Courage Two Hundred Years 1987

1987 vintage. Like rusted tinned peaches in alcohol.
January 2010

Courage Brewery was founded in London by John Courage in 1787 - this beer was brewed in 1987 to commemorate two hundred years of brewing. The original Anchor Brewery near Tower Bridge was closed in 1981, so this beer would likely have been brewed at the company's Berkshire Brewery in Reading. In 1987 the company was owned by Elders Limited, the Australian company that owns Fosters, then in 1995 Scottish & Newcastle took it over. In 2007 the rights to the Courage brand were bought by Wells & Young's Brewery, and in 2010 the Berkshire Brewery was closed down.

The original Anchor Brewery has been converted into flats, though the brewery tap still exists as a Sam Smith's pub, as does the brewery tap for Courage's second London brewery, also called Anchor, the Anchor Bankside. A very worthwhile pub crawl can be conducted between these two pubs.

The beer has a good balance of fudge and dark berry fruits. It is soft and delicious.
September 2014

Ridley's Old Bob (1990)

The original Old Bob, brewed at Ridleys. Good toffee notes, but also a smattering of cardboard. So a mixed bag.

Lees The Labologists Society (Label of The Year Competition) 1989

The Label of The Year Competition is organised by The Labologists Society - people who have an interest in, and collect beer labels. In 1989 it was won by Lees who made this commemorative beer (and label). The competition is a means of having fun and raising money for charity. Each year a different brewery wins, and on average £2,000 is raised for charity.


The beer is a light, clean toffee accented pale ale. It's pleasant with nice fudge and licorice flavours, and a honey sweet finish.

Heavitree Bicentenary Ale 1990

Lovely beer. Soft and malty with good toffee and vanilla notes with hints of banana and bread and dried fruit and honey. Very yummy.

The Heavitree Brewery was founded in 1790 in Exeter, but had been taken over by Whitbread in the sixties, with the brewery closed in 1970, so by 1990 it had ceased brewing for 20 years. The beer cap says Whitbread London, but the London brewery closed in 1974, so the beer was probably brewed in Whitbread's Cheltenham brewery.

Bass Extra Strong Royal Lager 1981

Brewed for Charles and Diana's Royal Wedding in 1981, this is a full bodied and very malty beer. Mature wood flavours, sherry, port, alcohol, tea and honey. A very pleasant mix. Tasty.

Courage Georges Home Brewed (1990)

For a while there were a number of beers which were named "Home Brewed". This is one by Courage from 1990. Fresh carbonation, and a pleasant fresh flavour - lemon tea, dry sherry, hobnob biscuits and a hint of champagne. Lovely!
May 2010

Labbatt's Extra Stock 1997

This was a 6.5% abv special brew in 1978 by the Canadian company, Labatt's, to commemorate 150 years of brewing. It's very smooth, with good fruit notes, touches of honey, and only the memory of melted plastic.May 2010

Steendonk Brabants Witbier (1993)

Wheat beer from 1993. Came out flat, so I swirled the yeast and that gave it some life! I had this side by side with a fresh Steendonk, and the character was very different. The wheat character in the aged one was very diminished - no bubble gum at all - and the malt character had come through - though an aged malt - some soft caramel. Mostly it's fairly bland.

May 2010

The beer was a collaboration between Duvel Moortgat Brewery and Palm Breweries, and was brewed between 1989 and around 2010.

L'epi de Facon (1994)

L'epi de Facon was a beer originally made in Lille by Jacques Bonduel, and it's possible that production had shifted to the big contract brewery in Saint-Omer by 1994 when this was made. It's a flowery 5.5% pale lager, with a firm body and a suggestion of wheat. Very pleasing - much better than expected!
May 2010

Ansells Special Pale Ale

No date, and no indication of abv, though Ron Pattinson has records from 1955 showing it to be 4.9% then. I'm not sure it remained at that strength, as this feels somewhat thin. As both metric and imperial measures are given, the date is likely to be in the 70s when Britain was in the process of transition.

Ansells was a regional brewery founded in Aston, Birmingham, in 1858. It merged with Taylor Walker and Ind Coope in 1961 to form Allied Breweries. The brewery remained in operation until 1981, after which production transferred to Allied's Burton upon Trent brewery; some former staff setting up the Aston Manor Brewery.

There is a pleasant fruity aroma and some soft toffee in the mouth, but on the whole the beer lacks impact. A little bit of cardboard and stale tea in the finish.

Brains Prince's Ale 1981

This is pleasantly malty with smooth toffee notes and a delicious soft sweetness. Mouthfeel is a little dry and watery - the malt holds there in the mouth feeling smooth and malty delicious, then it pops like a watery bubble. If the body were a little firmer, this would be a killer beer; even so, as it stands, it's very enjoyable. Finish is very dry and inclined to be somewhat tannic. Some people like that. Nice port and red wine wine notes deep in the malt.

The more I drink this the more I like it. Brewed in 1981 for Charles and Diana's wedding. There were a whole bunch of bottled beers brewed for the wedding. Some people like to collect the bottles. I like to drink the contents!

Anchor Smooth (2002)

Standard pale lager - 4.5%.  Brewed in Singapore. Not terribly old, but over ten years. Good fruit aroma and soft, pleasant carbonation. Easy drinking. Slightly dry, with some tea notes creeping in, but mostly fruit like, and very refreshing. OK.

Marston's Pridewood Bitter (1997)

A limited edition 1997 bottle conditioned bitter from Marston's. This has developed very nicely. Smooth and soft with no off flavours. Delicate and juicy with hints of pineapple, melon, vanilla, marzipan and jasmine tea. O, this is very lovely indeed!
May 2010

Marston's Christmas Beer 1996

Mmmmm. Another very successful bottle conditioned beer from Marston from the late 90s. This is liquid Christmas cake, complete with marizapn and icing. Yes, mixed peal, orange, almonds, beer soaked brown bread, all wrapped softly together in a warm blanket of alcohol. There is some awareness of age - a touch of damp brown paper, and a bit of dryness in the finish which has a memory of powdery hops.
May 2010

Watney / Norwich Light Ale (1989)

The Norwich Brewery was the old Morgan Brewery of Norwich which went into liquidation in 1961, the pubs passing to two local Norwich breweries, and the brewery itself going to Watney who shut it down in 1985, production moving to London. This was made in 1989, so would have been made in London. It's a nice enough Light Ale, quite dry and refreshing with some soft toffee, cheap red wine, and Lipton's Ice Tea.
May 2010

Camerons Strongarm Premium Beer (1989)

Strongarm from 1989 when Camerons was owned by Wolverhampton & Dudley. It was 4.3% at this time. It's a good nutty beer.
May 2010

Piestinger Lager (1998)

Piestinger Lager from Markt Piesting in Austria - 4.7% - 1998. It is a golden yellow lager with a decent dusting of flowery hops, and a clean malt base, but it has not aged well. The hops are now very smudgy, and the malt is slightly tinged with vinegar and cereal notes. Carbonation still remains firm, and the beer is quite drinkable, but it's not a great experience.
July 2010

Salopian Snapdragon

Date unknown - possibly 1997, when it was launched. Michael Jackson wrote about the launch of this beer.
Bottle conditioned. Lambic dry with good condition - carbonation is fairly consistent. Slight lemon flavour. Ever so slightly, pleasantly, sharp. A clean, refreshing beer. 
May 2010

Ancla Premium Beer (1996)

I found this in a box in my attic yesterday, Brewed in 1996. Good carbonation producing a creamy head. Hmmm - this is a pleasant, soft creamy lager with a decent level of hops. This is like a decent Czech lager. I’m stunned that this tastes so fresh and hoppy after 14 years - especially as it has been in my attic for several years - subject to some wild temperature variations! 

Really very hoppy and fresh. I keep checking the date on the label - and it's very clear, no mistake, BBE August 1997. And there's no cardboard notes, no floaties, no tin or tea - just good fruity, grassy hops. Stunning.
June 2010

Tatran Export Lager (1994)

330ml bottle from Slovak Republic, brewed in 1994. Malty and full bodied with a gentle and pleasant hop awareness. Not a great deal of character, but quite smooth and drinkable.
June 2010

McEwan's Blue Label

Nip bottle. Light bodied, dark brown colour. Caramel tones. Dryish palate. Light but insistent and even carbonation. Some chocolate. Very drinkable and refreshing. I have no date or abv, and I know nothing about this beer. I can't even remember where I got it from.
July 2010

Smiles Spring Ale (2001)

2001 bottle from the now closed Smiles brewery in Bristol. Pleasant lightly fruity and refreshing beer with some sweet spots and a hint of citrus. Very drinkable.
July 2010

Mackeson Stout (1990)

A 1990 bottle of "The Original & Genuine". It was first brewed in 1907 in Kent, and may have been the first beer to be produced with lactose. Though patents for milk beer had been applied for in 1875 and 1895, there doesn't appear to be milk beers earlier than Mackeson's. It had the catch-phrase - "Looks good, tastes good, and by golly it does you good."

And, yes, it did taste good - very smooth.
August 2010

Moosehead Beer (1989)

A British version (4.6%) of the Canadian lager made by Whitbread in what looks like 1989. It's done well. Soft carbonation, soft, clean flavours with a suggestion of honey and fruit. The hops haven't done so well, and are a bit cardboardy. An OK drink.
August 2010