Bunker Summit no. 2

Bunker Summit Two was again a fine event. As well as myself and Ed, Glenn was on hand to voice his tasting judgements in a blind tasting session. We all bought four ales to try.

Home cooked food was once more provided by the master skills of Commandant Ed. This time a legendary Fuller's Porter steak and ale stew (Recipe here!) with garden vegetables provided the perfect interim energy boost.

The evening kicked off with an auspicious curtain raiser - a review session of Brewdog's AB:04, which isn't released until later this week, but was kindly sent to us for pre-launch review. You can read the full review on this site.

We then moved on to the main tasting event. The scores we gave were completely blind and are averaged below - we had no idea what the product was until the reveal.

Bright (Otter) 4.3%ABV - Summery blond with a tiny ping of spice, a bit uninteresting. (4)

Old Henry (Hobson's) 5.2% - Fireside amber, complex and peachy (7)

First Gold (Hopcloser) 4.6% - Ed's homebrew! (Full details of how that was made here) Rated very highly, sweet and tasty in the US style (7)

Banks's Bitter (Marstons) 3.8% - Short and malty, no finish, a bit budget (4)

Entire Stout (Hopback) 4.5% - Creamy but light stout. Refreshing for a black drink (6)

American IPA (Adnams) 6.8% - Very nice (Ed loves it) extremely citrussy, some tea and depth. Took the evening's Bronze Medal (8)

Organic Old Ruby Ale (Dutchy Originals) 5% - Inoffensive, probably nice with lamb (6)

Humpty's Fuddle (Kingstone) 5.8% - Floral and malty, not much hop for an IPA (7)

ESB (Fuller's) 5.9% - Delicious and the evening's Silver Medal Drink. Perfect balance (8)

Betty Stogs (Skinners) 4% - A bit unbalanced but some nice flavours (7)

Ipswich Pale Ale (St Judes) 4% - Bloody awful, "sewage in a bottle". We can only hope this one was off for the brewery's sake - our first (0)

London Porter (Fullers) 5.4% - Delicious and superbly balanced, a textbook fine porter. The evening's Gold Medal Drink (9)

Poacher's Choice (Badger) 5.7% - Loads of gamey flavours but polarised opinion, a marmite-reaction drink (4)

Vienna broadcast the goodnight national anthem very shortly after this one. Much fun.

Gold Medal - Fuller's Porter
Silver - Fuller's ESB
Bronze - Adnams American Style IPA

- The Broadside

Old Ruby Ale (Dutchy Originals)

Pours crystal clear copper with only hints of the expected ruby. Smells of light fruit and charcoal.

Taste is initial malt sweetness followed by a fruity middle of summer berries. Finish is gentle bitter with a tangy edge.

This says “Brewed in Oxfordshire” so i’m guessing its Wychwood, although no mention on the bottle. Reminds me very much of bottled Ringwood Old Thumper.

4/10 A rather gentle fruity beer that lacks any real stand out qualities.

Dutchy Originals Select Ale (Wychwood)

A bold ale with clear intent, strong aromas of raspberries and other summer fruit make their mark instantly.

A strong matured maltiness fills the palate, some sharper grapefruit flavours coming through. It finishes with a bitter and dry finish, leaving the strong nature of the beer hanging.

7/10 A mature beer of class.

Organic Ale (Dutchy Originals)

A lovely, almost coppery brown beer is released from this regal looking bottle. If the bottle is a reflection of the beer a classy beer of breeding is expected. Brewed by Wychwood using organic barley from the Highgrove estate.

It starts with a lovely gentle malt, sweet notes hit the palette, followed by a warming matured flavour that washes over the corners of the mouth. There is limited bitterness and a distinct lack of a IPA style hop kick, but what you do get is a warming Carmel flavour with beautiful biscuit malt.

When best enjoyed : At home when you want to gently saviour some gentle, full flavours without a high alcoholic strength.

7/10 As comforting as a caramel covered digestive….but much classier than that.