Woodfordes Norfolk Nip

Brewed by Woodfordes
Style: Old Ale
Broadland Brewery
Woodbastwick, England

Bottle from the Real Ale shop Twickenham. Very dark beer with ruby tones. Almost no carbonation at all, no gas escapes when you open the bottle. A spelendid example of an old ale, warming feeling with lots of dried fruit, prunes and raisins. Trackle and tar, too. A wonderfully complex beer, just the thing for an ice cold winter afternoon.

Courtesy boboski. It poured a medium brown color with little to head. It seemed flat and with almost no carbonation at all. It is an old ale so I suppose some of its characteristics were intended. Even so, this one really wasnt for me. Very interesting smells, caramel and fruit. Pretty dead in the taste, a little malty with a touch of dark fruit but it seemed slightly oxidized to me and I had trouble enjoyin this one. i gave it the benefit of the doubt because it was an old ale, maybe this style isnt for me.

Best by October 06, but it’s a bottle conditioned eight percent old ale, so I’m not too worried. I should have been, in retrospect. I will rate this however, as a well made english ale in this style should(opinion), and can(hardly objectionable) stand up to many years of cellaring. Poured out a hazy mahogany with yellow and orange edge tints. Almost flat. Aroma is lovely, spicy caramel malts, the smallest touch of oxidation, caramel malts, toffee, dark berries, wet wood and paper mill come to mind. Palate is thin and a little watery. What flavor remains at this old age seems tannic, with spicier still malts, baking chocolate, apricot, burned wood. Finishes mellow leaving a light spicy tingle behind. Years ago I sampled this and rather enjoyed it, no notes to compare though. A loss.

330ml, bottle conditioned, bought from the brewery and drunk about two months later. Pours a very dark brown with zero carbonation and no head. Great aroma with treacle, wine and tar notes. Full bodied with a silky mouthfeel and liquorice, smoke and dark chocolate flavours. Nice long aftertaste. All in all, a very enjoyable dark barley wine

Bottled sample from Boutip. Mud brown in colour with low carbonation and virtually no head. Aromas of cocoa powder, cherry pits, and earth. Flavor wise, the roasted malts are quite apparent, but all of the sharp edges have been rounded off by some mild caramel and stewed fruits. Additional flavors are of licorice and more earth. Thin bodied, but the extremely low carbonation balances it out a bit. Very sucked out, but it was a month past its expiration date.

Bottle received via trade with boutip. Pours a hazy dark brown with spare fizzy off-white head, completely diminishing with spare lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (bread, molasses, caramel, nutty), light hops (grass), light yeast (leather, broth) with notes of plum, wood, cask, tar and cola. Average duration, heavy sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness, salty and flat with a plastic, sour milk, tar and alcohol flavor. Light to medium bodied, oily texture and flat carbonation.

One of my least favorites form the blind tasting. Brought by Clark. Murky dulle brown. Artificial sweetness and a lot of oxidation like soy and light sherry. Bandaid and smokey off flavors, more oxidation, wet paper, and metalllic. Harsh and astringent. Im not sure how onld this one was, but it must have been at least a few years.

Dark brown with a few bubbles. Aroma of chocolate, coffee, tiramisu, not unlike a porter. The taste was verging on the sweet, with smoke, alcohol, dark fruits and a sharp bitterness. Unusual, fascinating and one of the subtlest and most complex British beers I know.