Woodfordes Admirals Reserve

Brewed by Woodfordes
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Norwich, England

Cask Conditioned at Banbury Beer Festival. Red Brown colour with good beige head. Plenty of rounded fruit flavour with a tangy hoppy aftertaste. Long and bitter notes.

Trialled two different batches of this with head brewer Dr. David Crease in the QC dept. of the Woodforde’s brewery. Gravity flow from a collapsible cask. My notes are for a batch (L62F) racked on the 19/04/06 and tasted on the 13/06/06.
Still, slight age haze showing and headless in the glass. The body of beer a pale, tawny copper. A base of toffee and toasted grains forms below a strong waft of over-ripe tangerines and marmalade conserve on the nose, quite sweet, spicy and tangy. Full bodied in the mouth, completely still and made smooth by the evident crystal and rye malt used. Strong, nutty, sweet notes of marzipan build on the tongue whilst licks of fresh citrus fruits add to its sweeter side. Nice roundness of flavour; lightly bready yeast notes, toasted malts and apricot syrup fill it right out. It is quite heavy for it’s style at this stage. Even young it couldn’t exactly be considered sessionable. Finish is slightly drier though still quite malty and full. Light showing of hops, gently bitter just on the swallow with not much else. The bigger brother of the Nelson’s Revenge and it shows. Like a twin thats twice the size of the other. Very nice indeed. Another champion ale from Woodforde’s.

Cask at Cloisters Edinburgh ... copper ... thin head ... light sweet nose ... sweet toffee malts ... light hop ... sweet resins... quite a good depth

Cask gravity at Bowl Inn, Charing, BF 2006. Clear chestnut colour with thin beige head. Rich fruit aroma, some dried fruit with raisins and sultanas in evidence. Nice hop. Full in mouth. Good malt, very tasty. Strong tasty grapefruit hop. Malt is excellent. Good beer.

Bottle conditioned. Chestnut red, excellent thick creamy white head with good condition and same lacing. Caramel malt aroma with some faint apple notes. Lots more spicy malt in the mouth with some nuttiness and a fruity yeast note. A little rough around the edges in the finish with the yeast bitterness taking over, but right at the end a malty sweetness returns.

Dry, malty, lots of flavour. Bit fruity, but clean. Medium bodied. Light amber in colour. Good lasting head. Tasty stuff.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 3     Pale Yellow(1)->Copper(5) : 4     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 2
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 4     Lasting: 3     Lacing : 4
Aroma:
Intensity : 4  
Yeast : 3   Bread : 2   Apple : XX   Tropical Fruits : 3   DMS : XX   Diacetyl : 1 Sulphur : XX  
Malt : 3   Pilsner : XX   Pale : XX   Vienna : XX   Biscuity : 3   Hay : XX   Toasty : 4   Caramel : 3   Honey : XX   Cereals : 3   Grainy : XX
Hops : 3   Noble(1)->American(5) : 1   Leafy : 2   Floral : XX   Lemon/Lime : 4   Herbal : XX   Grassy : 3  
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 2   Sourness : 1   Bitterness : 3   Farmy : XX   Complex : 2   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 3   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 2   Clean : XX   Crisp : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : XX   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : XX   Mineral : 3   Oxidation : XX

Comments: Another fine Woodfordes offering a rich fruitiness covered by grasping citrusy hops. Refreshing and satisfying ensemble. A true strong bitter.

This one has to make the admiral proud! Good mixture of caramel and light fruit. Good looking beer with good aroma. It has a nice orange/amber color with a pleasant finish and mouthfeel. A good beer to drink often.