Duchy Originals - Summer Ale

Here she is then...



I would say as lovely a label as the St. Peters. This is a bottle conditioned feller, but not in the way of a, say, Will Jackson. The yeast is a lot finer and as a result and takes a lot longer to settle.

It does say on the label that it's fine to drink cloudy, and equally fine to wait - it just depends whether you want a cloudy beer or not.

I waited quite a while and still got a cloudy beer.

Anyway, this was a lot lighter in colour than the St. Peters, and, as you'd expect, just as lagery. This isn't an insult, as it lacks the chemical aftertaste of a lot of lagers, but it did just taste like a very very nice lager. Which is fine by me.

And, being a Duchy Original, it's organic too, which means it's good for you. Woah look - I've just found the blurb, and guess what? It's brewed by Wychwood, who say this:

"Duchy Originals Summer Ale 4.7%
Available exclusively in Waitrose Stores over the Summer months, this is a bottle-conditioned, un-pasteurised beer, with a small amount of live yeast left in the bottle.

Brewed with Plumage Archer barley, blended with a small amount of malted wheat, and organic Fuggles and Goldings hops from Belgium. English Target hops are added after the boil to produce an aroma both light and citrussy, but with rich undertones of marmalade.

Jeremy Moss, Head Brewer's Tasting Note
“For Duchy Originals’ Summer Ale, we wanted to create a delicate straw-coloured beer bursting with summer-time flavours. So it has been brewed with more than a nod to the hop, which has given it accentuated citrus aromas, followed swiftly by hints of dried fruit and marmalade.

On the palate, there are delicate flavours of grapefruit and melon offset by an almost pine like hop flavour and a long lingering finish. Bring on the barbeque!”

This beer can either be drunk clear, poured carefully so as to leave its yeast at the foot of the bottle; or it can be enjoyed cloudy, with all the goodness of the natural yeast still in the glass."

Well, yeah, I still think it tasted like a lager. Anyway - highly recommended and only £1.65 a bottle.