Beer > Bitter

Advantages: Light and refreshing on a hot day.
Disadvantages: Limited brewing season.

...heels of trying and reviewing Adnams Explorer the other night I came across another Adnams beer in the pub last night and couldn’t resist. Even though the promised summer sun has been replaced by driving rain, and temperatures more suited to the depths of winter, I showed willing and went for a seasonal beer. This time I was drawn to Adnams Regatta. The sun did come out while I was ordering too, so I took that to be an omen and sat outside to savour ...
...present business we know as Adnams became a public company in 1891. In 1901 the Adnams and Loftus families merged and these two families are still represented in the management of today’s brewery. Adnams pride themselves on using natural ingredients to produce cask conditioned beers to be served in traditional pubs. You can now buy their beers in around 100 of their own pubs and also in pubs all around the country. If you want to try their cask ... Read review

Advantages: Tasty, lovely straw colour....well rounded beer.
Disadvantages: May be difficult to get except locally and at Beer Festivals.

...of their best beers is Hartington IPA. Whim Brewery is based in Hartington, which isn’t too far away from Buxton in Derbyshire. They began brewing back in 1993 at Whim Farm (in the old outbuildings) and also own Broughton Brewery, which is based in Scotland (although they do operate independently of each other). Whim own one pub of their own (The Wilkes Head in Leek Staffordshire) but their beers can be found in a number of local outlets (we drink ...
...beers at 3.8% ABV) and Hartington Bitter (a classic hoppy number at 4.0% ABV). Whim seem to be committed to providing Cask ales and have a varied range of strengths and styles. Hartington IPA is a beer brewed in a style known as an IPA (obviously, from the name). This is the title given to a lighter coloured beer, originally brewed in London during the nineteenth century, which was intended to be exported to India (which was then part of the British ... Read review

Advantages: Light, refreshing and well balanced session bitter.
Disadvantages: Taste a bit too subtle.

...for Greengrass beer from the Daleside Brewery, so when I saw our local pub had another of their beers at the bar, we just had to have some Daleside Blonde. ~~~THE BREWERY. Brewing began at the Daleside Brewery in 1987 under the name of the Big End Brewery. They changed their name to Daleside when they moved to larger premises in 1992. You will find them at a place called Starbeck, which is a suburb of Harrogate in North Yorkshire. The brewery was ...
...to England from Belgium. Daleside is still a family run business and Bill’s sons are involved too. Many of their beers are produced using traditional recipes ~ for example the Morocco Ale and some of the beers made in association with Ripon Cathedral, Levens Hall and Ripley Castle. As well as the Greengrass Old Rogue Ale, some of the bottled and Cask beers you should look out for include Old Legover (a hoppy mid-brown ale at 4.1 % ABV), Monkey Wrench ... Read review

Advantages: Tasty, refreshing and good on a hot day.
Disadvantages: Plenty of better beers around when the weather turns colder.

...just picture a pint of Adnams Explorer! ~~~THE BREWERY. Adnams Brewery began life in 1857, when George and Ernest Adnams set up the business in Sole Bay, Southwold in Suffolk. Brewing had occurred on the site as early as 1396, but the present company became a public company much later in 1891. The brewery merged ownership with the Loftus family in 1901 and the business still has three members of this original duo of families working there today. ...
...fruity beer at 4.7% ABV), Adnams Regatta (a light and refreshing summer beer at 4.3% ABV) and Adnams Bitter (a classic dry hoppy bitter at 3.7% ABV). ~~~THE BEER. ***A Bit of Background*** Explorer was brewed after extensive research from the brewery. It is aimed at younger drinkers and it was also hoped that the light colour and fresh taste would make it appeal to women too. It is called Explorer because the hops used to brew it are from the ... Read review

Advantages: A light, summery beer that will refresh on a hot day.
Disadvantages: Not gonna blow you away I'm afraid!

...of keg beers. Goldings weighs in at 4.7% abv and is a summer ale produced using Kentish malt and Goldings hops (hence the name!) ~ according to the brewery web-site (http://www.shepherd-neame.co.uk/index.html) these ingredients are "taken from the fields within 5 miles of the Shepherd Neame Brewery". It is available in 500ml bottles and as a cask ale. Looks wise, Goldings is a clear golden colour, verging on a light rich amber. It does have a head ...
...is! Taste wise Goldings is light, refreshing and pleasant, but it isn't going to blow you away. The dominant flavour throughout is once again that of the Goldings hops ~ not surprising really being as this is what the beer is named after! On first sip I found it to be a bit floral a slightly sweet (a slight perfumed taste that I couldn't really put my finger on), but this leads to a faint maltiness rather like a rich tea biscuits (here I go off on ... Read review