Windsor Knot (Windsor & Eton) - Royal Wedding Beer

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

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

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.

Guardsman (Windsor & Eton) 4.2%Abv

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.

Conqueror Black IPA (Windsor & Eton)

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