Review: Roasted Nuts, Marlow Brewery.

Name: Roasted Nuts
Brewery: Marlow Brewery Rebellion Beer Co, Marlow.
ABV: 4.6%
Style: Amber Ale
Season: Autumn/Winter.

Availability: Local availability.

I no longer live in Bath and so am a far cry from my favourite brewery. However, I am very handsomely consoled by the fact that Marlow is a local brewery and its output, especially its exceptional IPA and the utterly stunning Rebellion Red, are easily available to me. Upon visiting a local pub (The Greene Oak at the top of Dedworth Road), imagine my excitement that I saw, on pump, a Winter Ale from one of the best breweries in the whole bloody country! It was a dark, roasted nut colour and promised oh so much with the pedigree of those I have already sipped seducing me easily into requesting a sample. The colour is a true delight, like maple syrup and it has a similar butterscotch flavour with a biscuity maltiness at the forefront of the mouth. However, to my disappointment, an overbearing hop bitterness marched up from behind and ruined my Roasted Nuts! The comforting, rich flavour, so adored at this time of year, was utterly subdued by the hopping. I persevered and tried the whole sample, hoping upon hope that things would improve as the flavour developed. Develop it did but into something too flawed, too sour to enjoy the sweeter edge of. The IPA from Rebellion is superbly balanced and delivers the citrus freshness of an IPA but without the herbal washout you may get with some. In this, the brewery balances bitterness with poise and grace on the edge of refreshment and fruitiness. This one just falls flat on its nuts.

Review: Fursty Ferret

Name: Fursty Ferret
Brewery: Hall & Woodhouse, Dorset.
ABV: 4.4%
Style: Amber Ale
Season: Summer but really, let's face it, any time of year: that's the beauty of it!

Availability: Most major supermarkets.

From the Badger brewery (or Hall and Woodhouse - a family-run business for generations) comes Fursty Ferret, a real lesson in balance. This is, for me, one of the great session beers and suitable for absolutely any time and any occasion: not too gassy, not too heavy, not too malty and not too hoppy: pure and absolute balance in a glass. The colour is a coppery gold which whispers of the morish and malty under flow to this pint. Coupling this almost biscuity undercurrent is an interweaving of floral hops with the tiniest hint of something citrus but don't get me wrong, this isn't overly bitter at all: just when it gets too hoppy, the malt flurries in and likewise, just as the richness of malt might dominate, there comes an updraft of fizz and freshness that takes you from autumn to spring in a single sip. We all have dependable regulars in all facets of our lives and Ferret is certainly one of those: an all-rounder that you can rely on to deliver when you may be overwhelmed with choice or simply just not sure what to go for. I wish more pubs served it owing to the fact that if you can't decide on a lager or an ale then you would have the Ferret to satisfy all your demands. Almost proving its 'Jack-of-all-trades' persona, this little beauty also comes in cans! 

Check out the brewery website for further info: http://www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk/beer/fursty-ferret