Tasting Notes: Cottage Brewery: Normans Conquest

Cottage Brewery: Normans Conquest (England: Barley Wine: 7% ABV)

Visual: Clear ruddy red in the light, yet seems a dark brown in more normally lit environs. Small dusting over bubbles upon it.

Nose: Sour crab apple, dusty, cooked lamb. Attics and cough syrup, cinnamon, summer fruits squash concentrate. Toffee apple.

Body: Apples, mint and chives. Touch of iodine. Raspberry. Malt back. Treacle, cinnamon and spice.

Finish: Jelly and lime, dry hops, fluffy, chocolate. Slight spice. Treacle, almost a light peat and raspberry.

Conclusion: Not bad, a nice range of flavour in it, some of which are quite unexpected. From fruit to slight medicinal this makes for an usual old ale/barley wine, however the radical difference in style between the notes can muddy the water somewhat making the flavours slightly indistinct.

At some points it seems like Robinsons fruit juice with iodine and alcohol and its not often you will hear that, this madness does somewhat endear it to me I must admit.

Quite a bit of light fruit makes for its most pleasing elements, and the light spices help round it out. Quite a lot going for it, a light fruity strong ale.