Adnams Gunhill - Adnams plc, Sole Bay Brewery

beerdrifter

Germany

3.28/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Picked this up at the biggest beer store in the UK, Beers of Europe Ltd. Beautiful mahogany pour with a tinge of ruby. Two finger head with decent retention and excellent lacing. Very earthy, bready, malty nose with just a hint of toffee and dark fruit. The taste is all earthy, bready malt as well. Lots of toffee and caramel with some nuttiness and hints of dark fruit and tea with a very subdued hop profile and a smidgen of chocolate. Pretty smooth mouthfeel that's almost cask-like with a medium dry finish. At 4.0 ABV it's quite drinkable but nothing about this beer really jumps out at me. Very average...

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2011 17:07:30 | More by beerdrifter

IchLiebeBier

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: Chestnut; small head; good lacing

Aroma: Malty; nutty; a little biscuity

Taste: Malty, juicy on start with roasted grain bitterness throughout; nutty and semi sweet on the finish; a little thin, but well balanced and smooth

Did not score A, T, S, M at that time; disregard those scores

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 01:15:38 | More by IchLiebeBier

KStark

British Columbia (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%

06-14-2013 15:19:50 | More by KStark

StJamesGate

New York

3.9/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Clear black cherry amber with creamy taupe foam.
Cocoa powder, leaf, earth and cherry cough drop on the nose - different notes come to the fore on each sniff.
Tea brack, some fig, a bit of smoke and maybe walnuts then mulch and orange rind hops.
Mild gingerbread finish and fruit stone linger.
Medium leaning to light, fizzy, slight cling, crisp.

Wintery take on a bitter. Could maybe use more assertive hops. The other site calls it a dark mild and with the lack of bitterness, it does line up better for that. First knowing encounter with Boadicea hops, which are supposed to give a soft floral note.

Many facets to the flavour; can't really fault it. One of Adnams better offerings.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2012 21:10:03 | More by StJamesGate

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.63/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle.

This beer pours a clear, dark reddish amber hue, with three fingers of tightly foamy off-white head, which leaves some nice wave crest lace around the glass as it lazily sinks away.

It smells of sweet, biscuity malt, some mildly musty orchard fruitiness, and softly bitter leafy, earthy hops. The taste is bready, biscuity, grainy malt, a touch of caramel, some tame nutty cocoa notes, a bit of astringent drupe fruitiness, and a decent offset of noble earthy, weedy hops.

The bubbles are average - perfunctory and necessary, the body on the lee side of medium weight, but all right in that respect, and adequately smooth. It finishes off-dry, the malt gaining in caramel sweetness what it loses in biscuit crispness, with the hops still keeping their head down in their lingering state.

Not a bad bitter, but well, it could just use a little more, um...bitter? It does possess a decent weight and nice fruity/maltiness, however, that's not what I'm looking for, now, is it? One's enough at this rate.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2012 02:21:49 | More by biboergosum

petluo

Finland

3/5  rDev -16.7%

09-26-2012 20:12:19 | More by petluo

MEP

4.5/5  rDev +25%

07-27-2012 17:01:46 | More by MEP

BDTyre

British Columbia (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Quite dark - a nice coppery colour, with a creamy head.

Rich, malty biscuit scent. Lightly, mild fruity bitterness from the hops. Good biscuity flavour with a little bit of chocolate and raisins. A bit bitter when colder, but it evens out a bit as it warms. Nice fruity finish to it.

Carbonation is a bit rough - this is probably much better on cask. This makes me miss cask bitters.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2012 03:26:15 | More by BDTyre

aztraz

Sweden

2.75/5  rDev -23.6%

06-19-2012 19:50:17 | More by aztraz

JRaburn

2.75/5  rDev -23.6%

05-03-2012 20:36:16 | More by JRaburn

woosterbill

Connecticut

3.2/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Handpump halfpint at the Volunteer.

A: Clear ruby body with a thin, fleeting tan head. Ok lace. Not bad.

S: Not great. Overripe stone fruit, with some prune standing out. Disappointing.

T: A little better here, as the dark fruits join with some chocolate. Bittersweet finish. not bad.

M: Medium body, low carbonation. Ok.

O: This cask might not have been kept terribly well, but in any case this didn't seem to have much potential.

Cheers!

Serving type: cask

03-30-2012 19:18:58 | More by woosterbill

msubulldog25

Oregon

4/5  rDev +11.1%

01-30-2012 19:34:37 | More by msubulldog25

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

3.6/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A 500ml bottle with a BB of Sept 2011, so it's a little out of date. Given to me as a Christmas present last year by my uncle - it's been cellared in my garage since then. The bottle mentions that this was brewed in support of a prostate cancer charity.

Poured into a tulip pint glass. A deep ruby-brown hue with medium carbonation. Produces a nice thick head of creamy, off-white foam that lasts for a few minutes before subsiding. Aroma of sweet, nutty, roasted malt with hints of caramel and grain.

Tastes of sweet, dark malt with a mild bitter finish. Notes of caramel/toffee, roasted grain, yeast, stewed hop bitterness accompanied by subtle hints of coffee and cocoa. Mouthfeel is full-bodied and smooth; almost velvety. Slight tingling from the carbonation. Aftertaste of bitter dark malt - a little harsh.

Slides down rather nicely. The body is especially good, but the character is malty and easy-going, with a subtle blend of flavours. Well worth your time if you come across it.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2011 23:50:34 | More by jazzyjeff13

rarbring

Sweden

3.53/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer is clear brown amber, has a small off-white head that leaves lacing.

The smell is rather sweet, honey and apricot.

The taste is also on the sweet side, brown bread, preserved pears, apricots and nuts.

Little carbonation, soft and sticky feeling. Not dry.

A nice ale, a bit sweet, but very soothing.

Serving type: on-tap

08-05-2011 15:50:11 | More by rarbring

CwrwAmByth

United Kingdom (Wales)

3.48/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The second of the four beers I picked up from the Adnams shop in Southwold, out of interest the others were Explorer, Innovation and Tally-Ho (the only one I have yet to try)

This beer is based in its malts, including the chocolate malts which I love personally. They give the beer a nice caramel sugar like flavour, which floats above the hops like a brown ale almost, except overall it's more of a bitter.

A very original drink, will buy again.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2011 14:02:50 | More by CwrwAmByth

brendan13

Australia

3.68/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A – Pours a very dark ruby colour with a 2cm off white head that falls away fairly fast.
S – Toffee crystal malt dominates the initial aroma with some subtle bready malt coming through. Light marmalade fruit character sneaks in to provide some hop notes.
T – Much like the smell; toffee with some bready malt along with a very slight hint of chocolate. The marmalade fruit flavours play a very minor supporting role.
M – Lighter side of medium bodied with a low carbonation and present yet well balanced bitterness.
O – Would prefer if some more hop character came through but still a tasty English ale.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2011 10:46:21 | More by brendan13

marquis

United Kingdom (England)

4.13/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I seem to be the first person to have this on cask! It's becoming a frequent visitor to my locals.
To me it's like a little brother to Broadside and the brewery has done a good job of it.Lovely red colour with a tight head, lacing all the way down the glass.Reasonable aroma but cask beers aren't the place you go for aroma.Silky and rich mouthfeel and taste, very flavourful for the gravity and at 4% it has excellent drinkability.

Serving type: cask

01-21-2010 10:02:31 | More by marquis

mdagnew

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

3.65/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml bottle bought from The Vintage, Antrim..

Poured a deep dark browny red colour... Creamy brown head poured quite thick then faded to light layer... some light sticky lacing...

Aroma - Toffee maltiness, biscuity, quite earthy, dark fruits (raisins, plums), fruit loaf notes, toffee apples, peppery, some nutmeg, light chocolate hints, some light hops...

Taste - Dark bitter fruits (figs, raisins), toffee sweetness, roasted malts, nut brittle hints, some chocolate notes, peppery, light hops, faint hint of rum, earthy, some yeastiness

Feel - Quite smooth... Medium bodied. Pretty quaffable...

Overall - A pretty good bitter but Adnams can do better than this... Worth a try though...

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2009 08:58:05 | More by mdagnew

fullsweep

United Kingdom (England)

4.33/5  rDev +20.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

335 mL brown bottle poured into a pint glass.

A: dark but clear, 1-finger head with nice lacing

S: while my nose was a bit stuffed up from a cold, I'm picking up hints of sour mash and roasted malts

T: roasted malts coming through distinctly give it an almost porter-like quality, but thinner/lighter in the body; very pleasantly bitter with a crisp/sharpness (yet not tangy some some pale ales); malty and dark chocolate on the finish and further down the glass

M: light to medium-body with moderate carbonation--very nice

D: 4.0% ABV and a very enjoyable drink--yes please!

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2009 22:33:25 | More by fullsweep

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.15/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

500ml Brown bottle, best before 9 Mar 2010, drank 3 Dec 2009. Poured (twice) into my 'La Chouffe' tulip glass, my current favourite tasting glass.

Teak wood red/brown colour, clear and clean. On top sat a thick off-white foaming head which left some good lacing as I downed the beer.

Malts are the main aroma producing elements of the nose producing a toffee, molasses and roasted feel to the smell.

Sharper than I anticipated, the malts from the aroma also dominate the flavours somewhat, the roasted malts being the most prominent taste.

I like Adnam's traditional beers and I love Southwold (were the brewery is), but I am struggling to see where this beer fits into their portfolio.

An OK beer and a bit of a disappointment considering who brews it.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2009 00:38:23 | More by BlackHaddock

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

3.73/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Purchased at the Tesco supermarket, coming in a 500ml brown bottle, filtered and pasteurised. BB 09/03/2010, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass. NOTE: this beer has joined the "fight against Prostate Cancer" by contributing a donation from Gunhill sales to "The Prostate Cancer Charity".

A: pours a reddish, light copper hue with good clarity and moderate fizz (medium-size bubbles), topped with a fairly frothy, well-lasting off-white head.
S: smells like Adnams' Bitter with an extra touch of fruitiness - the typical earthy/muddy (Fuggles?) hops and Styrian Golding-like spicy fruits are joined by toasted apple-slice, lemon-zest, with a hint of toffee-nuts and sweet black tea. Refreshing, hoppy, on a par with a good body of amber/crystal malts.
T: the mildly sweet amber malts with the unique touch of Adnams' yeastiness are laced by a mild tinge of earthy hops, then sweet black tea, caramelised plums, and light-flavoured nutty and aromatic, lightly-roasted malts develop at the back, with a wee smoky touch even, where the palate turns dry-ish with a good deal of dried hops to linger in the end, at a just moderate level of bitterness. A smooth, integrated flavour profile is demonstrated overall.
M&D: the carbonation comes sli...ghtly higher than necessary, although this is the common feature of all Adnams' ales in the bottle form and the body of this ale is able to carry the thin, fizzy façade. Overall, I find this a pretty balanced ale - a good aromatic malt backbone is balanced with traditional aromatic hoppiness with a necessary sour edge throughout the drink. BTW, this ale is also available on cask during the JDW's festival recently, but I failed to catch it in time at my local pub. I really hope that Adnams could try to put this on cask as a regular seasonal? It does have good potentials for a good sale on cask.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2009 19:14:08 | More by wl0307