I am a little late with this review of Paddock Wood’s summer seasonals. I have been busy and out of town a fair bit this summer and didn’t want to sample the bottles until I could give them a focused tasting. That finally happened and I am happy to offer my conclusions about them – even if it might happen to be too late to bump sales for PW (sorry Stephen).

At any rate, Paddock Wood went a British route this summer, offering two English-style beer on opposite ends of the spectrum. The first is Bramling Cross, what they bill as a tradition English session beer (at 4.5%). In the glass it is a lovely deep reddish copper – a perfect pale ale hue. It builds a cascading bright white head that stays present as an impressive lacing on the side of the glass. The aroma is a classic British ale: light crystal, toffee and caramel malt sweetness and just a touch of floral hop nose. Moderate fruity esters add complexity. A similar experience awaits me upon sipping. Light malt sweetness of nut, caramel and toffee. The bitterness builds slowly but never gets too overpowering. It is a soft, rounded hop that gently sharpens the flavour and body of the beer. The linger is of soft floral hop (my guess is Goldings).

It has a light body, the initial impression almost watery but with enough beer-ness to keep it interesting. Really, it is exactly the beer it promises to be – a summer session beer. Not too much of anything, easy to drink, and almost ready-made for hot weather. I sampled mine shortly after a couple of hours of lopping tree branches and it hit the spot wonderfully.

PW’s other seasonal is Black Friars, what they call a 17th century London Ale. I interpret that to mean it is a London Porter, the world’s first mega-beer. It pours a rich mahogany brown and red wine highlights. A thick light tan head leaves a nice blanket. In terms of aroma, it provides a very enticing and complex combination of chocolate, mild coffee, hazelnut and dark molasses sugar with a touch of vanilla. The first sip breaks out with sweet chocolate, toffee, nuts and vanilla upfront. Mild roast kicks in half way and keeps a low but crucial profile – like the bass player in a band. The finish is moderately dry with imperceptible hops.

In many respects, this beer defines “robust” porter for me. This is not a soft beer, but a full, rich take on the style. It doesn’t scrimp on the malts. I do find, though, the description as a 17th century ale odd. Maybe it is just because I am a beer geek, but I know that porters in the 17th century possessed a sour twang this beer lacks. I was kind of half expecting a gentle sour note. That is hardly a criticism, since the historical sourness was due to contamination, but it did legitimately make up part of the beer’s profile. It just reminds me that brewers need to be careful in how they promote their beer as they can accidentally make associations they didn’t intend.

Yes, I know that is the kind of observation only I and many of this website’s readers will make, and most PW customers will simply appreciate the high quality of the beer (as I do). I just mention it because it offers a small opportunity for a bit of beer education.

In closing, if either beer were on offer at a pub I was in I wouldn’t hesitate to order one. Both are lovely examples of English-style ales.