Recent Tasting Notes

Gulf Brewery Humpback Pale Ale (6/20)
Very boring appearance; dead flat head (not really any head at all), and a light copper / caramel colour. Nose is quite a turn-off with dodgy cooked fruits and a hard rusty metallic edge. More of the same to taste in a very fizzy palate. Some faint spice and pepper on the finish provides a mildly redeming feature. Quite disappointing.

Bridge Road Bling IPA (14/20)
My quaffing midweeker of the past month or so. Pours a big yellow - light brown head with good rocky texture. Colour is textbook maroon - brown. Nose is typical as well with hard hoppy, bitter, metallic notes; quite forceful. More expansive in the mouth; cutting hard hops, iron fillings (not a bad thing), the faintest of softening touches through a late showing of malt. Well rounded, "all-corners-of-the-mouth" finish. I’ve had better samples but this is still a very solid beer.

Temple Special Bitter (12/20)
Pours quite well; creamy thing head, almost Kilkenny-like. Hazy light chocolate brown in colour, quite unexpected. Faintly sweet caramel malts on the nose with just a tiny sliver of a bitter note. Firmer taste, some sweeter malt action that tightens progressively through the palate. Flavours thin out a touch in the back palate. Pretty close, and I have to admit the structure does have a certain modest creamy note, but not a beer that will leap out and grab you.