Cambridge Bitter
Elgood and Sons Ltd

Cambridge BitterCambridge Bitter
Beer Geek Stats
From:
Elgood and Sons Ltd
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English Bitter
ABV:
3.8%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.66 | pDev: 9.84%
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
6
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 01, 2022
Added:
Mar 01, 2005
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Recent ratings and reviews.
Photo of JonnoWillsteed
Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

3.54/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
The labelling seems to have evolved quite a long way, both since the above image AND since the image on the brewery website today. The above lable is very different, my bottle's in pale Cambridge Blue, an image of King's College, punters on the river + pretty scrollwork surrounding which are hop-bines. Oh plus a form of coat-of-arms to add a shot of implied heraldry. A cynic might think it's ticked most Cambridge cliches there. On the Elgood's website the lable is marked 'BITTER', but not on the bottle I have, where in it's place reads 'AWARD WINNING ALE'. I don't see reference to Bitter anywhere on this bottle. This was bought from a drinks shop opposite King's College, perhaps 'Bitter' isn't a selling point for the many tourists who frequent this area...

L- Deep mahogany, clear, pours with a 2Cm cream coloured foam cap which holds really well.
S- Very very mild, unusually I don't really get anything from it. [How to rate? 3/5 as effectively neutral and as the mid-point between 1-5?]
T- Nice and tasty, vibrant dry hops leave a zing on the palate. Sufficient malts part-balance then leaving a bright refreshing beer.
F- IME a 3.8% beer has it's work cut out to make an impression, this does a good job, it's light enough for a lunchtime beer or indeed a session on the lighter side. Good carbonation that sustains and forms lacing on the way down.
O- Take a beer from a brewery I know little of, add an arguably designed-for-tourists lable that can't even detail what style it is in case it offends some, add in a pretty low ABV% of 3.8% and IMExpectations the result isn't going to be of any note. However this is an enjoyable beer and I'd drink it again, though more-so if I'd paid a non-tourist price for it. Long/short > it's an old school trad Bitter with nothing to offend and a good balance, that's probably hamming it up a bit too hard on the labelling, but that will be ideal for people who enjoy this style.

Bought from Cambridge Wine Merchants, pretty much right opposite the entrance of King's College in Cambridge/UK BB: Mar-2023 £2.50
Aug 01, 2022
Photo of Tobiasmjh
Reviewed by Tobiasmjh from Scotland

3.91/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Typical English Bitter. My favourite session beer in the area, not too dark, not too strong. Fruity both on the nose and in the mouth. Served on draught at the "Bluebell Inn", Werrington, Peterborough. not too keen on the "Black Dog".
Jun 15, 2013
Photo of EmperorBevis
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England

3.97/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured a mahogany looking pint with a very thin white head.

The aroma is deceptively short on the nose but delivers some promise of hops and a malt inflection.

The fuggles hop glows through with its well rounded bitter edge and follows through to the challenger hop finish that gives it a refreshing bite.

The carbonation is just a slight bit keen for me this is compensated by a easy flowing mouthfeel that makes it go down well.

A good bitter, easy drinking a well flavoured on cask this must make a belter of a session beer.
Nov 15, 2011
Photo of BlackHaddock
Reviewed by BlackHaddock from England

4.1/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
This was the first beer on one of my 'random beer tsting nights' (20th April 2010).

Brown 500ml bottle, slightly out of date and poured into a Batemans pint sleeve.

Good mid-amber colour, off-white head of tightly knit foam which showed good retension and produced some good lacing on the glass.

Fuggles and Challenger hops are used and the blend marries well in both the bitterness of taste and with the malted barley in the aroma which was an almost sweet toffee smell as the beer warmed a little.

I found the beer to be refreshing, crisp and tastey, full of a true English Bitter flavour (hoppy, malty and very drinkable.

The 3.8%ABV makes this a very good session beer and I look forward to having another one day soon.
Apr 24, 2010
Photo of hunteraw
Reviewed by hunteraw from China

3.26/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Purchased at Cambridge Wine Merchants, on Bridge St.

Appearance: darker in color than I had been expecting, rich amber with a big fluffy head that has great retention and leaves lace all over the place. Looks effervescent. Very clear.

Smell: a disappointment after appearance, the nose is fairly weak. Some soapiness I would typically associate with a lager, not an ale like this. A bit of floral hops.

Taste: light fruitiness, on top of a pleasant English maltiness. Finishes on a bitter hop note. What hop flavor there is remains fairly earthy and unassertive.

Mouthfeel & Drinkability: quite fizzy, overly so. Would be solved in the cask version, I'd imagine... Body is light/medium. Aftertaste lingers. Drinkability is moderate.
Apr 02, 2008
Photo of wl0307
Reviewed by wl0307 from England

3.18/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
This is my first encounter with the bottled version of this beer. 500ml brown bottle, BB 28/03/2008, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass.

A: dark reddish amber in colour, topped with a rather tight, frothy, maringue-like off-white head with good retention, while the carbonation is constant and lively w/o being too fierce.
S: upfront is a rich aroma mixed of Goldings' citrusness, caramelised sugar, sour-sweet marinated berries, and hop resins, while a mild and clean layer of pale malts stays beneath; as simple as it is necessary to show the essential elements for a Bitter.
T: the soothing hop bitterness and bitter-sweetness from caramely malts come hand in hand, while the biscuity maltiness and an almost herbal bitterness linger in the end, underlined by a subdued but consistent dry-ish palate from the combination of yeasts and hops that threads throughout the drink.
M&D: the texture is slightly too fizzy for an ale while the body is feather-light apart from the little extra weight given by the caramely malts; the overall performance here tells an even less interesting story than the cask version, but the dryish edge manages to bestow something extra to entertain my "bitter palate". Alas, amongst those Elgood's ales I've tried, this one by far is the least delicious...
Sep 24, 2007
Cambridge Bitter from Elgood and Sons Ltd
Beer rating: 3.66 out of 5 with 6 ratings