New Bottles on Beer Box

We now have a range of 5 beers available to you from the Waen Brewery.

• Blackberry Stout - 3.8% - Award winning stout with a hint of dark fruit in the finish
• Festival Landmark - 4.2% - A subtle, citrus ale with a dry, floral and hoppy finish.
• Janner's Pride - 4.6% - A best bitter style ale with flavours of vanilla, whiskey and ginger.
• Landmark - 5.5% - Award winning citrus ale with a distinctive dry and hoppy finish.
• Tidy Pint - 4.0% - Limited Edition, Golden session ale.

Click Here to purchase.

NB: These notes are from the bottles. I will be reviewing them myself for more of an insight. Watch this space.

Otley - O-Garden - 4.8% ABV

·    Nose: In your face, herbal, spiced filled aromas.

·    Taste: Burst of initial citrus followed by an intense spicy bitterness. A long lasting herbal finish that is not over-powering. 

·    Design: The bottle design cries out, “Pick Me, Pick Me.” Simplistic and classy; everything you could want from a modern day real ale.

·    Overall Impression: A treat for every sense.

Skinners - Cornish Blonde - 5.0% ABV

·    Nose: Typical wheat beer aromas with citrus tones inviting you in.

·    Taste: Carbonation overpowered the initial taste. Slight bitterness at the end with hints of citrus but it didn’t linger for as long as I’d hoped.

·    Design: Personally I love the design, not as modern and attention grabbing as some but the caricatures are subtle enough without appearing too dated.

·    Overall Impression: Expected a little more from a 5% wheat beer, but if someone put another one or two in front of me I wouldn’t say no.

And so it begins...

Just over a week ago, I was asked by my M.D. to create a blog for our online shop http://www.realbeerbox.com/ (have to admire the plug there). Although I know my way around a computer fairly well, the whole social networking scene is something I've never ventured into. So with that seed of doubt in my mind, I foolishly accepted the challenge and began researching the phenomenon of "blogging" and created our very own.

It all looks easy enough, i.e. writing down what you think or do etc., but, although I've been around the Real Ale scene for around 8 years (yes, I'm still only a pup), I am no expert when it comes to discussing the complexities of the modern day Real Ale. With that in mind, it seems like the perfect oppurtunity for me to fine tune my pallet without the judgemental eye and tongue of my partner (she thinks I drink too much as it is!).

I plan on keeping the reviews of the bottles pretty simple at first and focus on:

• The design of the bottle
• The taste of the product
• The aroma of the product
• The overall impression.

Hopefully this will give our customers a better understanding of what beers they are getting. But with over 200 Real Ales, Ciders and Perries in stock, getting through them all is going to take a while, and dare I say a few liver cells.

Oh well, there's no time like the present, so the first three reviews should be ready for you all to read on Monday.

Wish me luck, I feel as if I'm going to need it.