Friday 20 April 2012

First up: Wye Valley Brewery's Butty Bach

What follows is my first foray into the tangled woods of beer blogging. The ale I am about to muse upon was a bottle-conditioned brew I enjoyed one summer's eve in 2011. On it's label it proudly boasted the thumbs-up from http://www.camra.org.uk/. I am in my infancy of real ale connoisseurship, and remain sceptical as to whether this is necessarily the best indication of quality. Still, here goes nothing:


Butty Bach Premium Ale, from Wye Valley Brewery is correctly described on said label as "burnished gold" in colour. To this I add the epithet "cloudy", and venture that it appears quite cidery to the untrained eye. Upon pouring it displays a pleasing lively tendency and an unobtrusive head (!).

Now, a few notes on fragrance. I like the fresh, hoppy smell, though it is well delicate, and you have to give it a good lungful or two of inhalation (taking care not to drown - I shall not be legally liable for any such mishaps, best to warn your next of kin now) to get any scent at all.

And now to gulp: a refreshing tang, which gives the illusion of zingy carbonation is the first sensation I notice.
I very quickly realise when suddenly half the bottle is gone, that Butty Bach is a major quaffing ale. There is a sweet, lingering after-quaff, and a lightness of touch which belies the strength of the beer. More-ish, most assuredly.

I first encountered this ale in http://www.theanchortintern.com/ in the impossibly beautiful Wye Valley. Many convivial pints were quaffed here testifying to the ease with which this tasty brew can be downed.
This bottle was delivered from http://www.tesco.com/storeLocator/default.asp?bID=2272 which is significantly less beautiful.

Some facts:
Malt - pale malt, flaked barley, wheat, crystal malt
Hops - Fuggles, Goldings, Bramling Cross
Yeast - Wye Valley Brewery's own strain (try not to dwell on the unfortunate implications of that for too long).
The label is unprepossessing, but a remarkably good read.

Score, in ale-urons, out of a possible 10, on the Corinthian Golden Ale Scale: