The Vine Inn
Freehouse in Black Notley
1999 Beer Festival
 

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Research and words by Mike.

Adnam's Tally-Ho! abv 7.0 or more.
The ultimate tipple, a bold ripe chewy body with a full nose and a wide, lingering finish. A very strong beer reminiscent of caramel,
Bovril and rum.

Adnam's Extra abv 4.3
An astringent, hoppy bitter reminiscent of pink grapefruit and doyenne du
comice pears. The citrus start widens into a long warbling finish with a surprising malty overtone.

Adnam's Broadside abv 4.7
A middling-dark beer with a far from middling flavour. An extravagant
opening flavour which jumps from fruit to malt with startling unpredictability.

Adnam's Southwold abv 3.7
A complex flavour with caramel, hops, and barley clamouring for
attention while the aroma sings sweetly in your nose. The end is long and wide, but with a pleasant,
aromatic curl.

Ringwood 21st Anniversary abv 4.5
An attractive coppery-tan coloured beer that has a good depth of
nose overhanging its light body.

Bateman's XXXB abv 4.8
An untidy, jumbly body with shape and flavour pushing about under a
broad, full nose. The finish pulls these together into a sharp, but cheerful end.

Bunce's Sign of Spring abv 4.0
This vibrant bitter has a lambent body with no fruit anywhere.
Unusually, this is a beer that is better served green.

Caledonian Deuchars IPA abv 3.8
Exceptionally bright and clean with just a hint of violets in the
finish. Hops and malt balance in the body with a overall flavour reminiscent of beer.

Fullers ESB abv 5.5
The great character of this beer belies the hoppy maltiness and roundness of the
body. The almost earthy malt fades in the end, leaving the lingering hop to close an otherwise
staccato finish. Fullers Honey Dew abv 4.3 That typically earthy Fullers flavour is augmented by a
light, peaty crossover in the finish which is unusually long for a mid-gravity beer. The honey taste
comes across well, but the dew just tastes like ordinary water.

Hook Norton Old Hooky abv 4.6
An unusual tawny beer with a strong fruity and grainy aroma and
palate, balanced with a taste of hops. Full-bodied with a fruity, malty aftertaste.

King and Barnes Mild abv 3.5
A smooth, dark mild. Characteristically a crystal malt taste, but offset by
a roast malt and blackcurrant upswing, leading to a dry finish.

Bateman's Jolly's 6 Wives abv 4.0
A well-balanced flavour that only comes from a fully matured
aluminium cask. With six wives, how could it become adulterated? An excellent beer with excellent
lacing to complement its taste.

Usher's Spring Fever abv 4.0
A light, drinkable beer with an easily understood biscuity flavour and a
well-mixed finish which tends to lose its complexity if drunk through a moustache.

O'Hanlon's Dry Stout abv 4.2
A rich stout with a dense black colour. There is much more body than
that aroma suggests, and you will find a hoppy bitterness blending into a smooth lingering finish.

O'Hanlon's Firefly abv 3.7
A well-balanced anaqueous aroma welcomes you into a round beer with a
pert well-flanneled body. An excellent accompaniment to ready salted crisps.

O'Hanlon's Blakeley's No. 1 abv 4.2
The roasted barley gives a funnelled, complex flavour. A late
addition of hops into the kettle provided the hoppy nose and finish.

Tisbury Fanfare abv 4.5
A well-stuffed body with some caramel on the nose. There was a suggestion
of raspberry in the finish, but that might have been the jelly baby I had just eaten.

Hopback Summer Lightning abv 5.0
An intensely bitter middle body surrounded by a wet aroma and
a long dry finish. Leaving the nose and tongue in fine balance, this strong bitter is deceptively light.

Ash Vine Decadence abv 4.5
An orotund pale bitter, with a mellow fruitfulness and drinkability
matched only by other beers of this standard.

Everard's Perfick abv 4.5
A well-balanced malty, hoppy, slightly yeasty beer with a tendency to taste
smoky if drunk from an ashtray.

Crouch Vale Fireball abv 4.5
The waters of Woodham put to good use, this distinctive beer has a very
presumptuous nose that pushes further forward than hops and malt normally allow. Best served at
53.5°F into a glass at hand temperature.

Kelham Island Pale Rider abv 5.2
A pale-straw coloured beer with a fruity, hoppy body that lingers
into the finish. I liked this one.

Tolly Cobbold St George's Best abv 4.2
Funnily enough, this one tastes of hops and malt as well.
Well-balanced and rounded with a hint of a fuggle-like hop in the finish.

Mighty Oak Millennium Ringer abv 4.2
A broad body and chalky aroma start a crossover between
hops and malt while an incredibly subtle caramel finish rises from the body

Nethergate Golden Gate abv 4.5
I tried this one at the Nethergate brewery, its very good. Three
varieties of hop give it a fresh aroma and hoppy finish, but with a balancing malty turnaround.

Nethergate Old Growler abv 5.5
An intensely satisfying porter with a complex palate. Roast malt,
sweet fruit, and bitter chocolate all compete for your attention before handing you over to a powerful
hop in the finish.

Nethergate Swift abv 4.1
Surprisingly full bodied for its strength, this bitter is a robustly balanced and
flavoursome Suffolk beer .

Barnsley Bitter abv 4.5
A pale brown, creamy and smooth bitter with hops and fruit jumbling about
before merging into a lasting bitter dry finish.

Ash Vine Challenger abv 4.1
A mid-brown beer with a solid malt flavour robustly balanced with hoppy
bitterness and subtle citrus fruits, probably clementines. An almost Burton-like sulphurous follow-on
can taste metallic.

Young's Dirty Dick's abv 4.1
Thankfully, it doesn't taste like that at all. An excellent London beer fit for
a pearly king.

Elgood's Cambridge abv 3.8
A nice dry session bitter with restrained hops, malt, and a tiny bit of fruit
in the finish, which is remarkably dry for its size.

Ridley's Rumpus abv 4.5
A tawny, malty beer that starts-off fruity, becoming drier latter, with
scattered outbreaks of hops in the finish

Ridley's Witchfinder abv 4.3
A dark ruby-red beer, that has a strong malty opening that leads to light
hoppiness in the upper palate during its short, clear finish.

Ridley's I.P.A. abv 3.5
What can we say?
 
 

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