Jeffrey Hudson Bitter - Oakham Ales / The Brewery Tap

gbarron

Georgia

3.35/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

From a cask at RFD Washington.

A - light, light golden, almost a light honey color. Perfectly clear with some large, air-filled bubbles from the sparkler. Little or no head otherwise and no lacing.

S - light malt aroma, toasting bread, caramel. Little or no hop aroma. Slight wet grain smell.

T - very, very tangy and even slightly sour. Well balanced but light flavor both from hops and malt. Main flavors are tart, tangy, sour malt with slight earthiness from English noble (Fuggle? EKG?) hops. Pronounced sourness and significant notes of citrus. Very, very fruity and tangy yeast.

M - thin and light. Carbonation is low with a tangy finish. Very smooth and light. Why isn't every beer served on cask?

D - see taste notes. I'm not sure how healthy this beer was, so I don't want to discount it too much. Despite the unusual flavors, I still found the beer enjoyable as I do just about anything on cask.

Serving type: cask

07-24-2006 02:41:29 | More by gbarron

Ciocanelu

Romania

4/5  rDev 0%

02-11-2013 16:35:47 | More by Ciocanelu

Viceroy

United Kingdom (England)

3.25/5  rDev -18.8%

09-12-2012 01:15:03 | More by Viceroy

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

3.9/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A 500ml bottle with a BB of Sept 2012. ABV is stated as 4.2%. Picked up a while back - possibly from my local off-licence (I don't quite recall, and the offie has now closed). The story of Jeffery Hudson is an interesting one.

Poured into a tulip pint glass. A pale golden hue with faint haze and generous fine carbonation. Forms a decent head of white foam that lasts for a few minutes before subsiding to a thin surface layer. Aroma of light malt with subtle notes of citrus and bittering hops, as well as mild hints of yeast. A metallic twang lurks in the background.

Tastes of light malt with a dry, bitter finish. Notes of faint citrus with a dry, lemony character, accompanied by subtle earthy yeast. A restrained but insistent bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is light and dry, with tingly carbonation. Slightly astringent, with an aftertaste of bitter aromatic citrus and a hint of yeast.

Nice, though a bit more muted than Oakham's other offerings. The hop aroma doesn't completely steal the show. Well-balanced, dry and highly drinkable, I could easily sink a few of these on a warm day like today. Well worth trying if you see it.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2012 20:35:29 | More by jazzyjeff13

petluo

Finland

3.25/5  rDev -18.8%

07-19-2012 17:24:37 | More by petluo

brutalist

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

07-08-2012 00:22:53 | More by brutalist

MEP

3.75/5  rDev -6.3%

06-26-2012 17:06:36 | More by MEP

thepeter

United Kingdom (England)

4.13/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a-Golden frothy large bubbled head little lacing
s-grass, dry biscuit malt, not too much really but not bad as it is so clean smelling.
T - Very refreshing, well balanced, hay grass, light bitterness and slight malt backbone. dry finish
M -light bodied perfect Cask conditioned carbonation. Goes down REALLY easy
Overall a great example of the style although I did find it a bit dry. great on a nice day.

Serving type: cask

11-10-2011 23:48:28 | More by thepeter

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.85/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Now I am starting to review cask beers more often I'm finding I've already reviewed the bottled version on here, this is again the case.

This hand pulled pint was poured into a UK sleeve in a local pub that often has Oakham's ales on.

The beer was a pale gold, like almost all Oakham beers and like the bottle it had a slight haze in the body. The head being pure white with smallish bubbles. The head left a little lacing as I attacked the beer.

The smell was citrusy, obviously from the hops, in the taste more bittering hoppiness came through. The bodyfeel was lightish and yet it seemed to hold hidden fruits within it.

Never been a huge fan of this breweries beers, their yeast culture seems to dominate the flavours; without killing any other flavours admittedly, but always there somehow. My scores marry against my bottled review, very rare!

Serving type: cask

10-08-2011 10:29:33 | More by BlackHaddock

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Handpump halfpint at the White Horse.

A: Clear straw body under a 1/2" of fine, frothy white foam. Pretty good retention and plenty of lace. Attractive, if very very light-colored for the style.

S: Huh. It almost smells like a pilsner, with sharply herbal hops on top of dry, biscuity malt and accented by some chalky minerality. As it warms, some sweeter, fruitier notes show up with nice orange marmalade standing out. Interesting and enjoyable.

T: Surprisingly sweet, with caramel, toffee, and sweet orange leading the way to a cleanly bitter, herbal finish. Very clean aftertaste. Excellent.

M: Typical, perfectly soft cask carbonation filling out the light body. Very nice indeed.

O: The other Oakham beer's I'd had were terrific, so I was very excited to try this one. My initial reaction was one of confusion and potential disappointment, but by the time it warmed and I managed to peer into its flavorful depths, I was completely won over. Distinctive, delicious beer.

Cheers!

Serving type: cask

06-21-2011 01:56:13 | More by woosterbill

paxton1978

United Kingdom (England)

4.83/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This is quite simply an awesome beer. Pale and golden with a bright white head which retained throughout drinking. Not a great deal of aroma, but the taste is sublime- slightly grapefruity and bursting with fresh hop flavour. Would love to try this on Cask.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2010 13:44:48 | More by paxton1978

tai4ji2x

Massachusetts

4.45/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

RE-REVIEW at day 4 (final day!) of NERAX 2009.

just coming back to visit my first real cask ale. perhaps it's only fitting that it happens on the final day of NERAX, a whole year later.

no sediment here this time. totally clear. nice creamy, sudsy head, with splotches of lace here and there.

now that i know how cask ale "should" be, i need to raise the scores.

appearance 4.0 -> 4.5
taste 4.0 -> 4.5
feel 3.5 -> 4.0
drinkability 4.5 -> 5.0

one of the most pleasantly quaffable ales this year!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
ORIGINAL REVIEW 02-11-2008

had this on cask at deep ellum, in allston, ma a couple nights back. a few notes were taken. they mislabelled it as "john hudsen bitter"

pale golden straw color, some cask sediment, decent head. didn't leave any notes about lacing, but i think there was some.

nice faint malty aroma, some must and grassiness.

flavor was again a nice subdued maltiness with gentle balanced hops. very mild bitterness. hints of fruitiness upon warming.

slightly watery, carbonation is very subtle.

great points for drinkability, seems to fit the mold of a classic english session bitter perfectly.

Serving type: cask

05-05-2009 06:36:08 | More by tai4ji2x

BeerSox

Virginia

3.73/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On cask from a busted firkin @ Birreria Paradiso. 8oz "sample".

Supposedly the bartender was able to save some in a pitcher from a firkin that broke. Free beer for anyone at the bar. Slightly warmer than cask ale usually is.

Cloudy golden amber hue with bits of sediment floating in the beer. A very thin head, due to the low carbonation and lack of any agitation of going through a beer engine or gravity pump. Very light biscuity malt aroma with a little bit of an earthy yeast aroma. The flavor was somewhat citrusy, reminding me of orange peel. The malts added a little bit of bitterness.

I hope to try this one sometime from a non-busted firkin. Certainly an interesting beer, and definitely sessionable.

Serving type: cask

04-12-2009 00:29:06 | More by BeerSox

fitzy84

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Special cask at Moan and Dove. Appearance was absolutely great and unique. It poured out as a very golden beverage, but it settled to a dark amber rather quickly. It had a good, medium head, as well, making this a solid looking drink. We then go to its aromas and they were very, very thin. Thin in a good way though, since the thinness of the aromas made the malt aromas very sharp. The taste had a bit of a flatness to it but those malts and hops allowed it to be a sour-sweet dynamic. Overall mouthfeel was watery, actually almost silky in texture. This made it really enjoyable to drink. It might have had "extremes" throughout its dimensions but this was a pretty nice drink to have.

Serving type: cask

02-19-2008 03:35:08 | More by fitzy84

cypressbob

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

4.15/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On cask at the Old Courthouse, Coleraine

Pours with a straw yellow body, slightly hazy. Thick tight white head with good retention, some snake like lacing up and down the glass

Smell, rich sticky malt. Some zesty citrus and a little bit of mustiness

Taste, crisp and biscuity malt. Some lemon zest along with tight, crisp hop bitterness. Solid crisp mouthfeeel

A very tasty english ale, so fresh and drinkable

Serving type: cask

10-05-2007 22:41:46 | More by cypressbob

pacond

Florida

4.33/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On cask

Nice English bitter served in an imperial pint glass. Looks faded yellow and a littlle colder than expected temperature and very nice looking head.

Hoppy and refreshing at the same time. For a session beer it is real smooth and biting at the same time. Carbonation is low but definitely in front of the palate. Really hits the spot.

I am a sucker for cask conditioned bitters, so this is a real treat. I will be getting more of these while I can!

Serving type: cask

05-18-2007 17:56:56 | More by pacond

emerge077

Illinois

4.05/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

On cask at the Map Room.

Arrives in an imperial pint, pale yellow in color, with a frothy cap of foam. Head stays for the duration, which doesn't seem an easy task for a cask ale.

Nice aroma of light hop and citrus.

Tangy citrus with mildly bitter hops. Thin mouthfeel, low carbonation. Slightly lemony. Low abv makes this a fine session candidate. Simple, light, and easy drinking.

Serving type: cask

05-16-2007 03:20:25 | More by emerge077

cichief

Virginia

4.4/5  rDev +10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

I drink this beer every chance I get. It was on cask at my local in Oundle, England, and journeyed to the Brewery Tap in Peterborough to get it as fresh as possible. This is the epitome of a session beer. Although only 3.8%, it was a fine beer, especially in warmer weather.

Serving type: cask

02-18-2007 15:33:18 | More by cichief

mdagnew

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

3.9/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Sample at the Belfast Beer Festival on 25th Nov 2005.

Poured a light golden colour... White head started quite foamy but disappeared to a very thin layer...

Aroma - Slight sweetness, grassy (some hay), earthy hints, hints of pineapple/ maybe grapefruit as swell ?, slight maltiness, some floral notes....

Taste – Citrusy (lemon), nice hopiness, slight malt hints, woody notes...

Feel - Very light bodied with little carbonation...

Overall - An ok bitter, worth a try but there are better examples out there...

Serving type: cask

11-28-2005 10:29:37 | More by mdagnew

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

4.03/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Revisited this beer at my local Wetherspoon's in East End London recently. It seems every real ale drinker at the pub held a pint of it at the time of my visit, surely it proves very popular in the summer!

A: it pours a very pale-yellowish hue, almost like some light cider or pale lager, coming with an incredibly tight but quite thin white beerhead, leaving extremely dense lacing as well. Looking great for a cask ale, or, even like a decent Pilsner w/o the fizz.
S: note of freshly-squeezed, sweetened lemon-juice approaches first, followed by a touch of white grape-fruit zesty scent. No trace of salty note this time, while some wild, leafy aroma of hops sustains at the back.
T&M: refreshingly light bitterness of grape-fruit peel and nectarine-like juicy flavour present on the palate. The finish has long-lasting hoppy bitterness prevailing at the back of my throat; the aftertaste is simple but extremely nice and balanced, with dryish and rounded mouthfeel at the same time due to the residual sweetness given by the malts.
D: at just 3.8%abv, this light, hoppy, "Golden Ale" has all the flavour one might expect of a much richer brew. That's why it's so thirst-quenching yet hightly enjoyable on its own.

Serving type: cask

08-15-2005 15:19:58 | More by wl0307

BeerResearcher

Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev -10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

NERAX 2004
It pours a pale straw gold color with a larger than normal (for a cask) white head.
It has a grassy hay-like aroma, and flavor to match.
A dry malty flavor emerges, as does a solid oaky taste.
A tea-like flavor is tinged with a hint of peppery spice and just a whisper of apple peel.
It finishes dry and clean.

Serving type: cask

05-05-2004 02:52:17 | More by BeerResearcher

AllThingsNinja

Massachusetts

3.18/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Sampled at NERAX 04, this medium-bodied bitter was attractive but overly grassy and sour to be very drinkable. I did enjoy the subtle sweetness of the malt base, but the lemon, and grassy flavors were overpowering. I enjoy a well-hopped beer, but this wasn't my cup of tea. It was too acidic.

Serving type: cask

05-02-2004 11:20:54 | More by AllThingsNinja

gentlebubbles

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

NERAX 04

Very pale yellow, low fluffy white head.

Incredibly smooth, almost airy, goes right down, almost without thought. I can't say I really taste much. I'm afraid many might this too inoffensive to bother with.

But I could drink this one all day.

Serving type: cask

04-29-2004 18:49:38 | More by gentlebubbles

UncleJimbo

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Sampled at the Luton Real Ale Festival.

This mild bitter poured a clear, yellow color with thin white foam. The smell was a beautiful, fruity, spicy, and malty aroma with a hint of bread and hops and a touch of grain husks. A surprisingly strong aroma. The taste was hoppy (fruity and piney) with some nicely balanced malt and a bit of biscuit. The mouthfeel was smooth with medium-light body and low carbonation. There was a light, hoppy aftertaste. A very good mild bitter, but a bit thin.

Serving type: cask

12-11-2003 07:01:46 | More by UncleJimbo

Mark

California

4.65/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

.Pale gold ale, decent whiteish head, thick lace. Fresh aroma of cirtus, long fruity hoppy finish with grapefruit notes. Some slightly soapy notes in the finish as well. The finish was long and very refreshing. oakham is for sure one of the better new independents in the U.K. Go cask!!!

Serving type: cask

12-04-2003 23:58:45 | More by Mark