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

Breaker (Bays) 4.7%Abv

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.

Tribute (St Austell) 4.2% Abv

Snow white foamy head, pours crystal clear caramel. The hops are beautifully sweet smelling, very similar to an American style.

The malt is gentle not brash, its followed by a huge caramel sweetness, a smooth and creamy middle. No big chunky middle of fruit or yeast. The finish is still sweet but turning more citrus, flavours of sweet oranges coming through instead of big hops or bitterness. One criticism would be the fizz/head which disappears very quickly after pouring, a Bottle Conditioned version would be something to saviour.

8/10 Gorgeously drinkable, a smooth, sweet caramel, premium ale.

49'er (Ringwood)

Pours a lovely deep golden with hints of copper and a creamy toffee head. The aroma is sweet, but not fruity, more gentle toffee sweetness.

Its a gentle malt, that floods with caramel and a crisp refreshing taste. The middle is a packed biscuit crunch leading to a strong bitter sweet finish that lingers gently.

6/10 A decent premium ale, full caramel and biscuit flavours.

Thanks to Ringwood for providing, You can buy Ringwood beers here, or in most good Waitrose and Tesco's.

London Pride (Fullers)

Pours a perfect light brown colour almost Tea colour, to me this is the colour of beer.

A full and beautiful malty taste washes through, filled with sweetness and a lovely hint of caramel. It finishes with a strong bitter finish that is well disguised within a smooth creaminess.

On draught this is the ultimate session beer for me, but the bottle is an entirely different beast, it lacks the creamy subtle and delicate flavours, instead providing abrupt punches of malt and bitterness that lack the class and flair of the pub pint.

4/10 On draught a thing of beauty, sadly the bottle disappoints.

Check out the full range here

Spitfire (Shepherd Neame)

Well, they maybe "Britain's Oldest Brewery" but they are certainly one of a very few brewers who use clear glass bottles. For me this spoils the excitement of a the pour a bit, its like finding your Christmas presents under the tree wrapped in cling film.

It pours a lovely light toffee colour, there is initial sweetness combined with a dry bitterness, followed by some unexpected delicate toffee notes, not what i was expecting.

It certainly has that Shepherd Neame distinctive yeast flavour, I'm sure some people must love it, but for me it cuts through the flavours and swamps them like a bag of dry roasted peanuts.

Where to drink : Parties where you don't know anyone, take a carrier bag of these with you, you won't mind dishing them out if required, you won't be labeled as a boring ale-man or as uncool, and if all else fails you can just enjoy them on your own.

5/10 thanks to those toffee high notes.