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L'epi de Facon was a beer originally made in Lille by Jacques Bonduel, and it's possible that production had shifted to the big contract brewery in Saint-Omer by 1994 when this was made.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.