Little Looks are the reviews of brews that may be new to me or to the market, a local beer I want to shout about, or simply a classic revisited.
The Lowdown
Using malt milled on the same day as the beer is brewed, whole leaf hops and, of course, yeast, Lancaster Brewery have been brewing traditional styles of beer the “proper old fashioned” way since 2005. The state of the art brewhouse and tap has been built with sustainability in mind, and community too, something all breweries should be aiming to do, but is the beer any good? I recently cracked open a bottle of the brewery’s core Blonde beer and was pleasantly surprised…
The Taste
Are you a fan of beers from cans which pour like Sunny Delight? If that’s you then chances are you’re overlooking beers like this. I know I have been. I’ll be honest, I was dubious about this beer when it arrived, I wasn’t expecting much, but it turns out that was a foolish assumption.
This is an absolutely superb summer beer.
It’s clear, it’s classic and it’s trad but it’s the sort of beer I cut my teeth on when I first ventured down the boozer. It’s the bridge between lager and ale. It’s the forerunner to today’s Session Pales. It’s the drink-in-a-garden-all-afternoon-with-your-mates beer and the ideal-with-a-meal beer. It’s a sun-downer and post gardening beer. It’s summer without the tropical hops and yes, that IS possible and wanted and, in this case, ideal. It’s the blink and you miss it beer; gulped down real quick beer. Well balanced and probably perfection-on-cask beer. It’s retro and it knows it- just look at the label, but look again, it’s simple and bold and altogether modern when compared to others of its style. That label is classic yet clean just like the liquid within. And with that, the sweet biscuit malts and soft lemon citrus refreshment has disappeared. Time to open another. Happy summer.
Full Disclosure: this beer was sent free to me from the brewery. I have not let this influence my thoughts on the beer.
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