Bunker Summit No. 6

And so it was another long overdue Bunker Summit took place, in the warming log-fire soothed vaults of Bunker Station No.1.

The format continued from previous soirees, with the three judges (myself, Ed and Summit regular Glenn) blind tasting 12 different ales, allotting scores which were then averaged in less than scientific manner, before the bottles were revealed. It's a bunch of fun this format, do try it yourself, each guest just brings 4 beers and keeps them concealed until after each has been rated.

A mention on the food before diving in to the ales, this time we had Ed's sublime homebrew-stout soaked ham served with two of my home baked breads, a white/wholemeal raisin plait and a Canadian oat and honey wholewheat loaf, accompanied by a bunch of cheeses and pickles. Yer-um.

So, cutting further ado on to the winners and losers of the night, replete with the patented* Bunker Gradings....

*not really

1. Organic Best Ale (Samuel Smiths) 5%

A very tidy start to proceedings. Lemony citrus on the nose with grass overtones. Length of it slightly grubby, but not uncomfortably so. We'd all have another. 6/10 

2. Belgian Wheat Beer (Marks & Spencer) 4.5% 

Brewed by Huyghe, this is a bright dazzler of a wheat beer, light, zingy and very fresh. Noted to be preferable with food, this is a Wheat Pride rainbow flag flying example of it's type, laced with coriander, herbs and spices. Rather not Glenn's cup of tea, which pulled the score down somewhat, but that's democracy.  6/10 

3. Jail Ale (Dartmoor Ales) 4.8% 

First salvo winner, a lovely malty easy drinker from Princetown with a lively pour but a bit of barging bitterness in the tail. Superior on draught but still proper tasty from the bottle.  7/10 

4. Glaslyn Ale (Purple Moose) 4.2% 

A Welsh micro-brewed ale and not really our cup of beer. After an initial apple scent the sup starts with a bit of a flavour crash as all the malt and hops collide in a big scrum, leaving an unsubtle gritty aftermath in the mouth. A little crude for us.  5/10 

5. 80/- (Williams Bros) 4.2% 

Wow. This beer, pronounced Eighty Shilling, is a marvel. Brown as an old tanned expat, this is proper rare Scottish heavy. It's all about the malt malt malt. If there are any hops in here we couldn't taste them, but wonderfully sweet and moreish with a rolling molasses length. A fruit cake in a glass, just delicious and the evening's Gold Medal winner.   8/10 

6. Horseshoe Special Reserve (Lizard Ales) 6.2% 

A massive disappointment as this beer exploded out of the bottle, clearly off. Some infection must have got in to this recently purchased beer, which was a big shame. Unrateable  

7. Barnsey (Bath Ales) 4.5% 

Nothing wrong with this one - a beautiful toffee, malty wonder. Like a eventful marriage it starts sweet and ends bitter, but in all the right ways. Glorious malt length, and the evenings Bronze Medal winner.  8/10  

Time for food!

 

8. Banana Bread Beer (Wells) 5.2% 

Instantly recognised and identified. Without doubt the best widely available banana beer on the market, even if it's the only one. A proper example of how to introduce fruit into beer without making it awful. I fancy a banana now.  7/10  

9. India Pale Ale Black (The Kernel) 6.8% 

Gadzooks, a mighty black ale, and easily passing the black IPA test of shutting your eyes and guessing the colour (if you can't its a true black IPA). Crunchy and with some lovely slick grassy hops, the alcohol length was slightly too boozy for one reviewer (me). However, Silver Medal winner for the evening, top beer. 8/10  

10. Quadrupel (Sharps) 10% 

The only real GBH headsmasher of the night, this ale is a wrestling match of components in a boozy juggernaut of a bottle. Clearly designed for cheeses and whatnot after a meal, when drunk on its own its just a bit much, syrupy and hard to wade through despite it's attractions. Complex and still very good, it's mission is not quite achieved in the right ways for us. A nutter. 7/10 (just) 

11. Double Dragon (Felinfoel) 4.2% 

Back down to earth with a very disagreeable nasty Welsh bitter. The first taste is a sort of metallic laminate, which is swiftly bulldozered by a gritty foul aftertaste. If these tastes were guests you'd want none of them at your party. Not a good representation of the land of the dragon. 2/10 

12. Black Cab Stout (Fullers) 4.5% 

Form returns with this delicious textbook stout. Fruits, roast notes, some coffee, all the right black beer boxes are ticked heartily. This is nothing revolutionary, but it's an example of an old classic brewed with care and commitment. 7/10 

13. Founder's Ale (Heinekin UK) 4.8% 

A bit of an end of evening curve ball from the makers of 'Newkie Broon'. One note throughout, which is a bit metallic and somewhat bargain off-license, it neither inspires not disappoints too much. A little meh. 5/10

 

 

Gold Medal - 80/- (Williams Bros)

Silver Medal - India Pale Ale Black (The Kernel) 

Bronze Medal - Barnsey (Bath Ales) 

That'll be a trip to the recycler then.

- 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.

7 Giraffes (Williams Bros)

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

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.

Joker IPA (Williams Brothers)

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

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