This Year Beer and Cider List
Below are this years Real Ale and Ciders, along with their tasting notes.
A printable copy can be download from here.
| Brewery | Beer | Type ABV | Description | Sponsor |
1 | Bishop Nick, Braintree, Essex | 1555 | Bitter 4.3% | Now this is a seriously full-bodied ale. No messing. Bishop Nick wasn’t burnt at the stake in 1555 so we could sit quietly and sip weak ale. Not a chance. This rich tawny beer is a tribute to defiance. With an unmistakably sweet nutty taste underlined by the ginger and fruit of Styrian goldings, 1555 shall not be moved. | Lambert Chapman LLP (Maldon) |
2 | Bishop Nick, Braintree, Essex | Heresey | Golden 4.0% | Bishop Nick was executed a heretic because he wouldn’t renounce his faith, so we’re not compromising either. Heresy is the holy grail of golden ale. Top-notch pale ale malt and Challenger hops commit the brew to spicy bitterness before Goldings set about delivering citrus and florals. This is resolute refreshment. | Essex Motor Factors |
3 | Colchester, Colchester, Essex | Jack Spitty's Smuggler's Ale | Golden 4.0% | A golden ale with a hoppy finish | Chequers Motor Company |
4 | Colchester, Colchester, Essex | Sweeney Todd | Bitter 4.2% | A full flavoured best bitter with a deep red hue. Roasted malt flavours and a subtle dry spiciness provided by crystal rye. Delicate hop flavours from late additions of U.S Willamette hops. | Econoprint (UK) Ltd |
5 | Courtyard, Gosfield, Essex | Blues | Golden 5.9% | A smooth full bodied Ale. Very easy to drink all year round, but deceptively strong. | G & B Finch Ltd |
6 | Courtyard, Gosfield, Essex | Dark | Porter 5.0% | A true 5% porter with hints of coffee, chocolate and molasses. A rich silky brew for the discerning palate. | Dancingbear Consulting |
7 | Mighty Oak, Maldon, Essex | Old Man & The Sea | Stout 4.1% | Rich black creamy stout with satisfying malt flavours of espresso coffee, dark chocolate and a hint of dark fruit. | G. Collins & Sons Funeral Directors |
8 | Mighty Oak, Maldon, Essex | Saxon Strong | Bitter 6.5% | A deep tawny ale brewed with Bramling Cross Progress and Goldings hops giving full bodied fruity flavours along side a complex malt character, reminiscent of barley wine. | Lambert Chapman LLP (Braintree) |
9 | Moody Goose Brewery, Braintree, Essex | Tequila Mockingbird | Golden 4.2% | A rich gold bitter with fruity hoppy aromas. Smooth with slight malt and tequila lime finish. | King William IV |
10 | Pumphouse Brewery, Toppesfield, Essex | Allied Amber | Amber 3.8% | Created to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day. It is a smooth, easy drinking traditional bitter, made with chocolate, pale and wheat malts and WGV hops. Amber in colour and with malty and biscuit flavours. | Boddingtons Electrical Ltd |
11 | Pumphouse Brewery, Toppesfield, Essex | Pumphouse Black | Black 4.0% | Smooth and smoky, black and toasty, with a subtle but distinct bitterness, the complex flavours that derive from the combination of roasted barley with chocolate malt form the backbone of this stout. Surprisingly easy to drink, black is the new blonde for winter! | Stationery Solutions |
12 | Wharf (Witham, Harwich And Red Fox), Essex | Lion Tamer | Golden 4.3% | A spiced up version of "Pale Racer", Golden ale with Amarillo. BRAF Festival Ale 2024. | Boddingtons Electrical Ltd |
13 | Wharf (Witham, Harwich And Red Fox), Essex | Parkeston Porter | Porter 4.5% | More heavily hopped robust porter in the new-world style. Influenced by US brewers, this porter combines the noble hops of Middle Europe with the best of US hops to create a smooth beer. | The Booking Hall Café |
14 | Wharf (Witham, Harwich And Red Fox), Essex | Wily Ol' Fox | Strong 5.2% | A very aromatic, amber beer made from English Boadicea hops and East Anglian Pale Maris Otter malt. | Kings Financial |
15 | White Hart - Halstead, Halstead, Essex | Gold Hart | Golden 4.0% | A Golden Ale made from the most traditional, Maris Otter Barley & Goldings East Kent Hops. Golden Hart has a smooth easy drinking tatse with a crisp bitter finish. | Patrick Menzies (Opticians) |
16 | Buntingford, Buntingford, Hertfordshire | Hurricane Copper | Bitter 4.0% | A traditional bitter, caramel hint with hedgerow fruit. | Econoprint (UK) Ltd |
17 | Buntingford, Buntingford, Hertfordshire | Twitchell | Golden 3.8% | A golden fruity bitter with a floral aroma and malty / hoppy aftertaste. Brewed with Maris Otter pale & wheat malts, and English Goldings hops, plus Cascade hops from the USA. GBBF 2013 Overall - Silver | A. G. Glass |
18 | Green Jack, Lowestoft, Suffolk | Lurcher Stout | Stout 4.8% | Lurcher is a rich smooth English Stout, roasty, malty and dark with a fruity aroma. Fruity hop notes of blackcurrant quickly give way to blackberry in the finish. | A. G. Glass |
19 | Green Jack, Lowestoft, Suffolk | Trawler Boys | Bitter 4.6% | Trawlerboys Best Bitter is a full-bodied, copper-coloured, premium bitter brewed with English whole cone hops, rich and malty with fruity hop flavours. 100% British Beer | Holmes & Hills |
20 | Mauldons, Sudbury, Suffolk | Black Adder | Stout 5.3% | A dark stout. Roast malt is strong in the aroma and taste, but malt, hop and bitterness provide an excellent balance and a lingering finish. | Chandler Material Supplies Ltd. |
21 | Mauldons, Sudbury, Suffolk | White Adder | Bitter 5.3% | A pale brown, almost golden, strong ale. A warming fruity flavour dominates and lingers into a dry, hoppy finish. | Screw Centre |
22 | Milton Brewery, Cambridge, Waterbeach, Cambridge | Marcus Aurelius | Stout 7.5% | Imperial Roman Stout — an enormous, luscious and velvety stout. Bursting with dark, roasty flavour with an underlying vanilla richness. | Signs 'N' Such |
23 | Milton Brewery, Cambridge, Waterbeach, Cambridge | Minerva | Golden 4.6% | Golden ale. Brewed with US, NZ and British hops for a powerful hop punch and satisfying bitterness. First brewed in collaboration with Prof. Mary Beard when it was felt that a some feminine wisdom could usefully be added to our range. | Boddingtons Electrical Ltd |
24 | Moonshine Brewery, Cambridge, Fulbourn, Cambridge | Cambridge Best Bitter | Bitter 4.2% | Copper coloured, English best bitter; the malt and hop aromas carry through to the taste and the finish is rounded with a growing hop bitterness. | Copybest (Essex) Ltd |
25 | Moonshine Brewery, Cambridge, Fulbourn, Cambridge | Cellarman Stout | Stout 6.0% | A sweet stout with a rich malt profile. Dark roasted malts are blended together with large quantities ofoats to create a mellow, silky smooth juisy rich stout. | John Mitchell Electrical |
26 | Nethergates, Pentlow, Essex | Eon's Milk Stout | Stout 5.0% | A great combination of Challenger and Sovereign hops delivers a complex blend of spices, smoky aroma and roasted malt in this wonderful milk stout.The texture is rich,sweet and smooth with a good body and its a pleasure to drink this dark beer with lots of fizz. | Flagfinder Coaches |
27 | Nethergates, Pentlow, Essex | Stour Valley Gold | Golden 4.2% | With a perfectly balanced combination of hops and malts, this light beer is crisp, clean, and goes down smooth as silk. Whether you're relaxing on the patio or kicking back with friends at a summer BBQ, Stour Valley Gold is the perfect way to brighten up your day. | Essex Board & Timber |
28 | New River Brewery, Hoddesdon | Chadwell | Bitter 4.2% | Pale chestnut british best bitter. | Phil Bibby Ltd - Car/Commercial Repairs |
29 | New River Brewery, Hoddesdon | Lost River | Golden 4.0% | Sometimes described as one of London’s “lost rivers”, the New River glides silently into London, often hidden from passers-by, particularly where it tunnels beneath the streets. This delicately dry hopped, pale straw coloured beer is, similarly, wonderfully discrete and easily swallowed up, so we think the name is a perfect fit! | Indy Consultancy Ltd |
30 | Old Cannon, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk | Gunner's Daughter | Strong 5.5% | A well-balanced strong ale with a complexity of hop, fruit, sweetness and bitterness in the | Signs 'N' Such |
31 | Old Cannon, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk | Gunport Stout | Stout 6.5% | A soft, mellow and mild stout with hints of chocolate on the nose and oatmeal on the palete.Smooth not yet too heavy making it an easy drink alternative to our normal beers. | G & B Finch Ltd |
32 | Roughacre, Clare, Suffolk | Ashdon Amber | Golden 4.4% | Our flagship cask ale proved so popular with the local real ale enthusiasts we decided to bottle it too! A delicious amber ale packed with flavour, refreshing bitterness and a delicate hoppy finish imparted by a late addition of East Kent Golding and Progress hops. Contains BARLEY. | Kings Property |
33 | Roughacre, Clare, Suffolk | L'abbaye Grand Cru | Bitter 8.4% | Our very special Belgian 'Tripel' style premium pale ale brewed with pilsner malts and armfuls of aromatic, fruity hops. Abbey yeast provides additional notes of fruit and spice. Vegan - Contains Gluten (Barley) | The Caravan Man |
34 | Celtic Marches, Bishop's Frome, Worcester | Pear | Perry 4.0% | A tantalising blend of fresh pressed cider and the delicately sweet afternotes of pear combine effortlessly with the aromas of our Herefordshire cider apple harvest. An alluring twist of palate pleasing taste will lure you back for more of this thirst quenching drop. | |
35 | Cock Eyed, Tiverton, Devon | Banana Bonobo | Cider 4.0% | Culinary apple cider, fermented with ripe bananas | Boddingtons Electrical Ltd |
36 | Cock Eyed, Tiverton, Devon | Chilli Ginger | Cider 4.0% | Cider fermented from mainly dessert fruit with root ginger. | Screw Centre |
37 | Cock Eyed, Tiverton, Devon | Strawberry Blond | Cider 4.0% | Strawberry Blonde – a brand new invention and flavour | Linton Cracknell |
38 | Pulp, Wyer Croft, Herefordshire | Pina Colada | Cider 3.4% | ||
39 | Pulp, Wyer Croft, Herefordshire | Mango & Lime | Cider 4.0% | This zingy number is a smooth blend of mango and lime. Fresh and fruity, the zing of the lime meets the tropical sweetness of the mango to create this taste explosion. Suitable for Vegans | |
40 | Pulp, Wyer Croft, Herefordshire | Cosmo | Cider 3.4% | Crushed cranberries and a squeeze of lime, this vodka based lip smacking classic is reassuringly smooth, light and laidback. Sweet ripe fruit and the sour of lime will have you coming back for more! Suitable for Vegans | Kings Accountancy |
41 | Snailbank, Herefordshire | Sloe Gin | Fruit Cider 4.0% | Sloe Gin infused cider | |
42 | Snailbank, Herefordshire | Raspberry Ripple | Cider 4.0% | Sweet cider infused with tart raspberry rippled through with vanilla. | |
43 | Snailbank, Herefordshire | Spiced Rum | Cider 4.0% | Rum barrel aged cider carefully spiced with cinnamon and allspice. | Oakfield Financial Services Ltd |
44 | Snailbank, Herefordshire | Vintage | Cider 6.9% | Phil Bibby Ltd - Car/Commercial Repairs | |
45 | Weston, Much Marcle, Worcester | Old Rosie | Cider 7.3% | A triple gold winning cider named after a 1921 steam roller. This cider is alowed to settle out naturally afterfermentation which gives it the traditional cloudy appearance of true old-fashioned scrumpy. | Steve Mott & Co |