Ah, a beer from Bristol…or Bristle as it’s inhabits pronounce it.  I don’t know of that many other beers and breweries from Bristol – apart from Bath Ales (which you’d imagine were in Bath, but there you go…) in fact I’ll be reviewing one of their beers in the next post, so you’d better keep reading, hadn’t you?

I only had time for a half of Butcombe Bitter as it was a flying visit to the pub and I was driving too. (the usual disclaimer applies about not encouraging drinking and driving, etc.)

Butcombe Bitter appears all autumnal polished conker brown, with a thinning but never quite disappearing head.  The aroma was all warm, dark malts a trace of yeastiness (I guess Butcombe have their own distinct house strain – good on them)

The first thing I noticed upon tasting was the sumptuous mouth-feel, a thick mouth-feel that belies the 4% ABV – it just feels like a much bigger beer.  The taste was also big: mouth filling malts and a long, satisfying bitterness.

The aftertaste went on and on….which as we all know is the hallmark of a decent beer.

Again this nice dark bitter puts me in an autumnal frame of mind.   I’d have a Butcombe Bitter with a steak pie after a long walk in the countryside.  Marvellous…

http://butcombe.com/beers/beers.shtml