Vale of Glamorgan Marathon Man

Welsh brewers Vale of Glamorgan brought out this beer as a seasonal in time for the olympics as reported by Brew Wales here.

However it only appeared in my local Spar shop a few weeks ago which surprised me a little as it was limited to a 1000 bottles only, and its still there now, so perhaps they extended the run on it.

Marathan Man is a bitter, 4.4% abv, £2.09 (I think), and the label describes it as a "Tawny best bitter with a kick of gooseberries and blackcurrant from a medley of late hops".

The bottle I drank for the picture was strange, it was almost like a fizzy cordial drink, with those gooseberries and sharp currants in evidence. But it seemed to have no backbone, no malt body that you would expect in any beer.

Thus I decided to give it another chance a week later and got another bottle, This was much better, it had body to it, still quite light in the mouth though, there was that sharpness from the fruit, and a strong, to me, woody quality.

Not one I think I'll seek out again, (either variations!).

Vale of Glamorgan 'Light Headed'

This is a bottle conditioned beer from the Barry based brewery Vale of Glamorgan (VoG) called Light Headed, a 500ml 4% abv bitter. The picture on the bottle like some of their other labels is a local landmark, if i'm right it's the lighthouse at Nash Point, South Glamorgan.
This shows of a nice light tan brown, very little head which soon dissipates. Aroma was mostly malty, with tangy hops, like a rich warm orange. The  beer itself is reasonable crisp, lively, medium malt base in the taste, with something fruity and juicy hiding in there. Reasonable bitterness, tannin also, short finish noted.

Overall not a bad beer from VoG, not their best but i would certainly be happy to drink it again.

Vale of Glamorgan - "Glamorgan"

Another beer from the Vale of Glamorgan brewery based in Barry, South Wales.

You may now have heard of them following some press coverage or on golf blogs for their special beer brewed for the Ryder Cup called 'Tiger Would'. As you can see with the pump clip they went for the subtle approach! I'm sure his lawyers would see the funny side of it!
Apparently as well as the cask version it will be now available in a limited run bottle version. My friend in the field (aka the pub) at the Barry 'Wetherspoons' found it on tap but unfortunately his was the bottom of the barrel and it was now off. Full marks to their customer service though, pint replaced and a free one too (probably those CAMRA vouchers he was flashing helped!).







Anyway, to the bottle in my hand 'Glamorgan' a big 7.0%  'traditional pale ale, full in body, strength and flavour. Using finest floor malted grain and selected hops'.
This was a light mahogany in colour, with the aroma of plums and toffee. I felt it had a sweetish aspect too, i have seen other reviewers sometimes mention juicyfruits or starburst sweets in relation to other beers and never knew what it meant but i think i got it here. Normally if i dont know what i'm tasting i do look for other reviews for guidence, a virtual education if you like, i taste it but cant name it.
 Beer.Birra.Bier blogger Mark wrote recently an excellent post on tasting notes recently.
This being a new beer i'm flying solo this time! Never mind, if you try it and i'm blatantly wrong please tell me what i was actually tasting!

Its quite full in the mouth but not long lasting, you get again a caramel toffee flavour and rich fruit. It in no way has the alcohol warmth of a 7% beer, very deceptive but to me it has the taste more of a barely wine than a pale ale. I might just put a couple away for Christmas.

Vale of Glamorgan Chocs Away!

Vale of Glamorgan Chocs Away!

Vale of Glamorgan brewery based in Barry, South Wales, is probably my closest microbrewery. They have a selection of 5 cask ales now since starting in 2005 with occasional specials/seasonal ales, and now extended the bottle range to versions of their latest cask ales.

This is their chocolate beer, 4.5% Chocs Away, and immediately you get a nice light chocolate aroma followed by coffee.

As they correctly say on the label its a lovely mahogany colour. It has a little head that doesn't last, smooth chocolate taste again the coffee and roasted malt coming on. Quite a light taste, not as punchy as some chocolate beers but its nicely balanced and i could imagine having a few more easily.

They produced a great Christmas ale last year called 'Holly Daze' , which had a good rich malty and fruit taste, and their current version of their bitter 'Bitter than ever' is also very good, good hoppy aroma, medium bitterness, good sweetness also briefly, showing a lovely colour.



Next on my shopping list is the wheat beer 'Wheats Occurring' (pun groan!) and the other bitter 'Light Headed', but as i'm working now for 3 nights they'll have to wait!!
Also next up waiting in the wings is Welsh breweries based in the South West. These are from the Preseli Brewery, Tenby and the Cwrw Cwm Gwaun brewery, Pembokeshire.