First Gold (Badger)

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

International Arms Race (Brewdog)

Bit of a novelty challenge from those nutters over at Brewdog this one - a zero IBU IPA, in the IPA style but using no hops....? Er..

Essentially a competition between like minded souls with the rebel-hearted US brewing company Flying Dog, the 7.5% alcohol BV is given length off the leash and the bittering and flavours come from berries, herbs, roots and whatnot.

You'd think it might taste a little plain if not downright rank. However, these chaps know how to brew and the aroma is fruity and alluring after the transient head disappears in seconds.

The sup is light for it's strength, herbal as you'd expect and fairly citrussy. The drinker experiences ginger, some aniseed traces and a light pepperyness.

It's pretty interesting but that's as far as I'd go. Hops have been in beers for gazillions of years and for good reason, I for one missed the crunch and whoosh of that hop hit, and the overall effect is of a stiff beer cordial.

Flying Dog also brewed a version for the showcase blind tasting event, I still don't quite know who won but everyone looks like they had jolly fun.

More power to them for this sort of thing, although for £3.99 a bottle, I'd probably head over to the Brouwerij Huyghe shelf for my quota of this kind of ale eccentricity.

6/10 - A decent enough beer but fun in the way you might find buying a dragonfruit fun at the supermarket. Nice to try the once but you're soon craving a good old apple.

The Broadside

Liberty Ale (Anchor)

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.

Old Timer (Wadworth)

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

Cock o'the Walk (Williams Brothers)

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.

Harvest Sun (Williams Brothers)

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.

Hop (Greene King)

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.

Phoenix (Greene King)

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

Farmers Glory (Wadworth)

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

Butty Bach (Wye Valley)

"A burnished gold premium ale, full bodied, smooth and satisfying. Serve with mustardy sausages with apple or rich mushroom risotto" - these are the rather specific food instructions on the label from Wye Valley.

It's bottle conditioned, 4.5%ABV and arrives in a smart little pot. A tidy label explains that the malt is crystal and the hops are Fuggles, Goldings and Bramling Cross (a new one to me).

The beer pours very clear and gold, and has the fastest dissipating head I've yet reviewed, in fact it looks rather like a quenching pint of apple juice once settled in the glass. The nose is full of oranges and has an almost pick n' mix trace of sweetness about it.

First taste is crisp malt with a fairly sizeable bread note. The fruit continues, and morphs between orange and grapefruit. The finish turns bitter, but not overly so and there is a slightly metallic aftertaste which fades to dry and is not unpleasant.

I'm probably drinking this in the wrong season as during the thermal clasp of summer this would have been just the ticket. As it is Bunker Station Two sits wind-locked in a minus four degree cold snap and moose have been sighted grazing on the cliff.

Still, with imagination this is a crisp, quenching summer beer and has some surprisingly novel flavours. None of them stand out enough for me to pick it out as truly special, but Butty Bach is by no means a poor option in the supermarket.

Decent soft golden beer, and one I'd like to try on draught.

6/10 - Like malty wine in its delicate blend of subtle flavours. Good refreshing session beer.

- The Broadside

Advent Ale (Hogs Back) 4.4%Abv

Pours like a dark bitter, glimmers of tawny peep through. Smells of dark chocolate and lightly burnt sugar.

Initial roasted malt, rich dark flavours follow with a wealth of coffee, molasses and liquorice.

Smooth fruit in the finish, blackberries and blueberries. Limited hop taste, a dry dark chocolate lingers.

6/10 A charming festive beer, one for a cold dark eve.

Old Growler (Nethergate)

It's certainly porter weather on the south coast. The balmy russet days of October are behind us now, and as The Broadside writes this the wind curls like a banshee around the trees outside Bunker Station Two.

Old Growler, randomly selected from many porters in the stocks, lurks in a no-nonsense bottle. A bulldog glares intently out, guarding the pitchy contents within. The beer proclaims itself a "supreme champion", although of what isn't so clear.

It pours black with a haze of ruby about the trim. Dark fruits, cherry and malts waft on the nose, and there is a slightly chalky background.

The carbonisation is prickly but not overdone. The beer is thin on the tongue, and laden with plenty of chocolate and old-school porter tastes. It conjures up pool-halls, in a pleasant way, although it's perhaps slightly too watery to claim to be a proper winter porter, almost (whisper it) lager like in constituency.

That said, the taste is flavoursome and easy. Toffee, earth and some adequate bitterness hallmarks the pint, but it's all blended in a fairly subtle manner and the focus is on approachable drinkability. The 5.5%abv carries the flavours adequately, and is pleasingly sturdy.

This is traditional stuff, and a credit to the Nethergate brewery. It goes down for me as a good pint, and certainly not one to avoid if on offer - don't be scared by the label.

6/10 - Pack your snooker cue and head out for an evening at the hall. This beer will keep you good company as you hustle. A subtle, tasty porter.

- The Broadside

IPA (Full Sail)

This is an American "English Style" IPA, hopped with Challenger and East Kent Goldings hops, can't get more English than that can you?

No big citrus in the aroma, just hints of ripe satsumas, no big dry hop smell.

Sweet malt with a dry bitterness to balance. The middle is limited, gentle sweet citrus that lingers to the end, involving with the hops. The finish is a blunt hammer of dry bitterness, less blended distinct flavours, more like a slap to the tounge.

6/10 A US IPA in all but the hops, which sadly lack depth and diversity.

Old Crafty Hen (Greene King)

Only a modest fizz is unleashed when poured from the bottle, enough to form a light creamy head and a nose of oranges and malt.

Rich, indulging sweet malt is first to the palate, very little in the way of bitterness. What follows is an aged taste that gets more fruity as it progresses, leaving a tart, sharp sweetness, like marmalade. The hopping is limited, with a slight lingering dryness, clearly an understudy to the rich malt.

6/10 Plenty of rich maltiness on show, but lacks the depth and balance to be a real classic. ESB and Youngs Special both do it better.

Holy Grail Ale (Black Sheep)

The nose is gentle citrus with a floral aroma, perhaps shrubs? It pours a clear gold, like a shining beacon of ale.

The taste is initial caramel, quite sweet, no big malt flavours. This is soon matched by a rather robust bitterness. A lingering gentle dryness stays on the tongue. Rather thin at points and lacks any big flavours of note, but does provide nice balance.

6/10 Very drinkable. Not too sweet, not to bitter, lighter than a duck.

Buy the beers from their online shop

Yorkshire Square Ale (Black Sheep) 5% Abv

Its a copper brown ale. The nose is malty with hints of toffee and sugar.

The opening taste is like of powerful but very smooth malt, this leads into more sweeter flavours of honey and maybe a touch of maple syrup. There is a subtle but definite yeasty bite to the middle. The finish is not of powerful hops but lingering dry bitterness and a delicate ripe fruitiness.

I know the brewery are very proud of their heritage and the Yorkshire Square Fermentation system, a traditional method dating back 200 years, using double stacked stone vessels. It's believed to give the beer a smoother taste and more pronounced bitterness, both of which i can happily say are present in this beer.

6/10 A respectable score, a good beer, if you like your beers malty smooth and dry I would encourage you to try this.

Wheat (Meantime)

Wheat beers. Yes, I know. Different, unusual, eclectic.

I've never really been the greatest fan, yet it was the least I could do to give the Meantime product a go, that venerable brewing institution being a continually reliable supplier of all things good in the ale world.

It's in an elegant ammunition casing bottle, tapered and elongated like the best of Suffolk Cru cider. It seems dark on the shelf, yet emerges from the bottle a crisp golden murk, a wheaty emulsified bullion of a beer. It smells Belgian and it looks it. The head is fine and blanched, and persists like a benign algae, suggesting extra biological life beneath it's auburn opaque depths.

The taste is wheaty of course, and is etched with the typical clove character of an ale harvested from such fields. It's less intrusive than the assertive likes of Hoegaarden, maintaining a subtle, drinkable veneer of inviting taste.

The bottle mentions notes of banana (yes), cloves (yes again) and toffee (perhaps) within the mix. The yeast strain is "genuine Bavarian".

The ale sits at 5% ABV, and is a fine example of what a wheat beer should aspire to. Personally, I prefer barley in my mix so can only grade it on my palate. I find it pleasant yet not moreish, a sociable figgy sup of a beer beside which I'd struggle to plant a flag, yet many would.

6/10 - A Good Beer. I'd head for this if the host had a limited range, but that strong soil/banana mix is not something The Broadside will ever crave.

- The Broadside

Ducks Folly (Goddard's)

Smells of toffee and fruity notes, instantly capturing the imagination as something a bit different.

Initial malt is followed by a wealth of flavours, all of which i struggle to pin down! Sweet but bitter malt, fruity notes, dates and raisins just some of those that made it to the note pad. The ABV is less well hidden with an alcoholic edge going toe to toe with the limited final bitterness.

6/10 An enigma of a beer, the hallmarks of a best bitter, but strong and full of fruity notes.

You can buy beer from the Isle of Wight here

Goldings (Shepherd Neame)

Even at the death of September, warm days are still alive on the south coast, so today it's the turn of "summer hop ale" Goldings, from Kentish brewers Shepherd Neame.

It's in their usual pot-bottle, 4.5% abv and pours clear and golden - a lion's mane of a colour which is beautiful in the fading afternoon light.

The nose is a little resiny with a touch of apple. The hops are complex but never overpowering. First draft is smooth and bubbly, but it's a springy piquant fizz rather than a tongue jacuzzi.

The taste as expected is summery and refreshing, and I wonder if perhaps I should have cooled it a little. Through the mainstay of the sip the pint throws tiny flowers about with a dusting of herbs. The opinion-polarising Neame yeast is there, but adds a slant of crunchy character rather than interfering too much.

The finish is abrupt and not very bitter. This is a beer for savouring on a sunny lawn and still being able to notice the scent of cut grass.

Allegations that could be made are that it's perhaps a little watery and not hoppy enough for the hopheads, but as a subtle ale with a hint of zest it's certainly built for purpose. This is one of the more user-friendly Neamish numbers, and I found it a pleasure to drink.

6/10 - Very agreeable, but perhaps lacking the character definition to tip it into the 7-grade bracket. If you dine al fresco frequently you'd do far worse than stock a few of these if spotted at the right price.

- The Broadside

Gunhill (Adnams)

Smells of roasted malt, pours a lovely ruby brown.

Taste is malty, crisp, not overley sweet. Hints of chocolate and maybe oranges?! Smooth finish, not bitter.

6/10 A lovely well balanced malty bitter.

Kindly provided by Adnams, buy a selection of their beers here.