The Vine Inn
Freehouse in Black Notley
Year 2000 Beer Festival
Welcome to the Vine Inn’s celebration of British Beer. We are commemorating our eleventh year of serving good beer and fine food to the people of the area. Last year we celebrated with the ‘Ten Years of Beer’ festival, this year we have brought together 28 barrels of superb beer to mark the millennium in a useful and interesting way.
All the beers will be priced at £2 a pint, but as a festival special offer you will be able to buy 11 half-pint tickets for £10. We hope you find these beers memorable, and that you can still remember them in the morning. To get the best from a tasting session, we suggest that you drink halves, start with the lighter beers, and work up to the heavier ones.
By the way, be cautious of some of the tasting notes, the man who wrote
them wouldn’t know stork from bitter.
Bateman’s Dark Mild – 3.0
Characteristic orchard fruit and roasted-nut nose with subtle evidence
of hops in the background. A lingering bitter finish gives a surprising
end to this otherwise classic mild.
Banks’s Hanson’s Dark Mild — 3.3
Darkish mild with deeply stretched body pulling the malty nose
up to a wobbly finish.
Oakhill Bitter — 3.5
A refreshing and quenching tangy bitter with a good hop leading into
a lavishly stuffed body with malt and citrus jumbling about under a broad
finish that is surprisingly coppery.
Ringwood Bitter — 3.8
A golden-brown symphony of flavours with malt predominating but with
a distinct, but elusive hint of fruit – probably lychees. Malty and bitter
at the finish with that fruit still there.
Hopback Cuckoo pint — 4.0
Invasively egged, with a musical overtone to the speckled body. Light
and balanced with a very sharp nose.
Beartown Bear Ass — 4.0
Gentle strength and round flavour with a persistent malty sweetness
masking the damp nose and extended body. Good lacing at the end, with a
final aroma of bubbles.
Gales HSB — 4.8
Chocolate truffles in liquid form, this full-bodied beer will definitely
appeal to the sweet tooth. Fruity and mellow with a roundness that
stays to the end. I’m told that this one is the landlord’s choice, so it
won’t hang around long.
Ventnor Oyster Stout — 4.5
Have you ever had a porter with a fruity body and a good head? Now’s
your chance. An excellent full-flavoured stout with a wide smoky feel.
Young’s Winter Warmer — 5.0
A dark reddish-brown ale with a roast malt aroma and flavour
leading to a sweet fruity finish. Hints of caramel pop-up from time to
time.
Skinner’s Betty Stogs — 4.0
A pale amber mid-strength bitter with hoppy overtones to its otherwise
balanced blend of water and malt. Who is Betty Stogs anyway? Why
does she look like that?
Shepherd Neame Spitfire — 4.5
Originally brewed as a commemorative beer to celebrate the Battle of
Britain, now a classic like its namesake. A golden bitter with a sharp
hop in the body and a turning circle of 460 yards.
Hook Norton Generation — 4.0
A pale brown premium bitter, predominantly hoppy but balanced with
moderate malt and bananas (or so it says in the Good Beer Guide). The finish
is short and hoppy with no sign of any jungle fruit.
Hook Norton Old Hooky — 4.6
One of my favourites, this is a well-balanced pale-copper beer that
is fruity with pale and crystal malt and hops on the aroma and taste. Leaves
a slight hint of froth on the nose at first tasting, but mellows into a
sweet finish.
Usher’s Founders — 4.5
A pale brown beer with a bitter hop taste, followed by a sweeter skip
to maltiness ending in a jump to a citrus in a predominately bitter finish.
Foster’s Lager — 4.1
An icy premium lager with an even balance of Nitrogen and Carbon
Dioxide in the bubbles. The steady, firm and stable head tops-off a clear,
bright yellow-amber body. An excellent accompaniment to cheese and onion
crisps.
Tisbury’s Best Bitter — 3.8
A golden, to amber-coloured beer with a malty nose and a compact, but
shaggy body. The flavour hints at fruitiness without ever coming out and
saying so.
Ridley’s Big Tackle — 4.1
Full-bodied and clean with a flavour reminiscent of Burberry
coats and Dunhill lighters. A classy beer with well-balanced mixture of
hops and malt that make it another one of my favourites.
Caledonian Deuchars IPA — 3.8
Tasty and refreshing, this amber session beer has an excellent balance
of hops and malt with a fruit theme and just a hint of violets. The lingering
aftertaste is delightfully even, drawing you firmly to the decision to
have another. If you ask nicely, you might even get it served in
a special Deuchars glass.
Nethergate Black Pig Stout — 4.5
Full-blooded and vigorous with a firm snout and a distinctive aroma.
Black pig has a rounded and bristly body with a curly finish. I’m
looking forward to this one.
Sharp’s Cornish Coaster — 3.6
A smooth easy-drinking beer with a garrulous finish that underlines
the fresh hops and dry malt in the body. A wide nose and granite
smell only become clear in the unusually wide mouth..
Broadstone Stonebridge Mild — 4.0
Since when has 4.0 been mild? Don’t let this put you off though, this
excellent mild is a well-balanced, slightly sweet beer with a fine malty
finish. Well worth a go.
Arundel Little Willie — 4.0
Not a prediction, but an outstanding beer with a fully hopped maltiness
and a wide tangy stretch of aroma. A leggy nose and creamy body come together
in a pleasing finish.
Usher’s Spring Fever — 4.0
All the Good Beer Guide has to say about this is ‘available March to
June’ - I could have worked that out for myself. An excellent,
refreshing bitter with a light malty aroma and a hint of daffodils
in the finish
Bateman’s Italian Job — 4.3
Patsa, pesto, oregano, rugby, mini coopers and sweet basil are all
missing from this oddly-named beer. Apart from the name, we know nothing
about this beer. We will wait and see.
Usher’s The Bishop’s Tipple — 5.2
Endorsed by the Church so it must be good. This strong beer has a hoppy
start and a mellow sway to the singed muffin flavour that jumbles about
with the malty body. This is real milk of amnesia, so go easy.
Not all of these tasting notes are strictly accurate, and shouldn’t
be used as a purchasing guide. We suggest you try the beers yourself, and
see what you think
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