Bushys: Gibraltar Barbary Beer (Isle Of Man: Brown Ale: 4.4% ABV)

Visual: Pale reddish brown with off white bubbled head that froths up easily but with no staying power.

Nose: Slightly muggy hops. Slight acidic, vinegar and brown paper. Crab apples. Slight malt and brown sugar.

Body: Sweet. Liquorice, black cherry. Apple acidity and malt. Slight candy floss, raspberry and pineapple.

Finish: Dry and woody. Dolly mixture touches. Slight tart apple. Dry hops. Malt chocolate. Light grapefruit.

Conclusion: Initially I thought I was in for a quite boring beer here. Which would have been a shame, the closest thing to Gibraltar’s own beer being a tad crap.

Well, it isn’t world shaking, but as I sipped it I realized it was doing a lot to redeem itself from its first impressions. The nose was easily the dullest part, and the body was expected to go the same way. However within a few sips that elusive almost holographic fruitiness started to come out from the light sourness. The way the flavours merged reminding me of the Belgium take on the brown ale style.

This tart yet sweet mix is quite drinkable and refreshing. It’s not well suited to Gibraltar’s climate, but enjoyable none the less.

The strange thing is for all its boast of the Gibraltar grown hops it doesn’t seem to let them play much, but what you do get bodes well, would be interesting to see how a single hopped IPA with them in decent doses would taste.

A nice find then for a bit of fun, but don’t go on a trip to Gibraltar just to search it out.

Background: Made in the Isle of Man using Gibraltar grown hops, then exported and sold in Gibraltar. That is a long way to go to make a beer. Found in Gibraltar and decided to tasting note the closest thing to a local ale that they had.