Tetleys Cask Bitter

Brewed by Leeds (Carlsberg UK)
Style: Bitter
Leeds, England

Cask at the Swan Hotel, Hythe, Kent Amber with a soapy looking off-white head; aroma of stewed rhubarb; sharp citric bitterness and some caramel, rather thin; a quinine bitter finish. Not unpleasant.

From a tap poured copper with a thick lasting head. Kind of mild but with a good finish.

Ah, my "home" brew. It doesn’t and has never travelled well. Back in the day when it was an independant brewer, this stuff would have people flocking in from all over the UK to pack the pubs of South Leeds to drink Tetley’s Hand Pump. And no-one ever thought it a waste of time. Light, perfect head, refreshing and not too strong to do too much damage. Sadly, all it’s charms are fled and it’s just as bland, unpleasant and distateful as the other Smoothflow (John Smiths) which has somehow got itself around the world. If other nations think British beer is awful, these two are the culprits because I’d reach the same conclusion in their shoes.

Draught at Mr. Pickwick’s Pub in Biel, Switzerland. It pours a nut brown beer with a beautiful dense whitish head that doesn’t diminish at all. Lots of tiny bubbles rise from the bottom just after the beer has been poured. A beautiful bitter with an impressive lacing! Flowery aromas of caramel, peaches, honey, wild strawberries, nuts, hops of a good blend and quite a lot of vanilla. The nose indeed is just wonderfully fruity, flowery, earthy and rich with maybe just a slight staleness detectable. Up to this point this beer seems to be almost perfect! A very smooth mouthfeel follows, strong caramel flavours, some wood. The sweet elements in the taste are well balanced by the moderate bitterness. Extremly smooth. Unfortunately, this beer is quite watery. Some green apples in the finish. Despite this beer’s slightly flat taste it isn’t bad at all in my opinion. A nutty and fruity aftertaste. Extremly drinkable. I didn’t expect this bitter to be that good!

Pretty horrible beer. No real taste to it at all. Wish I hadn’t wasted 8 damn dollars on this.

Pint pulled at Hart’s Head Hotel in Giggleswick (Yorkshire), a clear amber with a foamy white head. A good biscuity malt aroma with a fruity tang. Smoothish, with a hoppy background on an earthy malt flavour. A solid beer I thought, probably made better I think by the fact that it was very well kept.

[CASK: The Brittons Protection, Manchester 01/04/07] A poor tasting cask ale and weak. was expecting so much more. No real taste.

Tap all over the damn place in York. Copper-orange with half-inch creamy white head that lasts. Upon first pouring this brew is cloudy and murky but settles to a nice copper sheen. Aroma is fairly indistinct, with slight caramel and roasted tones but predominated by an off-putting vegetal stench. Little to no hop presence to speak of. Taste much the same, with small amount of dried fruits (apricots, peaches), some caramel undertones, and little to no hop value. Creamy mouthfeel upfront that gives way to a watery mess.