Saffron Pledgdon Ale

Brewed by Saffron
Style: Bitter
Bishops Stortford, England

Bottle conditioned, 500ml, from Asda at Milton Keynes as Foxfield Finest bitter. Clouded toffee colour with slight head. Sourish malts, thin , vegetable, cauliflower notes. It shows the disappointing end of British BCA’s and why people will not buy it in vast quantities. Poor.

50cl bottle from Asda, Earley, Berkshire. Hazy gold colour with a fast fading off-white head; toasted malt aroma; dry and slightly chalky in the mouth with rich caramel malt flavours and a dry finish.

As Saffron Budgens Local Brew. According to the brewery "the difference between the two comes in the hop ratios ie we use a slightly different proportion of the aroma hops".
Appearance: Cloudy orangy brown. Little bit of white head. Sediments. Aroma: Hops and citrus. Fermented fruit, and malt. Taste: Hops, slightly roasted. Sharp. Bitter aftertaste. Info: 500ml bottle, 5/9-2008

On gravity at the London Drinker festival 12/3/08. A copper coloured bitter with a slight white head. Aroma of biscuity malt with balancing grassy hops. Flavour started with some sweet malt before a decent bitter finish. Drinkable.

Cask (gravity dispense), Cambridge Beer Festival, May 2006. As others have commented, this beer may have been a bit green. Which is a shame as this was the first beer I’d seen from a new brewery. Nice rich copper colour, but the aroma was a little sharp with an odd chocolate edge. Unripe apples on the palate. Thin mouthfeel without much hop presence. Judgement reserved.

Cask conditioned - gravity dispense - Cambridge BF. A copper coloured beer with a slight hop aroma but a green apple twinge to it. This is carried through to the taste which has some bitterness and maltiness but shrouded in a green underdeveloped character which spoils it immensely.Score 2.6
Subsequent rating scored 3.1. Average becomes 2.8

Cask at Cambridge Beer Festival 2006. Orange coloured with no head. Thin, boring bitter comprised mostly of sharp fruit. I think others commented that it tasted a bit ’green’, and indeed I found it borderline unpleasant.