Hop Back Summer Lightning

Advantages: A good strong bitter.
Disadvantages: Not available everywhere, but this is changing.

...good one to try is Hop Back Summer Lightning. Summer Lightning is primarily a Summer Ale, but it is brewed all year and can be enjoyed at any time (in fact I would recommend drinking it as often as possible). It has won many awards at Camra – The Real ale Society- (and many local) Beer Festivals, and I think it is well worthy of the praise it receives. It even took the prize for Best Strong Bitter at the Great British Beer Festival in 1992 – 1993, ...
...first brewed in 1988. Hop Back Summer Lightning, as its full name suggests, is produced by the Hop Back Brewery, which started up in 1986. The brewery was founded by John and Julie Gilbert in Salisbury. The operation spread and there are now three factory units at Downton. What began as a small microbrewery in The Wyndham Arms has become a nationally recognised business. It has produced many good beers, such as GFB (Gilberts First Brew) and Thunderstorm, ... Read review

Advantages: exquisitely subtle flavours, bottle conditioned, award winning ale
Disadvantages: A little on the expensive side, but worth it for a quality beer

...Lightning is brewed by the Hop Back brewery from Salisbury, and the beer is classes as a ‘summer ale’ which basically means it will have a light colour and fresh taste. This doesn’t mean it is not a strong beer however, as it packs a 5% punch which classes it as a strong beer, and a few of these and you will certainly be dreaming of June! What definitely gives this beer a summer feeling is the colour. Poured into a clear glass ...
...you will be greeted by a deep straw coloured ale, that reminds you of the Yorkshire Wolds. Oh, it looks heavenly. Be warned when pouring that this is a bottle-conditioned beer, which means you will find yeast floating in the bottom. If you store the bottle upright and pour very carefully, you can leave most of the yeast in the bottom of the bottle, but you will miss out on texture and taste if you do, pour it fairly swiftly so you get a slight cloudiness ... Read review

Advantages: It might strike the spot for you
Disadvantages: It might not

...This brew becomes the first Hop Back bottled beer in 1996. It wins the Cask Ale Brand of the Year Award 1997 sponsored by the Morning Advertiser and Licensee. Summer Lightning also takes eight regional awards. Since 1998 bottle-conditioned Summer Lightning has won a number of further awards including the Gold Award at The Beauty of English Hops Competition. It is now exported to USA. [Abridged from the Hop Back Brewery website: http://www.hopback.co.uk] ...
...(from a single farm) , Hop Back yeast and water from the Avon valley. Storage is recommended below 12ºC in an upright position. Careful pouring is required to avoid disturbing the sediment. THE DRINK I did as I was told – holding the cool but not chilled bottle firmly upright as I removed the cap. Poured carefully in one action into a glass, this is a mid gold ale with only a slight sparkle. It produced a thin but lasting head and a slight tracery ... Read review

Advantages: A good, light summer beer.
Disadvantages: A little stronger than some summer beers.

...pleasant for a hot summer's day. The flavours are well balanced, subtle and fitting for something intended as a summer thirst quencher. This beer, however, isn't going to blow you away in any sense other than perhaps its strength. At 4.7% it is rather stronger than its aroma and taste suggests ~ it is a little too easy to drink and deceptive because it tastes like a beer of a lot lower alcohol level. It is also stronger than quite a few of its fellow summer ales ~ Fullers Summer Ale is 3.9% as is Burton Bridge Summer Ale for example. There are some stronger summer beers out there (such as Hop Back Summer Lightning at 5%), but these tend to have much stronger flavours and a bit more oomph! What you will get with Goldings Summer Hop Ale is a non threatening bitter sweet beer, suited for drinking with meals and as a session beer... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Tasty, light and fresh. A really good balanced beer.
Disadvantages: A little more expensive than some beers.

...of caramel and roast malt flavors. Caledonian Golden Promise - Edinburgh - 4.5% - the first organic British beer, floral and fruity and quite hoppy. Hop Back Summer Lightning - Salisbury - 5% - fresh and hoppy, light almost lager coloured which is quite dry. Oakham JHB - Peterborough - 3.8% - straw coloured bitter which is floral with grapefruit and kiwi flavours, a firm favorite with most real ale drinkers. St Austell Tribute - Cornwall - 4.2% - full bodied and malty with fresh citrus nose. Taylor Landlord - West Yorkshire - 4.3% - well balanced and dry bitter which is spicy and hoppy. Charles Wells Banana Bread Beer - Bedford - 5% - launched last year, quite sweet and tastes and smells of bananas. Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge - 4.5%- Norwich - very fruity with creamy malt flavors. Youngs Waggle Dance - London - 5% - brewed with honey... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful