Adnams Ghost Ship - Adnams plc, Sole Bay Brewery

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.88/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

500ml bottle BBD 30 Nov 2013: opened on 15 Jan 2013 some 30 nautical mile north of where the Titanic went down. Stateroom 6187 on Cunards 'Queen Victoria'.

Poured into a tumbler twice it looked fine: amber, clear and clean, on top a full white head sat on both pours.

Citrus notes in the nose and taste: bitter, yet with a malty undercurrent. A well balanced and easy to drink beer, Adnams come up trumps again.

Body depth was just right for the 4.5%ABV and I'm glad I took the brew on board with me.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 08:41:24 | More by BlackHaddock

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle. Apparently a Liquor Depot exclusive in Alberta.

This beer pours a slightly hazy medium golden amber colour, with two chubby fingers of puffy, densely foamy white head, which leaves a decent array of painted wave crest lace around the glass as it gently subsides.

It smells of sweet, bready pale malt, a touch of caramel, lemon and lime cocktail juice, a further tropical fruitiness - musty pineapple and guava - and some subtle, perfumed floral hops. The taste is bready, somewhat crackery malt, a big drop-off in the fruitiness from the nose - here it's just some muddled, sort of zingy, citrus salad notes, with an earthy, weakly bitter floral hoppiness rounding things out.

The carbonation is well on the low and understated side, the body medium-light in weight, and fairly smooth, just a wee clamminess stepping on its toes. It finishes off-dry, the wet cracker sweetness facing a pithy citrus fruit, um, bitterness.

Jebus. This is one of those kinds of beers where while there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, the converse is true as well. I just can't get up for this one - it's plainly drinkable, I suppose, but is as deeply memorable as the titular ocean vessel.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2013 00:40:09 | More by biboergosum

flyingpig

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.5/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle (500ml from Morisons):
Golden amber colour with a thumb sized, creamy white head that stays pretty well with little reduction in size over a couple of minutes.

Medium strength sweet malts, some floral hops and a good citrus aroma following this. There is some bitter malts and a small amount of caramel but generally quite faint.

Bitter malts and a nice citrus and lemon backing. There is some floral hops and a strong biscuit flavour after this. Definitely a bitter beer but not a bad taste.

Medium body and about the same carbonation level, there is a small amount of spice and a mild citrus tang but it's definitely the bitterness that dominates.

Drinkable but the aroma was lacking a little and not really that noticeable. It did hold its head fairly well though and looked pretty good but it's not a beer I'd pick up again given the choice, it was just too ordinary a pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 11:08:20 | More by flyingpig

CwrwAmByth

United Kingdom (Wales)

4.18/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Tried during a tasting session on the Adnams brewery the tour, so keep in mind i'm basing this review off memories of about 50ml of the stuff!

Pours a lovely clear golden colour. Not much smell that I can remember. I do remember though, a great taste very clean and malty, I could have easily drunk a few pints of the stuff, and was very impressed.

Had to resist the urge to buy an 8 pint mini cask of this from the Adnams shop knowing I would have to carry it back home on the train. Overall a superb beer.

Serving type: cask

06-26-2011 13:47:59 | More by CwrwAmByth

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

3.93/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

(Notes of 09/11/2010) Tasted by a half-pint at the John Russell Fox, a JDW pub in Andover, during the chain's beer festival in Autumn 2010; served by a non-sparkler pull. Notes: brewed with Chinook, Citra, Columbus hop varieties.

A: golden hue, great clarity, low carbonation, a creamy off-white head holds very wlel.
S: sweet citrus and passion fruits in abundance, semi-sweet pale malts as in most Adnam's ales. Clean, yet reasonably fragrant.
T: super-clean on the palate, great tea-ish & malty taste prevalent in most/all Adnam's ales, plus a touch of phenol, leading to a mildly bitter-sweet finish where clean pale malts' biscuitiness and spicy citric tannins intertwine & linger extremely well. Very pleasant hoppy finish with a good tangy feel down the both sides of the tongue.
M&D: super clean, healthy fizz level, light-bodied but full of flavour. Good balance is achieved, while all in all hoppiness shines through. A very well-crafted Golden Bitter.

Serving type: cask

11-14-2010 20:29:35 | More by wl0307