dryness in a malt finish.

Bottle. Well, it looks OK in the glass, nice orange/copper with red hue. Small white/off-white head, some lazy carbonation. The aroma is quite, quite foul. Sour apple, vinegar and something I can’t quite describe, reminds me of a combination of seaweed and sulphur. The palate is alright, a bit sharp and rough, the carbonation is weird, sort of comes and goes somewhat. I almost can’t sip the beer as it involves smelling it. The flavour is tart, earthy and simply bland... watery with the base ingredients of beer floating around like a soup, with residual tin metallic notes in their for good measure. My friends half-arsed home brew really tastes alot better than this; I don’t think I’ll be able to finish this pint. Finish is short (thank God!) Look, simply put: this beer is a mess, if she’s meant to be a "Belle" she’s going to need a lot of plastic surgery before she meets my criteria as "hot", but I probably wouldn’t pay and ditch her for something a little more exotic - hell, A LOT more exotic!! If this beer looked in a mirror it’d shatter for sure.

Cask (handpump) @ Fat Cat, 23 Alma Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England S3 8SA.
Clear medium yellow orange color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, hay, moderate hoppy, dry grass. Flavor is moderate sweet and bitter with a average duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to flat. [20090417]