Bell Rates... Timothy Taylor's Landlord

type: Pale Ale
origin: England
ABV: 4.1%
location: house
served: 500ml bottle to glass

Last May, while on a trip down to that London, I encountered this beer, and I was impressed. After a drunken tour of Soho (and the predicable accidental patronage of a gay bar: "not many women in here, eh?" then "here, wait a minute..." etc.) we ended up in a proper cockney pub, Guvnah, apples & pears, cor blimey, lawd luv a duck.

So anyroad, I had initially intended to sample a number of the cask ales they had on tap in this place, and the first one (working from the left) was 'Landlord'. The pump clip was clearly home-made until the brewery supplied a proper one, but the beer was tremendous, and I was forced to abandon my plan to sample the next one along the row of taps. I later got a knock-back from a lesbian bar on the understandable grounds I was not a woman.

A few months later, I found myself in a random boozer in Leamington Spa on a Wednesday night... and to my delight they had Landlord on tap! After a brief bit of confusion, where the landlord of the establishment thought I was calling for him, I managed to order a pint of it. Oh how we all laughed!

Actually, that's a lie. Nobody laughed. In fact, he locals all seemed quite worried by the fact five drunken Scottish randomly people wandered into their local on a Wednesday night and one of them began yelling about the availability of a certain Pale Ale. It was a bit like a western, and we were the strangers. Needless to say we only stayed for one drink.

So anyroad, the beer! I was pleased to see it in bottle form on the shelves of my local Tesco, and snapped it up quickly.

Smell: Very strong initial malt, then the hops come through. Hop level is well balanced. 3/4

Colour: Deep copper, with good clarity. 4/4

Taste: Good bitterness levels, well balanced with the dry, roasted malt flavours. The hops are evident, but don't overshadow the malt sweetness. medium-light mouthfeel. 4/4

Overall: Worth going to London for. 11/12



NB: the gay bar actually served the best pint of Guinness I had all weekend.

Bell Rates... Newcastle Founders' Ale

type: Pale Ale
origin: Newcastle, England
ABV: 4.8%
location: house
served: 355ml bottle to glass


Having thoroughly enjoyed the Summer Ale, I opted to sample another of the Newcastle seasonal beers. Sadly, for me, this one doesn't quite measure up to the standard set by the first one.

I feel the bitterness overshadows the malt too much, except for the toasted-butter-biscuit notes, which are more evident in the aroma than in the taste.

Smell: Biscuits, primarily, and a hint of Diacetyl. Floral hops waiting to pounce.  2/4

Colour: The strong-point, by far, is the bronze hue. head could have been better though. 3/4

Taste: Admittedly a varied flavour, with a fair amount of aftertaste, but the aftertaste isn't ideal, and the butter remains. Right on the edge of being too bitter and quite dry. While the Summer Ale struck a good balance between the maltiness and bitterness, this Founders' Ale seems a bit.  2/4

Overall: Decent enough, but I suspect that with a different variety of hops it could have been a real winner. Like something of Geordie Shore, it looks good, but lacks personality. 7/12


NB: I have never actually seen Geordie Shore, and that may therefore be an unfair comparison.