This was a beer that was given to me at our house warming party. My friend Angus, who is English and not Scottish as would normally be implied by his name, gave a bottle of this as a housewarming gift. He stated it was the only bottle he knew of in the United States. I will have to take his word for it, but I do know that it is rare, to say the least.
Wassail Ale is brewed by Ballard’s Brewing for the English Heritage charity and is used to fund restoration work through out the UK. What struck me about this beer is that it has barely sediment in the bottle. If you are used to seeing the Belgian and Belgian Style Ales, you expect yeast. I have not seen barley sediment in a beer before. The label describes it as a fruit and hoppy beer. That is always a good sign to me as I like my beers hoppy.
It has a dark bronze to brown color to it, when I poured it into my glass. I also noticed the strong scent of hops when I opened the bottle and it got stronger as I poured it into the glass. I did leave a bit at the bottom for the barley sediment (I bet it gives a vicious dose of wind if you drink the sediment.) It also does have a fruity odor to it when you pour it. It’s not a specific fruit, but rather reminds you of a fresh fruit stand with all of the fruits together.
The first taste has a dry hoppy taste with very little aftertaste, which rarely happens in Ales. This is a beer that is best served at approximately 50 degrees F. As I continued to let the beer warm to drink it, the hops stand out more. It also brings out a slight floral aftertaste when warmed to the normal drinking temperature. This beer is available through the English Heritage website.
Filed under: Beer Review
