Courage Directors [baron rating /5] - 4.8% amber ale,raisin aroma,balanced fruity juicy bitter taste,long tangy mild metallic bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.
Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes
Thank you to Young's for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!
I really liked this. It's a well-made and distinctive beer, and I might even say that currently it's my preferred widely-available premium bottled 5%-ish ale.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, not relevant to this particular beer (which isn't), I think it would be useful in your beer reviews if you stated whether or not a particular beer was bottle-conditioned, and if it was, how the sediment behaved.
Interesting point about the yeast - how do you think it would affect your view:
ReplyDeleteWhat if I gave the beer a 5/5 but said it was cloudy?
What if I gave it a 1/5 but said the yeast was firmly stuck on the bottom?
My view is that a BCA, unless it is intended to be cloudy (like some wheat beers), should be capable of being poured clear. Traditionally, this required a careful eye to leave the yeast in a bit of beer at the bottom of the bottle, but more and more modern BCAs use sticky yeast that clings to the bottom. This was the case with the Youngs beers I reviewed last autumn.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't a pro- or anti-BCA view, it's just giving your readers more information. My view is that the very best bottled ales are bottle-conditioned, but so, regrettably, are many of the crappiest ones.
Sounds an interesting addition although it's not going to fit in the 'rating' itself, I wonder if I can have a little chart or table of additional information with some symbols or keywords.
ReplyDeleteI'll have a think about it but any ideas would be great!