Adnams Southwold Bitter - Adnams plc, Sole Bay Brewery

flyingpig

United Kingdom (Scotland)

2.93/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Copper to amber with a bubbly white head that is about a mhalf a centimetre tall. This eventually settles to thin, soapy lacing after about a minute.

Light earthy hops and light malts hitting you first. There is a tiny amount of bitter that is detectable and a touch of fruit too.

Earthy hops and malts that are coupled with some light, summer fruits and some bitterness.

Light bodied and smooth although not quite falling into the watery category, there is a mildly bitter taste and a hint of dryness to the beer. Average with mild carbonation.

Although not a bad beer really it was far to mild and lacking in any strength or flavour where it counted and not a beer that I particularly enjoyed or would go back to.

1001 Beers Blog:
http://abarwithnoname.wordpress.com

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2012 16:04:09 | More by flyingpig

oberon

North Carolina

3.53/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into an imperial nonic a clear deep copper color with a nice looking 1/2 finger white head atop that held well.Bready and toffee malt aromas,light fruity ester and hard water roud it out,there is a light whiff of leafy hops.A little light in the mouth but probably right on for the style and abv.,subtle flavors of sweetish toffee and biscuit,fruity tones,that hard water,and a little more pronounced leafy hops in the finish.It's not bad it is what it is,I could drink alot of these over a long period of time in a session.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2012 20:39:24 | More by oberon

jrfehon33

Pennsylvania

3.35/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: It pours a medium brown with a hint of red and just a little bit of head.

Taste: This beer certainly is bitter but it's not overwhelming. There is just a slight bit of sweetness, grain, and pine but it's mostly the bitter flavor that you taste. There's also not very much to the finish, most of the flavor you get on the initial part of the sip.

Mouth Feel:  This is a very carbonated beer and nice and crisp.

Overall: It's a very good beer in this category and a good one to drink to get introduced to bitters. However to me it just seems to be lacking a prominent second note. Beyond the bitterness there really isn't much else to it.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2012 12:35:44 | More by jrfehon33

Bitterbill

Wyoming

3.35/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Purchased from Half Time Beverages.

Bottled on Dec 11, 2011

It pours a clear deep gold copper with a 2 finger head of white foam. My imperial pint glass looks so gorgeous right now.

It smells grainy with a fruity backbone and has some light bitter notes.

The taste has some grain like in the smell, more bitterness than the smell, a kind of aspirin bitterness that doesn't hit my palate all that well. It finishes slightly on the sweetish side where the medium light body gets a bit thin.

This is not a bad Bitter. The abv is nice and low and drinkabilty as far as said abv goes is great. The flavours just don't mesh as well for me as I hoped.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2012 22:34:01 | More by Bitterbill

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.58/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

16.9 ounce bottle - $3.99 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours out a clear, deep amber-hued body with a foaming, short-lived, white head. A few spider web streaks of lace on the descent.

Smell: Toasted barley husks in the nose with an ill-defined sweet-scented trace to it, discarded fruit skins, and some earthy, woodsy English hops.

Taste: A taste of wet toast with a little, light caramel sweetness that quickly recedes away. A bit of apple skin, a bit of red grape skin. Earthy, woodsy, faintly herbal hop character with medium-light bitterness. Faint toastiness remaining in the predominately hoppy (though, even that’s still quite restrained)

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Falls a little shy of a medium level of carbonation for an overall soft mouthfeel.

Overall: Enjoyably subtle.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2012 18:30:09 | More by ChainGangGuy

popery

California

3.63/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

The beer pours clear and amber, the color of freshly oiled mahogany. The head is a thick lip of fine, khaki bubbles. The beer doesn't quite achieve the look of a hand-pumped pint, and the head quickly thins to a stubborn few millimeters. The aroma is freshly baked pastries laced with hop nectar. The caramel malt backbone is quite rich for the strength of the beer and holds up the hops well. The hops are rather fruity - peaches, nectarines, meyer lemons and a hint of pineapple - with touches of mineral notes. The taste is a bit sweet, and there isn't quite enough to the hops to pull it together. The caramel malt verges on sickly, medicinal sweetness, though it's certainly not a fatal flaw in my estimation. Carbonation is low, and the mouthfeel is fairly smooth, but it's a pale imitation of a cask. It's hardly the fault of Adnams. I'd just love to try more English ales fresh out of a cask. I thoroughly enjoyed this beer and, once again, am amazed at how much flavor English brewers can pack into <5% abv beers. Of course, not having sampled the casks of England, I really have no idea how it compares to the style. Perhaps, if I was surrounded by bitters, I wouldn't praise it so highly, but that's an issue for another day.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2012 04:36:37 | More by popery

fx20736

New York

2.25/5  rDev -37.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a British Pint Glass. Served cool.

pretty medium copper with 2 fingers of a cream colored batter texture head which leaves nice swaths of lacing.

strange aroma of burning rubber.

Chewy, viscuous mouthfeel.

taste: bitter. quite bitter. and fairly malty.

Notes: had my 1st two Adnams beers today and their is a bitterness which I find not at all pleasing. Pity as I was excited to try some new English beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2012 18:43:45 | More by fx20736

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I had this on cask at TJ's Restaurant and Drinkery's Shelton Brothers tap takeover event.
Served cask temp in a nonic.

The color is a deep golden amber with very light haze and thick cream that settles gradually with fine bead and lace stickage is good. the smell is very herbal and has a nice fruitiness from the ale yeast ester which is slightly pear/apple tinged with a light spice in the nose almost comes forward as piney with a mineral element in the mix. The feel is good with light body mild carbonation as expected with moderate bitterness and fruitiness from the yeast which is tangy on the palate with a mild astringent tinge in the mostly dry finish.

The taste has a more piney flavor than the aroma lets on with some gentle bitterness which has a more herbal taste w/ gentle pepper tinge and accent with more yeast which brings a light alcohol flavor and subtle mineral tinge w/ a dry finish. The overall is a highly drinkable bitter -very quaffable. I would order this again as it is pretty full of flavor for a 3.7% beer.

Serving type: cask

01-30-2012 19:45:30 | More by Slatetank

rarbring

Sweden

3.88/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The ale is clear honey amber, a warm off-white head that settles slowly leaving very good lacing. Very small curtains.

The smell is sweet fresh bread with a dash of honey, ripe apples and pears. An orange, almost metallic finish.

Starts sweet, brown bread, brown sugar, a dash of oranges, then a straight bitter finish.

Medium carbonation, small foamy bubbles, soft and refreshing, a rather long dry finish.

Very session-able, a nice relaxing ale. The can bought in Sweden says 4.1% ABV.

Serving type: can

12-12-2011 17:13:41 | More by rarbring

fullsweep

United Kingdom (England)

3/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Imperial pint on cask at the local sports and community centre.

A: Reddish brown, but heavy on the brown. I guess 'mahogany' would be close, but not so dark.

S: smells fairly typical for an English bitter. Honestly I can't say much else.

T: nothing incredible or outstanding about this, but relatively solid.

M: smooth, no fizz, moderately rich but not overpowering

O: as stated above, there is nothing amazing or outstanding about this, but it is a fairly solid offering, and very representative of the style.

Serving type: cask

12-11-2011 19:11:02 | More by fullsweep

Sunnanek

Sweden

4/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

A: Pours deep amber with a really large thick compact white head that sure takes it's time to set into rather nice lacings.

S: Mild sweetness to the malt, butter and bitter hops. Rich fruityness. Smells rather basic, but man - why mess with the basics if you know what you're doing?

T: Green apples and nettles - dry! Malt is kind of dry and is generously buttery. Bitter hops.

M: The aftertaste is long and bitter in the best possible way. Body is light and carbonation mild.

O: An uneven beer. The taste is a little to mild, but nice. The aftertaste is the best I've had in a canned Bitter.

Serving type: can

10-14-2011 17:19:37 | More by Sunnanek

woosterbill

Connecticut

2.35/5  rDev -34.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Handpump half-pint at Ye Olde Cock.

A: Clear medium amber body with a thin, sticky white head. Ok retention, nice lace. Attractive.

S: Musky, grainy malt. Harsh, lighly sour fruitiness. Almost vinous. Not good.

T: Follows the nose, unfortunately. Caramel malt, rotten prunes. Sweet finish. Pretty disappointing.

M: Typical cask. Medium body, less carbonation. Ok.

O: This was a major disappointment, since I absolutely loved the Adnams Southwold Mild, and hoped that its Bitter counterpart would be just as great. I have a sneaking suspicion that Ye Olde Cock might not be the best at keeping Ye Olde Casks, so if I get the chance to have this one again I'll gladly rereview.

Cheers!

Serving type: cask

06-20-2011 01:39:36 | More by woosterbill

Trizzle

United Kingdom (England)

2.38/5  rDev -33.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2

A last resort for me. I've always put off reviewing this thinking perhaps I'm not getting it at it's freshest, but it is perpetually average so here we go...

Start with the positive..
Good looking beer. Clear brown body with some yellow highlights. Solid head lingers and laces.
Mouthfeel is quite big. Probably the biggest I've had for the style and ABV. It's full and very smooth. Perhaps I shouldn't mark a bitter so high for being so much bigger than the style dictates, but I'm looking for positives here.

Ok..
The nose is quite tart and sweet - smells a touch like a Belgian triple or quad that had been left out overnight. Background cola and peppery notes.
Taste is sickly. Far too sweet and sour. Somehow it's like a high ABV beer that has turned. It dries out a tad in the immediate aftertaste but lingers long and sickly acidic. .

I'm done giving this beer "another shot".

Serving type: cask

04-06-2011 17:37:56 | More by Trizzle

StJamesGate

New York

3.5/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On cask at The Crown, Victoria Park, London.

Pours orange with great white lacing. Faint nose. Woody malts and orange coriander hops. Dry tight finish with medium body.

A properly bitter pint of bitter and with the low ABV, a very sessionable ale.

08-09-2010 17:05:10; On cask at the Tin Goose, Heathrow airport.

Pours ruddy brown with a thin clingy white head. Musty, toilety, barrel nose. Sour cracked grain and cranberry malts with a malt vinegar sting, then tobacco leaf, tea and woody hops. Medium, slight chew, dry finish.

Sour, skunky, and musty - is this what a bad pint tastes like?
I'm not a huge fan of Adnams, but their reputation means their bitter must be better than this, and I wouldn't trust an airport bar to care much about conditioning.

look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

In bottle, 28/5/13 - Raspberry nose, more red berry up front with woody hops and some chew. A very fruity bitter. Makes Fuggles palatable, though past date. I'll taste this fresh some day...

Serving type: cask

10-28-2009 17:11:43 | More by StJamesGate

AtLagerHeads

Ohio

3.4/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Enjoyed at Nicholson's - Cincinnati on February 25, 2004.

Mostly clear amber body topped with a nice head of fluffy foam that coated the glass on the way down. Smooth as silk with a nice malty character and hints of the bittering hops. Mouthfeel smooth and rich with a medium body.

Serving type: cask

02-26-2005 17:01:07 | More by AtLagerHeads

UncleJimbo

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Sampled on cask at the Priory Arms, Oct. 2004.

This bitter poured a very slightly hazy, deep amber color with white foam that settled flat. The smell was minimal: malt with a trace of sulfur. The taste was malty with mild hops, a hint of caramel, and a touch of sweetness and bitterness in the finish. The mouthfeel was dry and a tad "chalky", though smooth. The body was medium with very low carbonation. The finish was astringent and made my salivary glands ache. This was an OK bitter.

Serving type: cask

12-07-2004 04:39:02 | More by UncleJimbo

francisweizen

Australia

4/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-cask at the Market Porter, London

Light orangey amber. Little head to speak of (it's cask afterall). Aromas of fresh citric hops and classic, buttery, british malts. Taste follows suit. Quite citrusy and hoppy for a 3.7%abv brew. Nice maltiness in the mix as well, and a killer finish that is clean as an open sky. Mouthfeel, light and easy to drink. Refreshing even. A classic session ale.

Serving type: cask

11-16-2004 18:38:27 | More by francisweizen

gentlebubbles

Massachusetts

4.55/5  rDev +27.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

NERAX 04

This is what a bitter should be!

A crystal clear amber, with a beautiful fluffy head crowning over the rim of the glass. Very fragrant. Nice maltiness, and crisp hops balanced with subtle perfection.

This one I could drink all day and not feel like I was missing out on anything.

Serving type: cask

04-29-2004 18:56:35 | More by gentlebubbles

Billolick

New York

3.98/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

large bottle with dating, its fresh. Tasty English style ale. Medium body and nice smooth mouthfeel. Nice and malty, bready, yeasty and fresh tasting. Moderate hop bite to add balance and complexity to this brew. Completely English in its sensibilities. Doesnt overpower the ole taste buds, as some U.S. ales can do ( I love those as well dont get me wrong...)

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2004 03:10:51 | More by Billolick

govtmule

Connecticut

3.88/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was my first cask-conditioned beer. So, this could be skewed, but here is my impression...
I ordered this at Eli Cannon's on 3-12-04 while waiting for a table. It was served at slightly below room temp. It was kind of dark in EC's but it appeared to be more of a yellow or light tan than amber like the other reviewers said. There was a nice foamy white head. The taste was nice with some hints of fruit and a creamy feel on the tongue. Good balance. I could drink it all night without feeling too dense.

Serving type: cask

03-15-2004 22:04:31 | More by govtmule

Gusler

Arizona

3.5/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Adnams Southwold Bitter 3.7° – 3.50
Adnams plc, Sole Bay Brewery in Southwold, Suffolk, United Kingdom (England)

Cask @ Papago Brewery
The beer a cloudless amber color as it sets in my mug, the head portly in size with the color a pleasing light tan and the texture creamy, lace forms a thin sheet to cover the glass. Nose is all malt, sweet and pleasant with the start lightly sweet, nice malt presence and the top light in feel to the palate. Finish is devoid of carbonation as one should expect, mild hop presence, quite dry aftertaste and quite reminiscent of Caffrey’s and Boddingtons’s Cask beers, and a nice change of pace from the hearty IPA’s and dark brooding beers I have sampled of late.

Serving type: cask

03-08-2004 14:24:37 | More by Gusler

sulldaddy

Connecticut

3.83/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Just had this on cask at Eli Canon's.
The brew came to me at room temp and displayed a clear orange/amber color with about a 1cm soft creamy white head. The head stayed around throughout most of the sampling.
Aroma is mild but I get some caramel malt and also a nice mix of earthy and grassy hop.
First sip reveals soft creamy texture and very faint carbonation. I get a sweet malty start which rolls over to a grassy hop finish that lingers on the roof of my mouth rather nicely. Overall the brew is mild on flavor and aroma but isnt that part of what a bitter should be? I could drink tons of these in a sitting I think. Good example of the style!

Serving type: cask

03-08-2004 03:20:28 | More by sulldaddy

TerryW

Ontario (Canada)

3.43/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Amber red pour with a generous head that dissapated to absolutely nothing – not even a film. No lace to be had.

Comes across as dry and hoppy, bitter on the palate. Lingers some, but not overlong. You can sense the dry bitterness in the aroma of this beer as well.

Real simple and straight forward. Good clean taste. Nice beer to accompany a meal.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2004 01:53:59 | More by TerryW

bridgeporter

Washington

4.33/5  rDev +20.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Just returned home from 2 weeks of beer heaven in the U.K. Had several pints of this wonderful session ale in a beautiful pub in the countryside east of Leicester. A little bit of heaven on earth was the Black Boy pub. ( not very politically correct, but I didn't name it!)

A nice dry, mildly hoppy ale that made you wish for more. Lucky for me I had a non-drinking driver so this was no problem. A slightly sulphuric taste in the background might put some off but this added to the long dry finish that made this a pleasure to the taste buds. Scotty, beam me back!!

Serving type: cask

10-11-2003 21:04:17 | More by bridgeporter

Seumas

Ontario (Canada)

4.3/5  rDev +20.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Part of the joy of return trips to England is the opportunity to sup pints which remain as tasty as they were at first cut many years earlier.

There's still a nice hop flavour to this East Anglian classic, citrus and seaweed, subtly done.

It was and is good in the free trade in London and Essex, and delightful in a rural Adnams house in its home county of Suffolk.

Serving type: cask

09-10-2003 03:51:30 | More by Seumas