The Beer Bunker

Elsie Mo (Castle Rock)

2012-01-21T20:30:00.001Z

Pours crystal clear pale gold, like summer sun on a window, perfect fizz.

The nose is heavily zesty, lemon and big dominating elderflower. The malt is bordering on non existent, a dash of sweetness that is quickly battered down by a snap of bitterness and a long lingering lemon.

5/10 If you like your beers zesty and with elderflower twist it's probably right up your street.

Guinness Foreign Extra (Guinness)

2012-01-07T21:27:00.000Z

7.5%ABV Guinness, my my.

Inky as a school blackboard's heart and chocked forth with hazy roast and dark fruit aroma, this promises much. The taste is a pitchy swirl of coffee and bitter chocolate . It's texture is a sliding silky wonder, and although creamy, doesn't insulate the tongue against the orchestra of flavours on offer. Butterscotch and a mild pleasant ash rise and fall, and the notes are complex and mature.

The length is bitter with a fading smoke, like the final railway scene of 40's film where love doesn't win the day. Wonderful beer and surely the best in the Guinness range.

9/10 - Outstanding stout from those who should know. Smoky and authentic.

- The Broadside

Trappistes Rochefort 10

2011-12-20T20:37:00.002Z

I know nothing about Belgian beers. The very helpful man in the fantastic Bitter Virtue in Southampton spoke with such passion that this was "the best Belgian beer" I felt compelled to believe him.

It snaps open with a big fizz, pours with good carbonation, revealing a rich dark porter almost black beer. The aroma is to die for, rich and deep, full of brown sugars, molasses and burnt caramel. But hidden within there is a light freshness, lifting out some beautiful grassy and floral aromas.

Words struggle to explain the intensity of the first sip, at 11%Abv it's clearly a big beer, but it has such intensity. It's like a double concentrated ESB, boiled down until its a sauce sweet and rich enough to be poured on a pudding. Melted dark muscavado sugar dominates the initial taste, but there are no roasty or chocolate stout notes despite the dark colour. The finish provides a gentle hop bittering, bringing a delicate freshness to the finish.

8/10 A beer richer than a billionaire. If you like your beers sweet, rich and strong this will rock your world.

Gorge Best (Cheddar Ales)

2011-12-06T18:33:00.000Z

Provided as a gift by @beerbunkerpaul this is not one I would have picked out, my experience of best bitters in bottles is they are always well short of their cask equivalents. But with an open mind...

It opens with a whisper, the perfect beer for cracking open in silent cinemas and during church services. The faint fizz is clearly an attempt to recreate the cask style, giving a faint grassy and sulphurous nose before removing all trace of the head.

The malt is light with no deep roasted notes, just a snap of biscuit and a long lingering sweetness. The hops a very noticeably zesty, lemon and lime jumping out with the assertion of bitterness.

It's a lovely balanced beer, designed for long sessions, but feels rather out of place in a bottle.

6/10 Better than most commercial competitors but lacking enough punch to stand out in a bottle.

Delirium Nocturnum (Brouwerij Huyghe)

2011-11-30T22:51:00.000Z

I was a big fan of Delirium Tremens, and I do like a dark beer, so surely this one adds up?

Pours a rusty deep brown, with a big whiff of earth and iron. A thin webby head soon dissipates to nought. The nose is peppers, bananas, figs, all a bit bonkers just like it's lighter sister beer.

The initial taste for me is a little gruesome, its all the fun of the fair when perhaps you just want to visit the coconut shy. Chewy, with slight chocolate rumours - it's like Billy Smarts madcap picnic hamper viewed through a black stocking of treacle, a mildly cloying aftertaste that lingers but not unpleasantly.

It's 8.5%abv, creamy with it and with each sup it grew on me more. If you can surmount the carnival of zany tastes it evolves into a dark fruity cracker. Wisps of herbs and pepper dance down the glass to the end.

So, idiosyncratic beer again from Brouwerj Hughe, but it all adds up to a fine and formidable strong ale experience for the adventurous.

8/10 - A circus ring of fruity barminess, rich bold fun dark ale.

- The Broadside

Bunker Summit No. 5

2011-11-12T23:06:00.006Z

Yesterday saw the fifth Bunker Summit, with a varied range of twelve ales up for review.

In case you don't know the format, it's a relaxed series of blind tastings as all four attendees brought three different beers to be supped and rated. In addition to myself and Ed, also present was Summit regular Glenn and birthday-debutant Colin.

A particular feature of these conferences is the food, and once again Commander Ed excelled himself, with a Bunker-themed steak pie with amazing rich gravy.

So, on to the beers - this is what we had, and this is what the average mean scores were before the bottles were revealed.

1. Snake Dog IPA (Flying Dog) 7.1%

Beautiful big piney hoppy IPA, walloping start to the session and yellow card shown to contributor for unleashing rampaging early ABV. 7/10

2. Bengal Lancer (Fuller's) 5.3%

Malty body with good length and marked hop signature. Was referred to as "Bengali Lancer" for the rest of the evening as it seemed to fit. 6/10

3. Hacker-Pschorr (Oktoberfest-Marzen) 5.8%

Most were convinced that this was a honey beer, like Slater's Queen Bee. Quite long and mulchy in the note. Distinctive German lager, but not all that pleasant. 5/10

4. Whitstable Bay (Shepherd Neame) 4.5%

Immediately recognisable as an SN beer from the nose, the body of this beer was surprisingly tasty and refined. Tangy and sweet initial notes segue into a pronounced but agreeable bitter finish. Evening's joint bronze medal winner. 7/10

5. Russian Winter Stour (Itchen Valley) 5.3%

Lovely creamy stout, although not particularly Russian in character. Delicious chocolate notes swim with coffee and the sup has a silky character. Solid 7's across the board. 7/10

6. Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Yorkshire Bitter (Black Sheep) 5%

Poorly received, large demerara mouthful, grouchy and dirty long taste. Probably a cheese-accompanier where a distinctive profile needs to stand up in accompaniment, but not for us. 3/10

7. 1845 (Fuller's) 6.3%

Wow, fruity nutmeggy strong ale, swirls of fruitcake and complex, dry finish. Joint bronze medal winner on the night. 7/10

8. Cornish Mutiny (Wooden Hand) 4.8%

This one polarised the judging panel, receiving marks as diverse as 2 and 7. A deep amber beer, quite biscuity and with a marmite-esque fruit-bitter finish. Average score - 4/10

9. Human Cannonball (Magic Rock) 9.2%

Leviathan IPA, lethal alcohol and the evening's gold medal winner. Massive pine hop nose, and marmalade bitter length. More resiny than a soaking furniture warehouse set deep within a Nordic forest. Appreciated in the blind taste, although it was noted that it probably could make you blind. 8/10

10. Pale Ale (Meantime) 5.4%

Back to sanity, and a capable standard pale ale from Meantime. Nice blend of Goldings and Cascade hops give this an agreeable session pint profile. Tasty. 6/10

11. Kofi Annan's Christmas Peace Stout (Bunker Homebrew) - 5.2ish%

At this point in the evening Ed slipped in his first stab at a home brewed stout, and it was a corker. Rich wealth of coffee and chocolate notes, swimming blackly together in a pitchy harmony. Very good stout, and the evening's silver medal winner. 8/10

12. Champion Ale (McEwans) 7.3%

A sweet and strong ale to finish up with. Big barley and malt notes, but possibly too alcoholic for it's own good. Solid 7 though 7/10

- The Broadside

Brewers Reserve No3 (Fullers)

2011-10-22T20:24:00.000+01:00

Packaged like a gift for visiting King, assured, and classy it screams a beer to savoured. Pours rich like a port stained mahogany writing desk. The fizz is energetic but works to force the pourer to take time allow the beer to come to life.

The nose is like rum soaked raisins, pinches of ripe fruit cake, vanilla, and a rather mellow oakiness. The opening malt is swamped by big fruity notes like rich Christmas pudding, smoothly sliding to rich boozey middle with enough Abv to warm beyond the need for a coat. The finish is not so much bitter as thin sharp alcohol like a watered whiskey.

9/10 A truly special beer, rich, warming and extravagant in flavour.

Prima Pils (Victory)

2011-09-26T19:04:00.002+01:00

I've heard this probably the best example of an American Pilsner out there.

Very lightly carbonated on the pour, no big foamy head, just thin dusting of snow white foam.

The smooth sweet malt is swamped with creamy mouthfeel, but lingering for the mearest nano second before hit by a freight train of hops. There is enough hop bittering to keep pace with even the most modern of IPAs, with more nobility than even the biggest royal wedding.

I'm told it's hoppy like a Pilsner should be, but in my limited experience of the style it seems to be pushing the boundaries of bittering. But let's be clear, that's not a bad thing, being "out of balance" can be fantastic

8/10 A strikingly hoppy Pilsner.

Try it for yourself at Mybrewerytap

Indian Beer: London Pilsner

2011-09-13T17:20:00.000+01:00

Due to unforsen circumstances I have been obliged to station myself in India for a few weeks, so what better use of the time than reviewing local beers?

The label doesnt promote confidence, like some badly design cheap souvenir it conjures up memories of an episode of Friends I'd rather forget.

Cracks open with the usual fare, the head disappears as quickly as smoke after a magicians arrival leaving it looking like Chardonnay. The nose, well at best "sulphurous" but more accurately it smells of farts.

The malt arrives like a stealth bomber on radar, leaving behind a faint carpet bombing of fizz on the tongue. I believe this beer to be single hopped, by that I mean I think they use a single hop flower in each hectolitre, no more for fear of bittering.

1/10 It makes Carling seem exotic, I can only assume it's a German black ops campaign against English brewing*

*brewed Bombay, this beer is as English as Jonathan Trott.

Monsieur Rock (Sharps)

2011-09-04T18:07:00.005+01:00

Brewed with Jean Marie Rock of Oval, this Anglo-Belgian collaboration tries to combine the best of both brewing worlds with extended lagering.

It bursts from bottle with perfect BC fizz. The Saaz hops run riot with senses, filling the air with fresh herbal, grassy almost peppery aroma. There are glimpses that transport you back to you earliest days of lager drinking when it was an innocent thing if wonder.

The malt is smoother than a floating Rolls Royce and it exudes a creamy depth that coats the mouth. They seemed to have bottled the brewers holy grail of "mouthfeel". It's sweet and bitter in perfect harmony, the hops don't stamp authority, just arrive with a welcome handshake and begin mingling with the malt.

The genius of this beer is it's simplicity. On one level this could be passed to even the most hardened commercial lager drinker where it would be consumed with pleasure. On another level it can be sipped and pondered, enjoying every note in perfect harmony - like listening to Dark Side of the Moon, in the dark, on headphones, on a bean bag. Try it!

9/10 Wondrous, if only all beer was so perfectly balanced. The most quaffable beer I've had all year. I need another!

Read more about the collaboration and head brewer Stuart Howe here
Or buy Sharps beers here

Liberty Ale (Anchor)

2011-08-31T19:15:00.001+01:00

First brewed back in 1975 to celebrate a certain colonial revolution, this beer has long been a mainstay of the famous brewery's range.

The nose is grassy, hints of dried herbs, reminiscent of an English style IPA. It pours a light copper with a rather assertive fizz.

The malt is relatively light, gentle biscuit notes mingle with the nearest pinch of orange fruitiness. The 5.9abv is well hidden despite this simple pale ale approach to the malt. The hops arrive in perfect balance with the malt, providing a decent stamp of bitterness but not going overboard despite it's dry hopping.

6/10 A solid English style Pale Ale, delivers but fails to shine above fierce competition.

Black Chocolate Stout (Brooklyn)

2011-08-31T18:04:00.002+01:00

The immaculate black and gold label hints at the quality within.

It pours thick and black, with roasted chocolate notes powering above wisps of oak and coffee. The head is a light tan, not that you can see that from my rather over (and under) exposed photo.

This is 10% ABV, serious stuff. The impact of the sup is heady, sweet and of course very chocolatey, but not sickly. The consistency is a proper motor oil stout, and it comes across as an after-dinner delight for the discerning.

The texture is like a satin asp sliding over velvet. A mildly buttery midsection gives way to a rising coffee bittering which never peaks but balances out the drink immaculately.

Utterly luxurious, comprehensively delicious.

9/10 - Remarkable strong after dinner stout, blackly gorgeous.

- The Broadside

Brodie's Prime (Hawkshead)

2011-08-25T21:15:00.005+01:00

Billed as category breaking beer and delivered by hand from the Lake District tap room by bunker co host Paul, but the question is: What is a Premium Dark Ale?

The nose is light, hints of blackberry, a solid pinch of Cascade floralness, but a Black IPA this not.

What hits the tongue to start is a wave of dryness, that only builds in intensity as the malt unravels. A Black chocolate bitterness takes control before leading to the hops. The Bramling Cross give a fruity blackcurrent kick of bitterness at the end which leave a strong lasting impression on the beer.

7/10 A well hopped porter with some strong blackcurrent notes.

Alice Porter (Brewdog)

2011-08-23T22:30:00.003+01:00

Brewdog allege that this "renaissance baltic porter" is the result of a 300 year old recipe. The label talks of cobblestones and swirls of mist from the Thames, as if Doctor Watson himself might order this at his local.

The dog-icon cap flips away to reveal a sweet but subdued bouquet of burnt sugar with a ping of vanilla. On the pour it's black and tumultuous in the glass, a broiling inky drink that sheds a light brown lacy head that swiftly fades to nought.

It's 6.5%abv, but the alcohol is well shielded in the sup. It's all dark chocolate and summer fruits through the length, a classic porter mix with a stylish welcoming mouthfeel. Coffee and vanilla peek through then round off with a gentle bittered finish that sports shades of dark cherry.

Brewdog strike the quality threshold yet again with this beer. Would recommend this without hesitation, although as with all of their offerings check the price before you run it through the till.

8/10 - Delicious, extremely drinkable porter with an edge of mystery. Holmes would approve.

- The Broadside

Very Nutty Black (Thwaites)

2011-08-20T20:01:00.001+01:00

This beer is marked "Export Strength" which is a pun for those who look at the label close enough, as the beer itself is 3.9%ABV

It's a version of Thwaites "Nutty Black", a staple in some parts of Lancashire, and this bottled version is designed to be exported to the Far East (Leeds) and even some remote areas of the Southern Hemisphere (Watford).

It's a dark mild (in fact was originally called Dark Mild) and on opening pours very pitchy indeed. The nose is slightly fruity and rather earthy but not prominent.

The sup reveals a very agreeable mild. It's not reinforced with a welt of flavours like many ales on these pages, but if you're looking for the definition of a dark session ale then in this you have found it.

It's roasty and nutty in the taste, a swimming team of malts with a firm hoppy buffer that just twists off the sweetness rather than leave it lingeringly bitter. Drying slightly on the tongue, this one could be drunk all afternoon.

7/10 - Tasty ale for those who want to veer dark but not ring down for the porter.

- The Broadside

Delirium Tremens (Brouwerij Huyghe)

2011-08-19T19:02:00.005+01:00

Firstly, do click on the Huyghe website, the intro by MD Alain de Laet is a classic bit of webbery.

A potent and colourful little package in a stone-effect bottle, Delirium Tremens offers much potential. The label shows various trippy animal icons and there's no doubt the message is that this will KO the unwary. It was voted Best Beer in the World at the 1998 World Beer Championships in Chicago.

It's 8.5%ABV, and on cap release the air fills with notes of fruit, ripe bananas and apples. It pours a joyous pale straw colour.

The sip is a little yeasty (it uses 3 types) and a lance-like note of pineapple wanders through, although not overpoweringly so. Huyghe brewery offers quite a few fruit beers, so its easy to see where this affectation came from.

The killer for me is the spices loitering in the undergrowth. Very european and peppery, they scatter through with gay abandon as the sup grows old and warm the tongue as the vaguely bitter aftertaste rears up and dies away. It's bitter just to the point of counteracting the fruit taste and no further.

This is a strong summer party drink for the discerning. The hops themselves taste like no normal hops, and I was amazed at how drinkable such a strong beer can be.

Not best in the world for me, but exacting and classy.

8/10 - Beautifully presented summer Belgian classic.

- The Broadside

Island Oyster (Mersea Island)

2011-08-05T20:50:00.002+01:00

And it's a quick Mersesa Island double here at the Bunker Station Two as we crack open their dark special beer, Island Oyster.

Solidly porter in colour, it's as dark as the inside of said gastropod's shell. The head is beige and foamy.

The aroma reinforces the porter credentials, heavily chocolatey with a whiff of dockside back-alley danger.

You get oats and some oysters in this pint, and the combined attack is remarkable. Neither can really be picked out as individual strains (in the case of oysters perhaps its as well), but fused with the dark sweet malts the effect is lushly tasteful. The sup continues through as a bounty of colliding porter notes, with Fuggles hops rearing mildly at the death of the taste.

This is really good BC beer, another gem from this Essex enterprise. The mouthfeel and consistency needs to be tried.

8/10 - Outstanding oyster porter from Essex, well worth trying to track down.

- The Broadside

Shropshire Lad (Wood's)

2011-08-01T18:11:00.002+01:00

Wood's is a fine brewery located amongst the scenic hills of Shropshire.

"Lad' is their top seller, and it's a quintessential example of an English bitter, brewed with English Malts, laced with Fuggles and Goldings hops.

It pours a deep bronze with a whiff of flowers, pear and berries on the air and a thin but persistent head loiters around like a crow on a telegraph pole.

It's 5%ABV, and comes across as a textbook stiffer session brown. A rich toffee start to the sup is cajoled by the classical hop mix, swaying and rolling in perfect balance towards the gently bittered finish.

The carbonation is superbly pitched, and the aroma through the taste is a sort of twin hop cuddle which welcomes you to the glass each time.

8/10 - One can easily see why this is their best seller. Enduring quality English bitter.

- The Broadside

The Rev. James (Brains)

2011-07-28T20:58:00.005+01:00

This Brains product is one keeled over beer, or "on the huh" as we say in Suffolk.

It pours a deep clear copper , with scoops of fudge and flowers on the nose. The head is a foamy white landscape, crinkling over time and present down the glass.

The sup is all about caramel sweetness and spicy cane sugar. It ought to be sickly but in fact its quite pleasant, a sort of peppered cinnamon depth offsetting the rampant honeyed malt tones. The texture is a little sticky but not cloying, adequately carbonated with a silky travel.

It finishes with a smidge of hops, not much, and comes across as a sort of light dessert beer. At 4.5%ABV it's session pitched, but think of it more as a malty treat at the end of a tough day.

7/10 - Rather nice sweet-spiced ale, but hop miners need to try another shaft.

- The Broadside

Island Skippers (Mersea Island)

2011-07-06T18:30:00.005+01:00

We don't tend to get many beers from Essex, so here's one.

Mersea Island is primarily a vineyard, which also hosts weddings, celebrations and brews the odd killer beer.

This pours a lovely dark amber with an ebullient lively head. Light caramel notes on the nose, entwined with some grass sprinkles, nice seasonal smells. The sup is initially pleasantly sweet with some faint chocolate notes, before a stride of Fuggles hops takes the experience to a gently dry bittered finish.

Very pleasant beer indeed, a solid seven.

7/10 - A fine best from Essex. Earthy in the right ways with well judged hops in the tail.

- The Broadside

Brew Day with The Kernel

2011-06-23T19:14:00.015+01:00

Underneath the black bricked arches, within an Olympic stones throw of London Bridge, lives The Kernel Brewery. Packed in alongside a cheese maker and a meat curer, at first glance it appears like a home brewing hobby that's got out of hand.

After relatively little convincing, the owner Evin agreed to let me join them for a brew day. I am a keen home brewer and wanted to see first hand how things work when brewing is scaled up. I've done my fair share of brewery tours, with the usual parade of giant steel vessels and swept warehouse floors, but these generally give no indication of the passion or the buzz of excitement involved in the hands on brewing of beer. It's the craft, passion and smells that stir the soul.

Their 650litre setup is only a year old but already has plenty of outward character showing. It is tightly squeezed in alongside a makeshift fermentation and bottling room, with sturdy shelves that still hold the 80litre stainless steel pots that once formed the basis of Evin’s home brewing hobby. These now get used for sanitising and holding finished beer to feed the bottling machine.

The Kernel focus on brewing highly hopped US style Pale ales and IPAs, as well as a diverse selection of rich dark beers, strong stouts, Black IPAs and even a Coffee IPA. The focus is all about the ingredients and what they bring to the beer, often isolated in order for the individual ingredients to shine. The labels again reiterate this simplicity, hand stamped designs reflecting an attention to detail noticeably present in the beer. There is no core range of beers so each brew day is different. Each beer is unique, something which customers must find so exciting in this age of conformity. The hops are usually the stars of the stage, prominently stamped on each label, educating the customer to their own tastes and stirring excitement about the ingredients within.

On my day the focus was on a Pale ale, single hopped with Mt Hood - a lot of Mt Hood. Four and a half 25kilo sacks of the finest Warminster Maltings Maris otter, a few buckets of Munich, CaraMalt and Cara Gold, left to rest for a simple one hour mash at a 67c target temperature. A 30 minute reticulation followed to clean the wort, before sparging commenced with its reassuring rotating squeak of the sparge arm.

The run off and subsequent boil took 2 hours, enabling everyone to turn their hand to some bottling. 4 bottles at a time are filled by a machine intended for wine bottles, requiring a final hand delivered splash to top up. The brewery seems to offer an open door policy during the day, with customers collecting, and fellow brewers and artists all visitors on the day, folk milling through and recognising there was something special going on under these arches, an antidote to the formulaic replication of standard beers.

Handling hops is always an exciting experience. Rubbing them together in the hands to release powerful aromas is a brewers treat, but being asked to measure out 4kilograms of them into four buckets was sensory overload. I got the chance to add the aroma hops at 15, 10, 5 & 0 minutes, there was barely time to get them all submerged before the next batch was due, repeated until the wort surface resembled a Celtic marsh , completely obscured by hops.

It was then time for the plate chiller to get to work, cooling the 650litre brew to 21c nearly instantly. 19c was the target but after a bit of flow adjusting it was decided to pitch slightly higher. Out came a brick of US05 yeast, pitched dry into the filling fermentation vessel.

That's where the journey ended, open fermented in a side room with four other steel fermentors, each fermenting a different beer and each with their own distinctive aromas. No such luxury as temperature control, just a noisy old cooling unit to help fight the warmer summer evenings.

The final tasks of the day were to dig out the mash tun, something it seems is reserved for guests wherever possible, and reclaiming the hops from the kettle. The amount of spent hops was impressive, so impressive that I understand a visiting James Watt of Brewdog felt compelled to take a picture.

Brew complete, we all took some time to crack open a few bottles. We compared notes on which we preferred, but mainly agreed that we liked all of them, like proud parents being asked to choose a favorite child.

So what's next for The Kernel? Well I understand that plans for new premises are progressing. This will offer a bigger capacity, but will still focus on the same unique bottled beers. It's the hand craft that makes Kernel what it is, and I can't see that being compromised.

Kernel’s beers are available in most good London bars, online at BeerMerchants, but I recommend that you pop in and join them for Saturdays at The Kernel and get a chance to see first hand the craft and care that goes into these fine beers.

For Homebrew Geeks all the pictures I took that day are here on my photobucket account.

Wild Swan (Thornbridge)

2011-06-15T20:13:00.004+01:00

Pours with fizzy like a run away train, creating a big foamy snow drift head. The aroma Lemon in abundance, maybe hints of vanilla.

The opening malt is very thin as one may expect with a beer so pale, and only 3.5%Abv, hints of sweetness are soon blasted away with big hits of lemon bitterness. In that usual Thornbridge style there is a tropical fruit edge to the finish, mixed with that citrus bitterness. The final finishing note is a slight spiciness, almost peppery.

5/10 Zingy Citrus, but not much else, sadly a rather thin summer beer offering.

Budding (Stroud)

2011-06-13T20:50:00.002+01:00

An organic Pale ale it pours with the lightest carbonation I've known in a beer. It has an aroma packed with limes and citrus.

The opening malt is gentle and sweet, slipping along the tongue before combining with the finishing hops. Light bittering, but packed with flavor delivering a flood of citrus to match the malt sweetness. No dry finish, just hundreds of delicate floral flavors.

8/10 A modern English Pale ale, effortlessly quaffable, zesty, and in perfect balance.

Pilsner Urquell vs Budvar

2011-06-05T11:58:00.009+01:00

The term "Lager" has long been synonymous to tasteless mass produced beer in the UK, long lost from it's east European origins as a method of cold storing beer, but I'm by no means an expert on the subject!

I thought I would visit two legends of this Bohemian Pilsner style for what some would call a taste of the "true lager experience"

Both pour a beautifully clear light amber gold, with Urquell the merest shade darker. Neither give big foamy heads, reducing to no foam after a minute.

Both a light on the nose, no English or US IPA hop power, or premium ale malty depth. Delicate is the key word, both having a subtle freshness, the Urquell is slightly grassier with more hints of those Saaz hops. The Budvar has slightly more caramel maltiness on the nose.

Both have that beautiful clean taste, no fruity middle, these beers are fermented at low temperatures to ensure the flavors a clean and crisp. The Budvar has less malt depth to start, the bitterness is slightly more prominent, with a finish that has the tiniest sharp tanginess to it. The Urquell offers something very different, there is an amazing biscuit crunch to the malt, like toasted bread it provides a fantastic depth of flavour. The following bitterness matches perfectly with crisp and noticeable Saaz hops coming through.

Two great beers, but the Urquell provides fantastic depth, with delicate flavors floating around the taste buds like summer butterflies.

Budvar 7/10 A solid example of the clean refreshing style.

Urquell 9/10 A truly delightful beer, delicate and light, but flooded with flavor.

Both beers are readily available in the UK, and in most good supermarkets.

M&S Sussex Golden Ale (Hepworth & Co)

2011-05-28T16:14:00.003+01:00

A crunchy whiff of citrus in the nose, this 3.8% ale pours with minimal head. The colour is an engaging deep straw.

The watchword here is refreshment. It has a pleasing malt bumper at the front of the sup, but the citrus finish is a delight. It spirals to a clean bitterness in a very moreish fashion.

M&S have a bottle-conditioned cracker of a session pint here, suitable for daytime drinking without drying the brain.

8/10 - Very tasty summer beer. Delicately flavoured, and as light as sunshine on a meadow.

Jaipur (Thornbridge)

2011-05-25T20:31:00.002+01:00

Snaps open and pours with a lively but perfectly controlled fizz, a glorious foamy head. The aroma is all conquering, a big tropical fruit blast, pineapple and sweet fruit.

The malt whilst light golden straw provides a beautiful light sweetness as delicate as it looks. No dryness, ripe fruit or sharp tanginess in the middle just a segway to the big finish. No huge uncomfortable bitterness, just a sharpening of the senses to it's tropical fruit punch. Pineapple, Grapefruit, bitter, sharp, tangy, sweet all fight to be noticed, all held in perfect equilibrium.

9/10 A landmark beer, powerful beery fruit punch. Something else.

Bunker Summit No. 4

2011-05-16T13:11:00.015+01:00

Last week saw the fourth Bunker Summit, myself and Ed meeting at Bunker Station Two with summit veteran Glenn.

It ran in the usual format, a blind taste test with each person supplying a category of beer:

Glenn: Brown ales, and a couple of his "Slender Prince" homebrews.

Ed: IPA class. With his own "Bunker Brew" homebrew slipped in.

Paul: Porters & stouts, with two "Station-2" homebrews.

The scores were averaged and the results are below - a fine sunny evening was had, punctuated by homemade beefburger bonanza and some Station Two cheesecake too.

Big Bill's Final Rack (Slender Prince Homebrew)

Good beer, big dominant middle-wood, a dry barky brown but not the fine smooth whiskey oaked epic expected - 5/10

Black Cat (Fallen Angel)

Overly fruity nose heralding a completely off beer bought on general sale in Arundel! - Utterly rank - 0/10

Porter (Harvey's)

Plummy and fruity, a real lock-in pint, almost liqueur like in it's smoothness- 7/10

Bosun's Call (Stumpy's Brewery)

Fruity smell and tang, too big. This beer was in the postcode of off, although not there yet - 3/10

India Pale Ale (Goose Island)

Columo-nimbus head, fizzy and fresh. Massive transatlantic pine hop bomb with a streaky bullet of caramel - 7/10

Endless Summer IPA (Bunker Brew Homebrew)

Lovely homebrew. Lush pine nose, very hoppy but increased malt sweetness, excellent balance. Dry bitter length, delicious - 8/10

Bottle Wreck Porter (Hammerpot)

Sublime chocolate-coffee porter, as smooth as John le Mesurier. Dark magic, a textbook artisan black beer and the evening's winner - 9/10

Doctor Strangehop (Bunker Brew Homebrew)

A nuclear winter IPA, this is as bitter as an old spouse waving photographs. Unrelenting back-end bitterness. Utterly unapologetic, one for atomic hop fans - 6/10

M&S Cheshire Brown Ale (Robinsons)

Well balanced, caramel nose, edge of citrus. A solid brown beer - 6/10

Dark Matter (Station-2 Homebrew)

Unusual pine nose for a porter, coffee and chocolate in spades, lovely rich tiramisu length with hoppy edges, very good dark beer - 7/10

Big Bill's Tricky Brown (Slender Prince Homebrew)

As brown as a 70's kitchen. Tastes of velour, pre-decimal coins and atari consoles. Proper back of the off-license product. Lovely brown booze - 6/10

Tesco's American Double IPA (Brewdog Hardcore IPA)

A hop too far! This splits the hop and takes it beyond it's natural event horizon. Bitter armageddon - 5/10

Almond and Dangerous (Station-2 Homebrew)

No head, minimal nose, quite syrupy. Dominant chocolate tastes laced with fruit, drying early. Almond ingredient not detectable! - 6/10

The wheels then came off and the evening descended into a FIFA 11 tournament, the outcome of which Ed is still angry about.

Look out for new bottle reviews this week!

Old Timer (Wadworth)

2011-05-09T19:26:00.000+01:00

This is the winter strong offering from Wadworth.

Sideboard-brown with a filmy head, a whoosh of malt greets the nose on it's way into the glass.

It's a little gassy, which is the only noticeable difference from the pump offering. Taste-wise it's as nutty as a nut, with walloping yeasty notes - a hallmark of Wadworth beer.

The sup converts inexorably to dryness, with a rising hop bitterness in the tail that provides a bit of a marmite love-or-hate moment. The hop mix is very English, Fuggles early on and Goldings twisting things at the end. The tail is just a bit sharp for me.

It's serious beer for serious beer drinks. The 5.8%abv is pretty mighty compared to many supermarket offerings, but the ale actually tastes like it's just sub 5%, nothing too grouchy or etherized.

6/10 - Good but unsubtle beer, an old-school weaponized malt offering from Wadworth

- The Broadside

Mild (St Peter)

2011-05-04T22:10:00.006+01:00

You don't see many milds these days. Once a ubiquitous ale class in working clubs and pubs, it was the traditional epitome of a fresh young malty low-strength session ale.

St Peter, that fine Bungay brewery known for the odd traditional flourish, sells this in their standard dark green medicine bottle.

It pours with a fluffy head and sits a dark woody brown in the glass. A vague aura of ruby. The smell is a hint of chocolate malt laced with dark fruit.

It tastes like a kind of porter-echo, much front-end chocolate maltiness laced with shadows of vanilla and a smidgen of nuts. The taste never really rolls forward and rears up, but then this is mild so that would as expected as spotting David Cameron breakdancing.

A gripe might be the relatively thin consistency and the lack of much oomph, but then that's like complaining that air isn't coloured enough. This is a good, wholesome session pint, a substantive fillip for malt-heads looking to stay on their feet. It's 3.7% ABV, and jolly nice.

7/10 - A fine traditional brown pint. Gentle, malty, solid beer.

- The Broadside

Cock o'the Walk (Williams Brothers)

2011-05-03T20:45:00.004+01:00

Snaps open, not BC, but perfect fizz, it pours an amazing Crimson red. No big hops in the nose just its gentle grassy freshness.

The malt bursts onto the tongue, initially dry, but building in sweetness as it goes on. The middle is fruity, not overly sweet like a pudding, but rich and slightly sour, almost like rhubarb. It continues to build to a tangy finish, lingering on the tongue with slight sour hints, very limited bittering or hop profile, as you would expect for the style.

6/10 No shortage of depth, a vortex of malt flavours.

You can buy this beer here
Thanks goes out to Williams Brothers for providing this to review.

Mighty Blond (Mighty Hop)

2011-04-27T21:19:00.002+01:00

Pours with a lovely bottle conditioned fizz, more golden amber than the bleached blonde you would expect from the bottle. Citrus and a rather dry herbal aroma.

The malt is on the dry side of balanced, beautifully pronounced. The middle has a smoky charcoal edge to it, presumably a characteristic of the yeast, very similar to the Purbeck beers. The final bittering is a lovely stamp of hops, lingering with noticeably grassy notes and hint of citrus.

7/10 A lovely beer, not the Blonde expected, but a classy golden brunette instead.

Black Adder (Mauldons)

2011-04-25T22:45:00.003+01:00

Mauldon's is a fine Suffolk brewery based in Sudbury. They offer five standard ales and Black Adder is their porter.

It's absolutely delicious too. Pouring extremely dark with a thin, dissipating beige head, the nose is a roasted cacophony of chocolate and nutty intrigue.

The sup is gentle and rich, a swirl of dark malts colliding to conjure up a deep, woody coffee-cocoa taste that commences sweet and segues into a sophisticated bittered tail.

At 5.3% abv, Black Adder has a decent chassis to carry a beautiful, ultimately bitter taste voyage. It really is a fine example of stout at it's best from the heart of East Anglia.

9/10 - Sumptuous and smooth, a Rolls Royce stout singing with quality.

- The Broadside

Kipling (Thornbridge)

2011-04-18T20:25:00.001+01:00

A highly anticipated beer for the bunker, from the masterful Thornbridge Brewery, who have signed a deal to sell their beers in Waitrose.

Pours a beautiful clear gold, perfect carbonation, lovely foamy head. Wow the aroma! To say it's totally unique... to the world of beer at least, a huge bouquet like fine Sauvignon Blanc wine (this is how the Nelson Sauvigon hops got their name) mixed with hints of tropical fruit.

The initial taste is far from malty, it's barely beery, sweet tropical fruit flavours like pineapple and mango snap on the tongue. The more standard beery malt notes arrive shortly after providing a nice segway to the finish. A small stamp of bitterness is followed by some fantastically diverse hopping, a mix of more tropical fruit, satsumas, bitterness and a lingering dry hop finish.

9/10 A mindbogglingly unique beer, quite staggering what power hops can assert. Beer with all the fine aromas and finishing notes of fine New Zealand wine.

Available now at Waitrose across the country, or online from mybrewerytap.com

IPA (Stringers)

2011-04-15T19:46:00.002+01:00

Pours a beautiful caramel Amber, the nose is hoppy, not overpowering, but good hints of floral notes and earthy grassiness.

The opening is a remarkably balanced affair, gentle malt mixed with caramel sweetness and dry bitterness in equal balance. Glimpses of biscuit appear in the middle without being able to upset the balance. The finish is dominated by big Amarillo hops, arriving like a hammer with blow of citrus, pine and a rather earthy almost peppery bitterness.

8/10 A cracking IPA, perfectly balanced and well hopped. The unique Amarillo hops shine through.

A big thanks to Stringers for sending this to review.

You can buy their beers here at mybrewerytap or alesbymail

Harvest Sun (Williams Brothers)

2011-04-14T20:44:00.002+01:00

A driven white snow foamy head, perfect carbonation. Big grassy smells in the nose, a raw earthiness of hops, no big American floral hops here.

A light almost lager like malt to start, devoid of sweetness it builds into a more biscuity middle. The ending has a slight twang, hints of lemon sharpness but lacks any real freshness or zing. The hop finish is lacking any big presence, just subtle grassy notes.

6/10 A nice golden ale, but lacks any real stand out qualities. A drink you'd enjoy, but wouldn't probably move on after.

Thanks goes out to Williams Brothers for providing this to review.

Southampton IPA ( Southampton Publick House)

2011-04-12T17:35:00.005+01:00

Another fine US beer bought over by my friend from New York, the brewery is near to him in NY State and comes highly rated.

Opens with gentle fizz, pours a deep deep copper. Gentle toffee in the noses, slight pine, no big American floral hops but a lovely grassy tingle of English ones.

It kicks off with a giant blast of Crystal malt, big sweet caramel flavours delight the tonge, before warping into burnt sugar, complete with it's bitterness. There is a glimpse of fruit before kicking on to the finish. No shortage of hopping here, like the earlier aroma it's not a big blast of America hoppy citrus, but the subtle bittering of the English style IPA.

8/10 A big caramel transatlantic IPA, floating somewhere between a big West Coast IPA and a Fullers ESB.

Dry Stout (Stringers)

2011-04-10T21:03:00.006+01:00

This is a delicious Cumbrian treat, from a brewery that is "100% renewably powered".

Stringers do five regular ales and two seasonals. This stout, along with their Dark Country beer, is vegan-suitable.

It pours dense and dark - proper dark like those regions Joseph Conrad wrote about. The head is rusty and enduring, and the nose is a sumptuous casserole of roasted and wispy chocolate aromas.

The sup is creamy and full of smoke, an extremely alluring old-school collision of proper industrial stout tastes. It's wonderfully smooth, but lively in all the correct ways, heady chocolate malt carried aloft on a very appropriate 4.5%abv chassis.

The finish tails to dry, but perhaps not the dominant dehydration suggested in the title. It's evaporative in the right way, leaving dark flavours and fond memories on the tongue.

8/10 - Wonderful northern stout - buy without hesitation, enjoy without regret.

- The Broadside

A big thanks to Stringers for sending this to review.

You can buy their beers here at mybrewerytap or alesbymail

Hopping Hare (Badger)

2011-04-06T20:39:00.001+01:00

Beautiful clear gold, pours with great carbonation and a lovely foamy head. The aroma is grassy, almost earthy, with a slight hint of caramel.

Opens with a welcoming mellow malt, building to a delicious sweet caramel, and big biscuit crunch, like a caramel covered digestive!

No big sharp bitterness in the finish, just wonderfully diverse floral tones that meet up with the last linger of malty caramel. Hints of smooth cream soda fade right into the finish.

8/10 A cracking floral caramel wonder. A spring beer now available all year round, one to seek out.

Windsor Knot (Windsor & Eton) - Royal Wedding Beer

2011-04-03T19:46:00.004+01:00

The excitement of the Royal Wedding of William and Kate Middleton may not be for everyone, but the prospect of specially brewed wedding beers to review is well received here at the bunker! Windsor & Eton beers are also very welcome at the bunker, their previous 3 bottled beers have all scored a superb 8/10.

Pours a bright amber, light carbonation. The aroma is delightfully tropical, the Nelson Sauvignon hops delivering their trademark tropical fruit punch, but dialed down at bit from many other breweries who use it in huge hopped IPAs.

It starts with sweet malt, that builds into a warming caramel that coats the tongue and lingers right to the finish and beyond. The hopping whilst big in aroma is delicate in its bittering, but undoubtedly unique in it's flavour. Juicy tropical flavours wrestle with the initial caramel giving a rather interesting twist to a rather English Premium Ale.

8/10 Well balanced, very unique, a great showcase for some special hops. Perfect for honeymoon sipping in the sunshine.

Thanks to Windsor & Eton for providing, check out their website here, or buy their beers from Alesbymail.com

Mort Subite (Kriek)

2011-03-30T22:16:00.003+01:00

Mort Subite (French for "sudden death") was the one that got away, the final beer we didn't quite get to in our wonderful AlesByMail tasting session recently. It's brewed with Belgian cherries and is 4.5%abv.

This is the first lambic beer we've reviewed. It's a style of beer from a part of Belgium, and is distinguished by being spontaneously fermented by being exposed to that regions 'wild' yeast, rather than the scientifically controlled process of normal brewing. This gives the beer a dry, cider-like and sour taste. Doesn't sound overly appealing, but let's see.

Out of the bottle its a fizzy auburn tumult, almost red, with a strong persistent pink head. The nose is a pungent cherry-sherbert yeasty waft, not unattractive although a little alien to a standard ale drinker.

The first sip is a big-style cherry hit, almost akin to 70's cherryade. I'd like to say it's followed by other notes, but the fact is the cherry is so powerful that once it dies, a short drying of the tongue leaves not a lot else.

It's not unpleasant, and does come across superior to some other fruit beers I've tasted. The tart nature of cherries suits a beer foundation, unlike the sickliness of some other fruit.

All in, not a bottle I'd seek out - it comes over as perhaps just a little bit too champagne-cocktail, although as a schnifter after a meal it's not a poor option.

Interesting.

5/10 - Fun and fruity - possibly the best a cherry beer can be, albeit a bit one-dimensional

- The Broadside

Hop (Greene King)

2011-03-24T17:04:00.003Z

If there is one thing we here at the bunker like it's hops. Now Greene King don't have a great scoresheet here, but will "Hop: A beer to dine for" excite out tastebuds?

It pops open and pours with gentle fizz, only to see the foamy white head completely disappear within 10 seconds, leaving the flattest looking beer I've seen. The nose is fresh lemon, slightly peppery.

The initial taste is really quite sweet, gentle malt, leading to soft fruit, even peaches. Tasty yeast in the middle, instantly draws the mind to Old Speckled Hen. The finish is smooth mellow bittering, more sweet lemon lingering to the end.

6/10 An interesting ale, fresh and mellow. One fans of Old Speckled Hen should definitely to check out. MY thanks goes out to Bunker co-host Paul for providing this one to sample, i won it as a bet by out scoring him in our local 6aside league.

IPA is dead (Brewdog)

2011-03-15T19:29:00.005Z

Citra big pineapple, pine, raw dry hop smell, sweet malt powers through to finish. Not huge bitterness, but big dry hopping lingers in the tongue. It's like Hardcore IPA blended with SN Torpedo. 9/10

Sorachi Ace tangerines, clementines smell, hints of lychees.
Tastes of smooth creamy lychees, maybe even lemongrass, a tingle of dry hops at the finish, but not big bittering. Immersed in Japanese terrior. 7/10

Bramling X, big lemon citrus on the nose, sweet apple on the initial taste. The end is a rather sharp gin and tonic finish. 8/10

Nelson Sauvignon big tropical fruit, mangoes and pineapple, not quite as sweet smelling as Citra. Definite hints of Savingon Blanc as the crisp, sharp hops kick in. The finish is huge tropical fruit, this is beery Lilt. It's amazing that hops can add such tropical flavours, you'd swear there was fruit juice in here. 8/10

So which is best? (sorry but that's what we do here at the Bunker)

The uniqueness of the Sorachi Ace and the tropical fruits of the Nelson Sauvignon are very different, but not necessarily something you would want regularly. The Bramling X has some big flavours, but does it lack a bit of depth? Or is it just over shadowed by the others?

For me Citra wins out, fresh and piney, with a lovely dry finish to the hops.

An education in hops from Brewdog, if you have any interest in beer you should seek out and try these. Try the Brewdog Shop.

1st Citra
2nd Bramling Cross
3rd Nelson Sauvignon
4th Sorachi Ace

Thanks to Brewdog for providing. I suggest you go buy your own here

Baltic Night (Compass)

2011-03-10T20:42:00.002Z

Pours smooth with an inky pitch soul, there's enough black depth here to interest Stephen Hawking.

A suggestion of a rusty head soon evaporates to nought, leaving a few roast and barley tones in the breeze and a considerable air of threat. Also, unusually for a stout a clutch of hops dances on the nose.

The sip is quite extraordinary. Typically with the stouts we've had, hearty big dark flavours come along all together, and mosh for attention in robust tapestries of taste. Baltic Night though is an altogether more subtle affair. It's roasty and bitter, but smooooth. Coffee tones slide in like an advanced driver overtaking on a rainy night, before a simple yet very effective dry chocolatey finish closes the deal.

It's altogether the most cohesive and well planned stout I think I've had. Everything here fits like gears in a swiss clock. There's very little of the classic stout 'munch', and more a craft-beer style invitation to sip again. This is dark beer by design.

This 4.8%abv Compass ale has won the odd award and rightly so. It's delightful to sip by itself, but I'd suggest this is one stout very suitable for accompanying rich food, without bulldozering the palate.

8/10 - Delicate and designed to delight, this is a Bang and Olufsen stout, brewed with care and intention.

London Porter (Meantime)

2011-03-09T18:56:00.005Z

If there is anything the bunker loves as much as beer, it's a bit of history. After Meantime's amazing 10/10 IPA we were excited about this historic Porter, a recreation of the 1750s London Style.

Pops open with little fuss, pouring a deep chestnut, mahogany at edges where light penetrates. A lovely balance of those trademark porter aromas coffee, chocolate and a less expected fruitiness.

Slightly prickly and thin on the tongue to start, but developing to bolder sweet malt flavours. Ripe fruit takes over in the middle, rich plum and stewed fruits add a tangy sweetness before fading into the finish. The finale is like the last mouthful of a fine coffee, lingering deep coffee with some sharper roasted malt bitterness.

8/10 A fine example of a classic historic beer style.

Thanks to Meantime Brewery for providing the sample, I suggest to seek one of these out. Available in most good Sainsburys.

Thanks Stringers

2011-03-09T18:37:00.004Z

A big thanks to Stringers for sending these two lovely looking beers through. Based in Ulverston Cumbria their brewery is 100% renewably powered, which gets a big thumbs up from us

I've heard great things about the IPA on twitter so can't wait to review!

You can buy their beers here at mybrewerytap or alesbymail

St George and the Dragon (Wadworth)

2011-03-06T23:32:00.005Z

This is a bottled version of the Wadworth seasonal favourite, and is 4.5%abv.

Cracking it open, a mildly metallic-fruit whiff of barley and hops greets the nose. It pours a fine beery amber, with a fluffy and moderately persistent head.

First sup shows the signature biscuit-malt Wadworth are known for, but for me the digestive-factor is dialled down compared to some others they bottle. Plenty of fruit to be had here, some orange and a tangy grapefruit hint. Mid section is tending to florid, with a drying hoppy bitterness veering to crisp at the tail, biscuit notes echo throughout.

It's actually a rather nice beer, and I can see why Wadworth have extended this away from the traditional seasonal batch and made it available at other times.

The flavours don't amount to anything revolutionary, but for a steady English pint with a little kick you could do far worse than go with St George. Fine stuff, Wadworth.

7/10 - Good seasonal session beer, much superior to Henry IPA in the bottle, a pleasure to drink.

- The Broadside

7 Giraffes (Williams Bros)

2011-03-01T19:42:00.008Z

This beer is made using 7 malt varieties, hops from around the world, with elderflower and lemon zest added. That's a lot of flavors going on, does it work?

Pours deep golden with a simply fantastic foamy head and light carbonation. The smell is devine, caramel, a lovely whiskey sweetness, mixed in with noticeable fresh wet grass. The very definition of balance.

After such a smell the palete craves the first sip. Wow. Amazing malt blasts through, sweetness, dry bitterness, that whiskey edge again, superb diversity of flavour. The final malt gift is a hint of smokiness before a delightfully smooth passage to the hop finish. Gentle bittering builds on the tongue until fading to leave a sharper lemon zing and a noticeable hint of elderflower intertwined with some more tropical hop fruitiness.

9/10 Outstanding. Amazing diversity of malt flavours, with a deliciously fresh finish, all in perfect balance.

You can buy this beer here, and at the amazing price of £16.30 for 12 I strongly recomend you do!
Thanks goes out to Williams Brothers for providing this to review.

Ceilidh (Williams Bros) 4.7%Abv

2011-02-26T17:53:00.003Z

A craft lager matured for 90 days.

Pours crystal clear light gold, almost unnervingly like commercial fizz lager. Lovely biscuity aroma, an almost oaky depth.

The malts only trace is light sweetness, building to an almost toffee warmth. The beer snaps to a finish, crisp hops, light citrus, and a finale of lingering bicuity malt.

8/10 A cracking lager, mature flavours, very drinkable. The world would be a better place if this was the drink of the masses.

Thanks goes out to Williams Brothers for providing this to review.

Hop Devil IPA (Victory)

2011-02-25T21:45:00.001Z

Snaps open and pours darker than expected, a deep golden amber. The aroma is sensational, amazing zingy grassiness, big dry hops, a lovely toffee sweetness.

With the deep malt you expect sweetness, not so, it's presumably all been converted to alcohol leaving a very dry malty start. The finish is a hop crescendo, big loud crashes of bitterness, crisp, dry and tangy. The dryness continues long into the finish like chewing dry hops.

Truly amazing aroma, a huge lingering hop finish, but in my view needs a bit more malt sweetness to bring balance. Too dry and bitter to saviour.

7/10 Top marks for hops, but falls short with the malt. A rather one sided beer.

Joker IPA (Williams Brothers)

2011-02-25T20:40:00.004Z

Pours with a smooth well practiced fizz, perfect head and carbonation. A golden amber with a deliciously citrusy aroma, lemon grassy freshness in a bottle.

The malt is superb, well bodied in it's depth, balanced with a great initial sweetness. A clean clear middle is followed by a hop finale of bitter hops, a second wave of more fruity malt and a delightfully subtle lingering hop bittering leaving you craving more with each sip.

8/10 A superb celebration of Malt and Hops. Similar in style to some great US pale ales, with a tad more hops.

You can buy Joker IPA here, and at the amazing price of £16.30 for 12 I strongly recomend you do!
Thanks goes out to Williams Brothers for providing this to review.

Thanks Williams Bros

2011-02-23T21:01:00.005Z

A massive thanks goes out to Williams Brothers for providing such a generous selection of their beers for review! This has to go down as the biggest haul of review samples to date, with 18 different beers!! Its certainly going to keep us busy for a while.

There are quite frankly too many to list here so i suggest you all check out their range of:
Contemporary ales featuring the Joker IPA, their Scotish 80/ and their Midnight Sun Porter

Historic ales featuring a Seaweed ale, their award winning Heather Ale and an Elderberry ale

Thanks again Williams Brothers

Southwold Winter IPA (Marks & Spencer) 6.7%Abv

2011-02-23T20:17:00.005Z

Pours crystal clear and beautifully golden, the aroma is delightful, a bountiful mix of grapefruit, citrus zest, and spicy hops. Its brewed by Adnams (usually under the title of Innovation) using a heady mix of US Columbus, UK Goldings, and European Boadicea hops.

The first taste is sweet and quite malty, this quickly gives way to a big punch of wheat malt flavours, clearly present and adding a different freshness. Bold bitterness follows through with a diverse depth of tone and sharpness. The finish is very spicy, with some lovely black pepper notes poking through to combine with the lingering wheat malt twang.

Not sure where to place this one, somewhere between a Duvel and Summer Lighting.

7/10 Very original, a strangely continental IPA, one to try if you like wheat beers and IPA’s.
Apologies for the picture, you reviewer was so busy "reviewing" he forgot to take a picture until it was nearly all drunk!

Thanks Brewdog!

2011-02-21T11:30:00.002Z

We are big fans of Brewdog and their mega micro brewery here at the bunker, their epic beers have earned some great reviews.

We also love a bold IPA, so are naturally very excited by Brewdog's IPA is Dead. Thankfully this isn't some kind of Orwellian vision of a beerless future, just Brewdog's unique showcase of killer hops of the world.

Nelson Sauvin - A New Zealand epic with gooseberry notes
Sorachi Ace - Unique lemony aroma, developed in Japan
Citra - A new high alpha American hop
Bramling X - An English hop with distinctive aroma

Thanks to Brewdog for providing these to review.

Riptide (Brewdog) 8%Abv

2011-02-20T18:36:00.005Z

Pours as black peat, with an exceptional head of coffee foam. Smells of ripe summer fruits, mixed berries and blackcurrants.

The initial taste is dominated by an exceptionally powerful and unexpected lingering sweetness. It's only on the second sip one can delve deeper into this dark delight. It's a whirlwind of coffee, hints of chocolate, but finishing with an asserted ripe fruity sweetness that leaves a taste buds twanging like a banjo string.

The hops are the final lingering presence of this beer, a flash of herbal bitterness. A wiser tweeter than me said of a review of Riptide "Riptide review in the style of @thebeerbunker: When you took the back off your Ferguson cassette recorder and it never worked again? That." Quite.

I kind of like the riptide analogy, like being dragged backwards out to sea past a kaleidoscope of sights and sounds to be met by a sweet mermaid who smiles and pushes you back to shore for another sip of stout.

7/10 An epic fruity and kaleidoscopic stout.

Trade Winds (Cairngorm) 4.3%Abv

2011-02-20T17:28:00.002Z

Pours as clear as stream water, clear gold. The aroma is of a fresh spring meadow, light grass with a beautifully delicate Elderflower clearly present.

Clean sweet malt wafts over the tongue, on the initial sip, little room for dryness. Some biscuit crunch in the middle, fading towards caramel sweetness. The finish is light grassy citrus bittering, and a final gentle linger of elderflower.

8/10 A deliciously fresh golden ale, beautifuly balanced with that elderflower twist.

London Bitter - BruBox Home Brew Kit

2011-02-15T19:53:00.004Z

I am a homebrewer myself and enjoy making my own beer using the raw all grain method, but i stated out on kits. I recently helped a friend work through his first kit a BruBox. Its around £24 for a 10litre starter kit, with refills around £10 there after.

Its a rather impressive kit, extremely simple in its design and instructions, described perfectly here. A month later my mate popped round with a bottle of the result....I thought its only fair i review it!

London Bitter 4.0%
Pours an amber brown, with a nice gentle aroma, caramel, slight orange and fresh hop pine notes.

The sweetness of the malt is quite quickly over powered with some relatively big dryness that powers through. This leads on to quite pronounced bittering, you can certainly tell real hops were used in this kit. The finished is a lingering gentle hop bittering along with a slightly burnt caramel dryness.

7/10 A very drinkable well hopped session bitter, not a million miles from a Fuller's London Pride, but with the dry malitness of a Shepard Neame Bishops Finger.

With refill kits at about £10 each you can enjoy San Fransisco Steam beer to Belgian Tripel's at 50p a pint!

If you want to have a go at homebrewing but are nervous about the process, you wont find a more simple entry method than this, and most importantly the end result is very enjoyable!

All Beer Experience + Taster Case (Ales By Mail)

2011-02-13T18:31:00.012Z

The noble enterprise Ales By Mail sent the All Beer Experience kit through the supply lines for a Bunker review session, and we were glad to oblige.

Retailing at £51.99, it's a veritable treasure trove of all things beery, with malt and hops sample kits, a very well presented book on the subject, a gift bag and fourteen rarely-seen ales, in lambic, ale and lager varieties.

Armed with the promise of a sausage and mash dinner interval, a few guitar tunes on the Station One ghetto blaster and the red-hot @thebeerbunker twitter wire, we set to work on the beers.

Here are the twit-friendly assessments from a thoroughly enjoyable evening, complete with Bunker Grading according to our subjective taste:

Meantime Pilsner 4.7%abv – Light floral smell, sweetcorn, wheaty. Nice light sweet grain in the finish, almost bready. Very dry bitter finish. 7/10

Freedom Organic Lager 4.8%abv – Lightly caramel lager, Ed judges some rich malt, Paul veers to slightly less depth. Lacks a bit of snap but finishes very tidily. 6/10

At this point we tucked into a couple of malt sachets which were generously supplied along with the ales. Crystal malt was first, beautiful agricultural bready sweetness. The chocolate malt followed, and visited upon the tongue a shotgun pellet scattering of bitterness. Barley grains next – “inedible” proffered Ed, I had to agree - but what a wonderful grain.

Pitfields N1 Wheat Beer 5%abv – Cor, bold experimental beer. Bags of orange and coriander . Just too acidic, it’s a bit like licking a battery. Not for us 4/10

Hopdaemon Green Daemon Helles 5% - Grassy nose, lovely bready sup – perfectly balanced , Greek democracy in a beer – 7/10

*** Evening Winner *** Dark Star Sunburst 4.8% - Wow! Smell that! Caramel paradise, sublime taste. Gorgeous, toffee and a twist of lemon - sublime 9/10

Kelham Island Pale Rider 5.2% - Toffee in spades, creamy and over-tipped in favour of malt, but a capable dry bitterness that does much to veer away from being over-sweet – 7/10

Samuel Adams Boston Lager 4.8% - No nose, chilled malty wonder on the tongue, class leading depth for an amber lager – 6/10

Westerham Scotney Best Bitter 4.3% - National Trust produced beer, Minimal fruity nose, big sweet malts, faintly spicy length. Nice example of standard best – 6/10

Exe Valley Devon Glory 4.7% - Rough and acidic, poor ale. Zero nose, Mulchy mid-section, tart honky finish – 3/10

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA 7.1% - Piney desert-dry hop nose, bulky malt sweetness quarterback-sacked by monumental hop bitter - 8/10

Hopshackle Historic Porter 4.8%abv – Fresh and indeed hoppy in the nose, but mellow choc and coffee tastes on the sup stride through like sentries – 6/10

Orkney Brewery Dragonhead 4% - Sumptuous coffee-choc nose. Smart texture, creamy easy-drinking stout, dark beery fun 7/10

Chimay Blue 9% - Magnificent pepper raisin nose, malty & potent. Sup is fizzy & earthy with a soily oily cosh of alcohol – 6/10

It has to be reported that at that point the wheels came off the session somewhat, so we didn't quite get to the "Mort Subite Kriek" lambic beer, but we will make amends by giving it a full Bunker review shortly!

Thanks to Neil Rimmer, The Ormskirk Baron, Alex Barlow, Andy Mogg, myBrewerytap, James Bird, Paul Tuffnell, Gregg Irwin, Newcastle's Free Trade Inn and the mighty Dark Star brewery for keeping us company on the wires during the evening.

Final assessment is that this is probably the most interesting and varied ale tasting kit we've seen. Ales By Mail offer real quality in return for your dollars, an excellent service for gift-senders and enthusiasts alike. Follow them on Twitter here.

Indian Brown Ale (Dogfish Head)

2011-02-09T20:19:00.007Z

Pours far darker than expected, less like the Newcastle Brown I was expecting and more like a dark porter. The smell is divine, like melted chocolate and a sweet but potent after dinner liquor.

Slightly dry malt to start, that very quickly builds into perpetual sweetness. Powerful chocolate notes assert their dominance in the malt, melting into the tongue like a rich pudding. Slight hints of coffee poke through without taking anything away from the big brown sugar sweetness. This rich boozey pudding of a beer slides to the finish where fine hops twine themselves into the flavours, adding fresh depth to the beer, but without too much in the way of sharp bittering, just mellow lingering dry hopping.

Reminds me very much of Flying Dog Gonzo Porter

8/10 Like a rich boozey Tiramisu of a beer, chocolate, coffee, divine.

Knight of the Garter (Windsor & Eton) 3.8%Abv

2011-02-09T19:34:00.004Z

The Bunker has already enjoyed the superb Conqueror Black IPA (8/10) and the unique Guardsman Oaked Best Bitter (8/10) from Windsor and Eton, so how does their Golden Ale compare?

Pours a bright and crystal clear golden. Big powerful hop aroma, spicy, floral and very fresh.

The taste is instantly hoppy, exploding into a fresh crisp bitterness leaving only small traces of sweet malt behind. As the beer lingers on the palate the hop bittering amplifies greatly, a diverse array of sharp citrus bittering.

It's quite rare (but very pleasing) to find a weak session beer that is so powerfully and beautifully hopped, it certainly reminded me of Darkstar Hophead.

8/10 A fantastically hopped session ale.

Thanks to Windsor and Eton for providing, I suggest you check out their beers here.

Breaker (Bays) 4.7%Abv

2011-02-07T20:34:00.002Z

Good carbonation pops the bottle open, it pours with a lovely head, a beautifully clear golden brown. Aroma of gentle grassy hops, and light caramel.

Delicious malt overloads the senses with the first hit, swamping every corner of the mouth with caramel sweetness. The malt leads on to a more subtle dryness, hints of light charcoal, even coffee in the middle, a diverse array of sublte flavours. The finish is light and clean, letting the malt linger on, growing slightly more fruity. No big hops, but for once that's no disappointment, the malt more than covers.

8/10 A deliciously malty ale, a beautiful depth of flavours to enjoy.

Sleighed Again (Centurion - Homebrew)

2011-02-02T21:34:00.003Z

Cracks and pours with perfect carbonation, the head on this is unlike anything I've seen since my last draught Guinness, it just won't die! Powerful spices in the aroma, with cloves dominating heavily.

Beautiful roasted malt initially, sweetness and roast bittering in perfect balance. The middle is lovely and light, like a meringue it keeps the sweetness going to the finish when the bittering arrives, it's Cascade so gives a nice depth rather than a blunt snap. The spices linger on the tongue beautifully, nutmeg and most noticeably cinnamon.

Only criticism is the cloves are slightly too powerful for my palate.

7/10 A fine Christmas spiced beer, better than many this site has reviewed, similar to this, but with more spice. Would not be disappointed if I was served this in a pub.

A bottle of homebrew provided by Rimski, have a go yourself with the recipe here.

Thanks Alesbymail.com

2011-02-02T20:10:00.007Z

A huge thanks goes out to online beer merchant Ales by mail, we've had a soft spot for them since they gave us a free tshirt at GBBF but now its special.

They have grouped up with Alex at All Beer to create the ultimate beer tasting selection.

The case features a walk through of all the main beer syles, from Lambic to Lager, from Pilsner to Porter. Combined with the All Beer Experiance Pack of hop and malt tasting samples.

Plenty of detail and experiance here for newbies or those who already know their beer.

Can't wait to review, i think only a whole evening of appreciation for both Bunker members will do.

Keep your eyes peeled for the review and live tasting on twitter next week!

Nelsons Revenge (Woodfordes) 4.5%Abv

2011-02-02T18:28:00.004Z

Pops and pours with perfect bc carbonation, a lovely copper colour. The smell is delicious, like fresh wet hops, powerful citrus.

The first taste is fantastic malty sweetness, a really clean flavour that echos into caramel. Gentle hints of smokiness in the middle are quickly met by a powerful bittering. Big clear hops in action here, depth and diversity of bittering is mixed back in with that malty caramel from earlier.

8/10 An unexpected delight, fantastic sweet malt and crisp hops. Lovely.

Thanks to Woodforde's for providing, you can buy their beers here, you can even have a go at homebrewing this beer with one of their kits!

First Gold (Badger)

2011-02-01T13:07:00.001Z

Is it me or does nearly every ale have "award winning" on the bottle these days?

This one proudly proclaims it's a "world champion", winning double gold at the "Brewing Oscars", or Brewing Industry International Awards in 2005. In fact Badger are so proud of this one they've even given it its own URL.

It pours a chestnut brown with a thin, but foamy and persistent head. The nose is rather citrus, and hoppily pungent. Its 4%abv, so fairly weak.

The body is fairly thin, and a minor hint of smoke gives way swiftly to a fruity, mildly metallic mid-section.

The chart on the back gives it 4/5 bitterness, and its hard to disagree. They only use a single hop in this one, the eponymous First Gold, the bittering is pleasant although a little one dimensional.

Probably a food-accompanying ale due to its consistency and strength, this is ok beer, and if you prefer your ale bitter perhaps a fine choice for a session bottle. For me, a touch more balance and flavour would be a welcome addition, although don't tell Oscar I said so.

6/10 - Good beer but not the "wow" I was expecting. If you're a bitter flavour fan then add +1 for its hop punch.

- The Broadside

The Kings Shipment (Compass) 6%Abv

2011-01-31T18:13:00.001Z

Cracks with the slightest pop, a very limited head on the pour. Pale golden, aromas of orange light pine and a bit of toffee sweetness.

Gentle sweet malt to start is quickly followed by a fresh blast of oak, this seems to amplify the sweetness and caramel taste. Following that is a very fresh piney punch of hop bittering that lingers along with he caramel to the end.

7/10 A cracking oaked beer that gives a nice twist to the standard IPA.

Thanks to Compass Brewery for providing, you can find out more about their beers here.

Thanks Compass Brewery

2011-01-30T17:18:00.004Z

A big thanks to the Compass brewery who have sent these beers to be reviewed for the bunker.

Based in Oxford they have three core beers Baltic Night Stout, The King’s Shipment IPA, and Isis Pale Ale. All sound fantastic and we can't wait to review.

Old Bob (Greene King)

2011-01-28T22:22:00.006Z

I'm starting to get the suspicion that Greene King frets about its popularity amongst real ale drinkers. Here's another brand from the past, resurrected for a GK drink, much like the banner of Tolly Cobbold was for Phoenix (6/10).

Founded in 1842, Ridley's was the longest established brewer in Essex until 2005 when, struggling under high debt, Ridleys was bought up by it's behemoth East Anglian neighbour. The plant was closed and the brand assimilated into the wider GK business.

Old Bob is a "Strong Premium Ale", and at 5.1% abv they're not wrong about the clout.

It pours fairly flat, with a whiff of toffee and grass on the nose and a deep potent chestnut colour. The brief suggestion of a head makes a fast exit within seconds, like a sweetshop robber making off with a marshmallow.

First taste is a bit toffee, with some slidey citrus flavours segueing into darker fruit. It's quite pleasing, and the biscuit-malt lilt at the tail end is verging to sweet but capped off by a brush of hoppy bitterness.

The brewers making this have done some good work here - there's no doubt this is a sweet beer, but the tangy fruit and hops really staple it down so that it has no chance to become sickly.

The alcohol carries gravitas throughout, and the final effect is a creamy, robust cold-weather pint, well suited to the bottle.

I'll likely never get a chance to sample the original Ridley brews, but whatever you think of large brew corporations hoovering up smaller competition, this still stands as a fine ale.

7/10 - A fine example of acrobatic balance in the stronger pint. Rich, creamy quality.

Arrogant Bastard (Stone)

2011-01-26T21:05:00.003Z

Pours a darker than expected malty brown, with perfect fizz and head. The aroma is delicious but again surprising, gentle pine and caramel malt but that's all. No huge blast of nuclear dry hopping.

The initial malt, where do you start, it's one of the most unique thinks I've tasted. It gives an instant roasted bitterness, followed by a deep malt taste, leading to some beautiful caramel sweetness. Its almost like caramel centred choclates, the flavours building as released, coating the mouth.
The finish follows in perfect balance, a flash and a bang of hops deliver razor sharp bittering, followed by some delicate pineapple fresh fruit notes that join the lingering malt caramel perfectly.

I had big expectations for this beer, it has an aura that crosses continents. I was expecting a nuclear dry hopped strong pale ale. It's far more classy than that. Critically, it's the malt that's the star of the show not the hops, it's very unique, balances dry bitterness and sweet caramel perfectly.

10/10 Bold, unique and balanced. A tour de force for your beery tastebuds

For those interested here is my attempt to Homebrew a clone of this beer

T.E.A. (Hogs Back)

2011-01-26T18:21:00.002Z

Pours with very little fizzy, the foamy head comes with a bit of a push at the end. A very malty nose, big hints off toffee.

The tongue is subject to an initial tingling blast of carbonation, sharp and fizzy like lemonade. Hidden after this is a deep malty taste, not sweet but rather dry. The middle is rather fruity, leading to tangy sharp lingering end. The finish is rather thin, a bit watery and lacking in hop notes, a slight hint of toffee.

3/10 Far too fizzy, thin and bland, tastes like malty commercial lager. I imagine this tastes better on cask with less fizz.

Maple Moon (Joseph Holt)

2011-01-24T18:23:00.001Z

Here's something different.

Joseph Holt of Manchester is a family brewery, that has stayed in the same lineage for four generations. They brew three bottled beers, and Maple Moon is a 2005 IBA silver medal winner which has started appearing in Tesco and Sainsbury's of late.

It's 4.8%abv and pours a nice clean amber colour. No caramel is used in the brewing process, but it is flavoured with a touch of maple syrup, which can be caught underscoring the malty scent.

The first taste is firm and beery, solid malt sweetness. I approached this with a degree of apprehension as I'm not overly keen on extra ingredients being wriggled into my pint, which often come to nought (all the "brewed with honey" clones I'm talking about you..), yet maple seems to fit the bill perfectly.

The length is substantial and offers enough hops to qualify as beer, yet the ticklish maple upturn at the end of the sup is a pure delight. It comes as a small puff of sweetness, which is neither cloying nor rough, and suggests the pint would be a fine accompaniment to spicy dishes without lazering out the food taste with anaesthetising bitterness.

What's more, its moreish to the end of the glass, which for me shows they've hit the balance bullseye. The drink doesn't outstay its welcome, nor grow old in the glass (see Nutz).

I'd hesitate to call it a session beer, but for a delicious and satisfying draft of something different, I can thoroughly recommend this ale.

8/10 - Quenching, grippy and tasty, this is how speciality ale should be brewed.

- The Broadside

90 minute Imperial IPA (Dogfish) 9%Abv

2011-01-23T21:30:00.005Z

Pours a rather unassuming caramel brown, unleashes a beautifully sweet smell, liked treacle and melted muscovado sugar.

It hits the tongue like a car crash, a speeding muscle car of sweet malt, big caramel, and an almost lemon sharpness. Like an explosion it then engulfs every corner of the mouth, like a rich barleywine, it's clear this beer is potent. Like Rum soaked sweet raisins this beer is rich and warming.

The finished is not a hell hopped IPA (they boast about dry hopping through out), no big dry hop smells or pine notes. It's sutbly bitter, but not enough to even attempt to compete with the rich boozey malt.

9/10 A rich, boozey malt epic. Potent, yet dangerously drinkable,

Celebration (Sierra Nevada) 6.8%Abv

2011-01-23T20:34:00.003Z

Made with the fresh hop harvest, an IPA for the holiday season.

Pours with beautiful snow drift foam, a gorgeous toffee brown. The aroma is not big dry hops, but a lovely fresh spiciness, think candy apples.

The malt is sweet and welcoming, no tanginess or dry bitterness, flooding into a tidalwave of caramel and toffee, coating the sides of the mouth. The finish is a mix of gentle bittering, mixed with some beautiful spice notes, cinnamon, nutmeg, before leading to a balanced but noticeable dry hop bitterness, it's not Torpedo, but it's close.

8/10 A winter treat, sweet warming malt with lovely gentle spiciness. It's their Torpedo relaxed in a Christmas jumper.

Chimay - Red (Bieres de Chimay)

2011-01-22T20:32:00.007Z

Off to Belgium we go.

Chimay Red (or Premiere as it is sometimes known) is a Trappist beer in the dubbel style - Belgian heavy bodied strong brown ale.

The brewery is worthy and characterful - not only do they also make cheeses but the proceeds of sales are solely for monastery support and the good of community projects and local charities in the area. If you fancy a cheese/beer collision experience then I suggest trying to get hold of their "Chimay With Beer" which has a rind soaked in ale. Those monks know how to make a strong brew - the red weighs in at 7%abv, whilst it's senior blue brother a hefty 9%.

It pours a murky pool-hall brown with a high persistent head. The nose is fruity and figgy with a touch of cloves.

In the mouth the beer is ably fizzy and alive, yet full bodied and creamy too, lots of physics to go on. The sup is quite yeasty without being grungy, and has a mild stickiness.

Minimal fruit sweetness yields to a nice nutty mid section, and the tail note is a vibrant fusion of maltiness and bitter hops.

Extremely pleasant and drinkable, this is a Belgian treasure for those in search of full-bodied session ale.

8/10 Characterful and potent Trappist ale.

- The Broadside

60 minute IPA (Dogfish) 6%Abv

2011-01-20T17:30:00.003Z

Hand delivered by a friend from the US, this is a beer of some repute. Continually hopped over a 60minute period to create a "session IPA"

Pops open with a gentle fizz, pours beautifully clear a golden Amber. The aroma is not overwhelming, but clear notes of sweet oranges and piney hop stand out.

The malt is rather light, a clean sweet taste that doesn't dominate. It leads to a surprising biscuity middle, rather reminiscent of some English ales, Wadworth etc. The finish is a full blown hop blast, but with as much diversity as depth, grassy notes, hints of oak, more biscuit, and a bitterness that resonates to a wonderful dry finish. The brewery compare it to a Chardonnay, and in a strange way I am really compelled to agree with them.

7/10 A very drinkable session IPA, biscuity, balanced with some lovely diverse flavours.

Thanks Woodforde's!

2011-01-19T23:01:00.000Z

A fine package arrived in the post this morning from our friends at Woodforde's in Norfolk.

Woodforde's has gained profile in the past few years, culminating in "Wherry" being named Regional Cask Ale of the Year at the Great British Pub Suppliers Awards in 2010.

You can find Woodforde's beers in many supermarkets, off-licenses, or from their online shop.

Henry's IPA (Wadworth)

2011-01-18T21:37:00.009Z

Here's the lowish strength standard IPA offering from Wadworth, HQ brewery of favourite Bunker Station 2 local The Goat and Tricycle.

The prospect is quite interesting, as mostly IPAs arrive in the 4%+ and upwards strength, but this is a modest 3.6%. Can it cut the India-bound odyssey mustard?

It pours cleanly with a pale gold colour and a tempting wooshy hint of flowery hops in the scent.

First sip is a touch sour, a vaguely biscuity malt opening gambit tending to bitter but not overly so. Wadworth are well known for their biscuity pints, 6x being almost a liquid hob nob, but here it's an echo.

The mid note is thin and it drifts pretty hurriedly to a sort of sourish fug that isn't really very appealing in contrast to some of the awesome IPAs on the market.

The IPA marque has become quite synonymous with rich, varied hoppy taste and power, and with Henry's Wadworth doesn't appear to have stepped forward into that clique, much like Greene King.

I think perhaps this would be a reasonably marketed pale or best, but with IPA on the label the punter will expect more, something along the lines of St Austell's classic Proper Job, Brewdog's formidable Hardcore or the flawless Meantime IPA . IPA in 2011 is about a hop wonder experience, with so much choice available to the buyer.

That said, this is a decent draft session beer which I've ordered in the pub a few times, but unfortunately nothing special in the bottle.

4/10 - Fairly two dimensional, neither powerful nor appealing enough for today's bottled IPA market.

- The Broadside

Chimera Dark Delight (Downton)

2011-01-16T18:26:00.003Z

After drinking the superb Chimera IPA from Downton Brewery I was looking forward to this Dark Delight.
Pours with an immense amount of fizz, a dark brown, lighter than expected. The nose is light coffee, but more intriguingly a plummy fruitiness.

The roasted malt dominates, giving a rather sharp taste that cuts through the palate, gentle hints of caramel. Fruity berry notes are noticeable but not overpowering, leaving a finish that is rather tangy.

5/10 A rather disappointing ale that lacks any clear character, too sharp and tangy.

Guinness Original (Guinness)

2011-01-09T18:00:00.000Z

The Bunker takes on one of the leviathan products of the century. I grew up (well, from my teens) with guinness on draught - although don't touch it these days. So how does this 4.2%abv classic shape up?

It pours a deep, dark brown rather than pitch black. The nose is a little odd for a stout, a sort of metallic hobnob aroma. It's not unpleasant and the coffee coloured head foams away for a bit.

The texture is thin and prickly rather than fizzy, rather watery compared with some of the other fine stouts on these pages. First taste is a clatter of smoky aluminium, with a not displeasing soil over-note. The sup tends to veer to dry in the tail, with mild hop bittering and a little acidity.

It's not unpleasant and I found myself galloping through it quite briskly. The problem is it's lacking depth, and for me a stout should be rich and, well, stout in character, which this doesn't achieve.

Between this and mainstream lagers I'd go for this. Between this and most other offerings in these pages I'd opt for the heartier stuff.

6/10 - Beats it's draught brother easily but too thin and unexciting for the stout class.

- The Broadside

Guardsman (Windsor & Eton) 4.2%Abv

2011-01-08T19:43:00.002Z

Cracks open with perfect carbonation, a beautiful foamy head. A wondrous aroma of oak mingled with toffee sweetness.

The initial malt is beautifully distinctive, fresh and creamy, Maris Otter at it's best. Blended with this is the lovely oaky flavours, perfectly matched to the malt, avoiding some of the Inns and Gunn bold desert sweetness. The finish is rather tangy, pronounced bittering but rather unique, dodging the fruit and zest cliches.

8/10 A delicious oaky and unique best bitter. The best oaked beer I've had to date.

Porter (Sierra Nevada)

2011-01-01T19:53:00.003Z

Pours as close to black as you can get, only narrowest waves of light pass through. The aroma is shy and unassuming, hints of toffee and roasted malt, but no big coffee or hop aromas.

The initial taste is dominated by a big malt, roasted to the edge of stout, delivering bitterness without sharpness and gentle sweet undertones. A rather smooth middle leads to a finish that refuses to assert a dominant claim on the beer, mellow hop bittering mixed with the slightest of toffee sweetness.

5/10 A capable balanced porter, but lacks anything to distinguish it from even the most average rivals.

Master Brew (Shepherd Neame)

2010-12-28T16:21:00.006Z

Kentish brewers Shepherd Neame proclaim this beer to be their "local hero", widely drunk from Sevenoaks to Margate. It's known as "Master Blaster" by the locals.

The cap lifts off with a pneumatic hiss, and tosses up a wealth of Kentish hop aroma. The colour is a pleasing light amber.

It's idiosyncratic as pretty much all SN beers are, their particular hop/yeast mix proving very recognisable. This 4%abv ale is a commandingly steady drink though, and a good flagship for a brewery that is often associated only with Spitfire and Bishops Finger in the supermarkets.

The opening note is blink of crystal malt sweetness, followed by a grassy and dry main draft. The signature Kentish hops leave a bitter and crisp finish, perfectly session pitched in length. This is the definition of a year-long all rounder for those who can adjust to the slightly "back of the mouth" taste of the local hops.

7/10 - Pleasing and capable everyday ale. Very Shepherd Neame in a good way.

- The Broadside

Espresso (Dark Star)

2010-12-27T18:09:00.003Z

Black as espresso with a delightful cappuccino head. The smell has noticeable undertones of coffee, but is lead by a charcoaly heavily roasted malt.

Deep roasted malt fills the palate to start, a slightly burnt edginess cracks the tongue like a whip. Charcoal is a key flavour here, holding middle to account before before leading us to our warming finish. It's as hoppy as it is coffee, pronounced bitterness hits then lingers, mellowing and leaving you feeling like you have just drunk cold coffee. A journey for the taste buds of beer, coffee, beer, coffee.

8/10 The best speciality beer I've had. Beer and coffee in perfect harmony.

Thanks to Dark Star for providing, if you haven't heard of them or drunk their superb beers, I encourage you to do so.

Past Masters XX Strong Ale (Fuller's)

2010-12-27T17:14:00.005Z

A new release from Fuller's as part of their Past Master's range, a series of beers brewed using recipes from their brewers log dating back to 1845. This one comes from 1891.

Pours with a devious fizz, perfectly bottle conditioned, not as dark as I expected, a lovely Amber brown. Fruity and floral aroma, sweet nosed.

Big dry malt takes charge on the initial sip, followed big fruit ripe flavours, plum, and also marmalade orange. The hopping is noticeably generous, but giving a lovely bitterness intertwined with the fruity middle, rather than a bold IPA style finish.

A lively spicy finish, of cloves and pepper, wrapped on a delicious mellow lingering sweetness. Reminiscent of, but different to ESB.

8/10 A beautifully matured, fruity ale, clearly of a different era. One to try.
The Past Master's range is available to buy from the Fuller's shop here

Seafarer's Ale (Fullers)

2010-12-26T15:42:00.004Z

Brewing stalwarts Fuller's have taken this 4.2% abv George Gale branded beer under their wing, and will donate a percentage of sale proceeds to the Seafarers UK charity.

It's well carbonated and pours with a fizzy tumult. The drink is crisply golden and sports a hearty white head, which loiters for a while.

The nose is a light hoppy puff with a smidge of tobacco. First sip is fairly yeasty, lots of bread in a rather Wadworth-esque taste. It's very drinkable though, some nice clippings of grass through the length to end zestily, with fine employment of (aptly) Admiral Hops to level out with bitterness.

It comes across as a sort of IPA-lite, but for me could perhaps benefit from having a touch more bitterness in the tail. Still, a fine drink as you'd expect from one welcomed into the Fuller's stable.

7/10 - Very good beer, a sensible buy even without the donation to a fine cause.

- The Broadside

Phoenix (Greene King)

2010-12-25T22:16:00.004Z

Here's brewery giants Greene King aiming to resurrect the auspicious Tolly Cobbold mark, with a suitably resurgent mythical bird brand.

It pours a deep chestnut with a floaty wisp o' white head, and the whiff is slight, sweet and fruity.

The first draft is of brown sugar malts, fairly sweet and deep with a turn of dark fruits, raisins and slice of faint orange. The length of it introduces a touch of tea .

It's vaguely toasty but not really very lively. The flavours, whilst winterish and well-mixed, don't really amount to an exciting drink, nor due to the sweetness one that is very session-oriented.

It's capable enough, and I'm sure the massed ranks of beta testers and tasting panels have contributed to what is a drinkable pint, just not one to write home about.

Still, being an East Anglian, it's nice to see Tolly on the label again, let's hope a few more beers come out under the banner.

6/10 - Decent beer, but lacking a touch of spark to set it aside on the shop shelf.

- The Broadside

Sussex Gold (Arundel)

2010-12-23T12:26:00.006Z

Arundel Brewery is noted for having done pretty well in various SIBA categories over the years, most notably with it's Sussex Mild.

With that not to hand, let's have a go at the Sussex Gold, their well-selling 4.2%abv ale.

It pours with a fine standard gold colour, and a fresh white head dissipates swiftly. The nose is a bunch of malt, with some grass and slight citrus, mostly lemon, carrying in the air.

On the palate it's much of the same, with sweet malt and a sharpish citrus jab providing an initial flurry of taste, although oddly it seems to drop off mid-draft, and has few discernable features through the middle.

A touch of mulchy, butter flavour slips through as a vector, and it ends crisply enough, but with little bittering it lacks any real character beyond the malt-fruit handshake.

It could be seen as sessiony but the carbonisation is a touch too aggressive for my taste, one less squirt on the soda-stream button would have been my preferred pitching for this beer, this one might be better on draught.

4/10 - Not enough here to be too enthusiastic about. Others offer more in the golden genre.

- The Broadside

India Pale Ale (Meantime)

2010-12-22T18:04:00.007Z

The brewery is very proud of this beer, and understandably so, its won many awards, and even has a page devoted to its heritage.

The cork pops gently, like champagne's less pretentious brother. Pours a beautiful Amber, the smell is outstanding, floral, fresh pine, hints of caramel.

Initially slight bitter on the tongue, developing to a more warming malt, sweetness and equal fruity bitterness dance hand in hand into every corner of the mouth, amplifying the malt again and again.

The finish is a diverse echo of hops reminding you this a IPA of pedigree. A long lingering finishes of reoccurring fruit notes, not overly dry, with final note of raw malt husks.

10/10 Outstanding, without doubt the best English style IPA I've had. A very special beer.

Time for you History lesson : The history of the IPA has more myth than fact, I'm not going to begin to try and cover it here, when so many people have done such amazing work on it. If you are interested i suggest you read the following, as like QI most things you know are probably wrong. Zythophile has an excellent blog, with a well a researched article here
The excellent Shut up about Barclay Perkins blog, also has several great articles here

Failing that, you could just drink it and enjoy it.

Harry's Havest Pale Ale (Purbeck)

2010-12-21T17:47:00.003Z

Beautiful smells burst out on pouring, wet summer grass, delicate floral notes, even gentle fruit. The colour is a lovely Amber with perfect BC carbonation.

An initially unassuming malt develops into gentle sweetness and crisp dryness in equal measure. The Purbeck yeast normally gives a dominant middle of charcoal smokiness, but in this beer its far more mellow, even offering more biscuity notes instead. The finish is beautiful, a perfectly measured bang of hops, not a blunt numbing of bitterness but a delicate whirlwind of fresh crisp citrus, and lingering dry pepper.

8/10 A fantastic fresh and balanced hop wonder. Perfect crisp refreshment.

Hedge Monkey (Glastonbury Ales)

2010-12-20T19:22:00.010Z

Glastonbury Ales is an operation born of the famous festival, and their ales seem to be cropping up in a few supermarkets around the country.

The distribution and sales operations seem to be a bit more on the ball than their blog, which gets updated once a year at present - unfortunate as it''s advertised on their main website. Tsk!

Anyhow, what matters is the ale. It pours an attractive deep amber and smells alluringly hoppy. The head is filmy and white, and some nice carbonisation tickles the glass.

The draft is initially a chompload of malt, and follows through with some gentle smoke and biscuit. The tail end is a lather of piney hops, yet it cuts off neatly, and like a standard hollywood movie doesn't have too much bitterness in the epilogue. The 4.6%abv is well pitched to the taste.

It comes across as a form of IPA-light, and is the sort of pint that invites another sip, this is squarely session beer.

Being a bit of a festival buff, I'd certainly seek this out at a tent, and for that matter in a pub or anywhere else. Cracking, beguiling, pleasant and simple ale. Good work Glasto!

7/10 - Very drinkable session beer. A delicious annual all-rounder.

- The Broadside

Conqueror Black IPA (Windsor & Eton)

2010-12-17T20:18:00.006Z

A Black IPA? Madness. However with my love for dark ales and Ed's propensity for IPAs have we found the ideal Bunker pint?

Here it is, in my hand, in possibly the smartest looking bottle I've seen this year. This is a relatively unusual beer type in the UK, with Thornbridge's Raven IPA the only other I'm aware of. The Americans are slightly more used to it with their "Cascadian Dark Ale" variant, a craft type familiar to many over there.

Windsor historically was a thriving brewing town, and new operation Windsor & Eton are aiming to bring the name back to being representative of fine beer.

It pours a deep black, with a fleeting brown head. Once the head disappears others may well think you have a pint of coke on the go, sitting flatly with a scrying mirror darkness.

The nose is a peculiar hybrid of roasted smells and pine, and is very welcoming in a wintry way.

First taste is a roasted malt explosion., and the nearest beer I can compare it to is Kingstone's marvellous Challenger. The bitterness is almost overwhelming and it makes no bones about being something other than a session drink. This is Event Beer, and a fine one at that.

The IPA character is plainly apparent here, it's hoppy, dry, strong (5% abv) and rather bitter, but like Challenger the bitterness becomes moreish the further down the pint one drinks.

Combine this with classic dark roasted flavours and this is makes for a wonderful creamy cold night pint. I can't wait to dig into the other two beers we have from W&E.

8/10 - Courageous and rewarding collision of ale styles. This brewery is one to watch.

- The Broadside

Anchor Steam Beer (Anchor)

2010-12-13T20:28:00.002Z

The smell is not overpowering or delicate, just a strong balance of whiskey noted malt, and gentle fresh hopping. The colour is the very definition of beer, a light golden brown.

The initial malt is very distinct, its like a familiar face that you know but can’t place, it reminds me more of fine whiskeys I’ve drunk than of beers, with its unique tangy sweetness. The middle demonstrates glimpses of biscuit and fruit, and leads you like a kind maître’d to the finale. In keeping with what’s preceded it the finish is, well, polite. Its not an overstated crescendo of hops, nor a brash American IPA, its a perfectly measured hop bittering to compliment the malt that came before it. Slight floral undertones dance with the initial malt.

Its like the spinning top of beer, an example of equilibrium away from the battles of malt vs hops IPAs.

7/10 An example in balance, the dictionary definition of beer. If the Russians had won the cold war, this would have been the beer of the Communist States of America.

30th Anniversary Imperial Helles Bock (Sierra Nevada)

2010-12-12T19:56:00.004Z

A unique beer brewed as part of the celebrations for the 30th Anniversary of Sierra Nevada. This is Charlie, Fred and Ken’s Imperial Helles Bock.

It pours a golden light brown with a beautiful foamy snow white head. Bountiful aromas of wet grass and light fruit, specifically cantaloupe melon and satsuma’s.

The initial malt is distinct, flooding the palette with a sweet but dry rounded flavour. No big ripe fruit in the middle, no biscuit crunch, you are left with a moment consolidate as the big alcohol builds like a heartbeat towards the showpiece finish.

The ending is sweet and rich, like gin soaked raisins, with an authoritive stamp of bitterness. Strong notes of cracked black pepper on the finish linger on the tongue.

8/10 A beautiful beer, well crafted and critically well balanced. Brewed to match a traditional style, but falling slightly short of expectations for such a special occasion.

A note of Thanks : This beer arrived as a gift from a friend in California, it kindly travelled in his luggage all the way over to the UK, sadly two bottles of Tumbler didn’t. This review is devoted to his stained suitcase, his soaked clothes, and the frantic dry cleaning he had to do on arrival in the UK. Thanks Bushy!

Proper Job (St Austell)

2010-12-09T18:31:00.004Z

A powerfully hopped Cornish IPA is what the bottle promises, and it delivers. Its bottle conditioned which is always lovely to see, but it pour with a near perfect head and fizz. A lovely fresh aroma of grassy hops builds expectation to the first sip.

It starts with an unexpected sweet caramel taste, with a lovely tongue coating creaminess, shut your eyes you could be drinking the draught product here. What follows in this initial surprise is a dial tone of hopiness and bitter notes. It starts midway through the taste and grips the taste buds until the finish and beyond.

8/10 A fantastic bottled beer, perfectly conditioned, a smooth but powerful IPA.

Thanks to St Austell, you can buy their beers here

Cheshire Brown Ale (Marks & Spencer)

2010-12-09T17:28:00.003Z

I have to be honest its up there as one of the least exciting ales I’ve seen on a shelf, as a result it was the last of the Marks & Spencer winter seasonal range to review.

It smells of fudge, toffee and crumbly brown sugar. The colour, well its not just brown, but a rather delightful caramel.

Big powerful malt to start, sweet, blending into more creamy fudge flavours coating the mouth. The middle has pockets of ripe fruit bursting through but not overpowering the initial creaminess, hints of hazelnut give a lovely depth of flavour. Gentle hopping at the end provides balance and fresh finish.

8/10 A wonderful sweet malty fudge of a beer. Great for all seasons, the pick of the range for me.

Thanks! St Austell

2010-12-09T12:24:00.001Z

The bunker was very impressed with St Austell Tribute 8/10, and the near legendary Admirals Ale 10/10, so we were particularly pleased when St Austell sent us the above to review the rest of the range.

Looking forward to reviewing! You can buy there beers here as well as in most good Supermarkets.

Winter Ale (St Peter's)

2010-12-08T17:15:00.000Z

St Peter's , the Bungay brewery, gets a second review this week with their beguiling Winter Ale - perfect for an evening by the stove when outside resembles Tromso in the depths of the Norwegian winter night.

St Peter's claim this is a ruby ale on the label, although up against the light only the faintest trace of a murderous red frames the solid darkness.

Really, it's a highly charged porter to my eye, as the label warns of a weighty 6.3%abv.

The head is lacy and fluffy, and the solidness of the pint makes it look like it weighs a ton. The nose is all chocolate, peatiness and malty molasses, only mulled wine could smell more wintry.

The first taste is delightfully munchy coffee/toffee/dark fruit with edges of caramel. I got a pinch of cinnamon at the back, possibly a fleeting winter mirage. The carbonisation is soft and perfectly pitched.

If I were to give any drawback, its that perhaps the texture is a little thin for a winter comforter, perhaps a creamier pint might have seemed slightly more apt. This just keep keeps it off the 9 spot for me, although as gripes go it's pretty tiny. What the texture does though, is make it remarkably quaffable for a 6%+ drink.

Finely bittered out at the death of the taste, just enough to tip the balance back from the heavy initial flavours, it's a gorgeous pint. I'm not sure who is doing the quality checks at St Peter's, but I hope those tastebuds are insured. Easy drinking strong seasonal beer.

8/10 - St Peter's strikes gold again. Insulating hearty ale.

- The Broadside

Ginger Ale (Marks & Spencer) 6%Abv

2010-12-07T19:13:00.004Z

Strong aromas of freshly grated wet Ginger. Pours lighter than expected a very dark mahogany.

The first taste is fresh and sweet, and well, very gingery. This progresses into a more recognisable maltiness and beery taste, with nice hints of biscuit, Ginger nuts obviously. The finish is lacking somewhat, apart from the obvious powerful Ginger flavours. Beyond that it lingers on the palate like, dare I say it, a can of coke. Yep, this beer actually tastes rather too similar to Ginger Coke.

Maybe it's unfair to review this as a "beer" it is after all labelled as a "Ginger ale" ? The ingredients list "Glucose syrup" as a main ingredient, the taste of which is all to prevalent, making this taste more like a soft drink than a beer.

3/10 This really could be sold in cans as Coke Ginger

Farmers Glory (Wadworth)

2010-12-07T17:00:00.000Z

Wadworth kindly sent through a nice selection box of their ales recently, this is the first out and opened.

An unassuming bottle with a simple green label, Farmers Glory promises a "celebration of the hard work and fruits of our agricultural industry", so big love out to any farmers reading.

In the pour its Proper Standard Beer, a regulation but comforting chestnut brown. Malt and hops carry on the scent, and the smell promises balance.

First sup and through the sizable malty front door a sweet and orangey fruit hallway presents itself, along with light fixtures of strawberry and laced with a carpet of nuttiness. It's Christmas pudding tasty, if that pudding were to contain no dark fruit, or brandy. Perhaps another cake metaphor needed.

The alcohol (4.7%) isn't very prominent, and that's testament to the brewers guile. Unfortunately for me the end note is a touch crude on the hops, its a sort of gripey hop wallop which doesn't really extend with grace away from the initial sweet tastes. The final taste is a sort of mingled sweet-bitter. I'm a big fan of balance, but I do prefer it to be in the mid-taste and then pinch off gracefully or extend with clarity.

Make no mistake though, this is Good Beer, and certainly one I'd head for in a session at the pub.

6/10 - A solid opener from the Wadworth box. Good ale brewed with care.

- The Broadside

Festivity (Bath Ales)

2010-12-06T19:55:00.002Z

A deep dark porter, pours with beautiful coffee powdered foam. The aroma is toffee and lightly roasted coffee.

Intial light sweetness, like muscovado sugar, gives way to fuller more rounded light fruity flavours, hints of cherry maybe.

The finish is dry and bitter, like an expresso coffee it lingers on the tongue, with a slightly spicy, slightly warming rum end.

7/10 A beautifully balanced winter porter, lacks some of the special spiciness for a Christmas beer.

Old-Style Porter (St Peter's)

2010-12-05T00:00:00.006Z

St Peter's of Bungay have been well reviewed so far at the Bunker, their Ruby Red and Best Bitter both scoring fine 7s . Suffolk is blessed with many fine brewers but this classy traditional operation, which bottles in it's trademark oval green glass, is a margin of quality above most.

Porters have a high bar to hit at the Bunker, as we've had some absolute corkers of late. The Flying Dog and Wickwar porters both hit fine 8s, and the Harviestoun and Fullers efforts were just sublime at 9/10.

At the bottle-cap hiss a pleasing air of chocolate framed with slight coffee wafts up, proper porter smells. Against the light it's actually quite opaque, blood ruby light straining through the dark brown murk.

The head is slight, and never rises on the pour, quickly vanishing to a memory. The first sup is fairly thin, and compared to an 8.7% monster such as Flying Dog Gonzo, almost watery. However, I stress in comparison because second or third tastes reveal a subtle and quite delicious drink.

No slouch on the alcohol at 5.1%ABV, the first note is thoroughly porter chocolate laced with raisin. It's less roasty than other porters I've tried, but seems not to suffer for it. The body is medium, cosy, with toffee/chocolate and is a fine precursor to a lightly smoky extended finish, punctuated by gentle bittering.

Old-Style Porter starts drinkable and only gets more so as the glass goes down. Delicious session beer, will we discover a bad porter?

8/10 - Excellent light porter. An accomplished example of traditional dark ale.

- The Broadside