I admit I’m a sucker for a bit of marketing, which is why By The Horns’ Wolfie Smith Amber Ale found its way into my shopping this week. Hey, it’s got a gorilla on it.

I’m also a sucker for bad 70s sitcoms, so any craft beer aligning itself with Citizen Smith has already scored a few bonus points.

On the nose

On opening, Wolfie is surprisingly coy. Fresh but not hoppy. There’s actually not much to talk about on the nose, which makes a nice change from heavy IPAs that punch you in the chops before you’ve even tried them. I’m a little wary that this might be a bland drink because of this.

Pouring

At this point a note on my drinking method: from the bottle.

I could pour this out and wax lyrical about it’s light caramel colour… a little darker than straw, a little lighter than many bitters (okay, I did pour out a little tiny bit, but who needs to hear me saying “It’s brown. Brown booze.”)

But if I do, no doubt some pillock will harangue me for not using a nonick rather than a shaker glass in the comments. People who say things like that don’t deserve to have any beer ever again. Remember how snobby and exclusionary wine used to be? Yeah that. Quit doing that please. The right glass can certainly add to flavour, but a decent beer needs to stand on its own wet feet.

So what does it taste like?

Long. There’s a lot going on here. It starts with a crisp caramel note on the tongue, then has a sharp, hoppy bite that lingers. It reminds me of bitter, but lighter and more summery.

The complex flavours hang around as well. A citrus snap on the front of the tongue, but also a mellower warmth in the sides of the mouth.

Oddly, it puts me in the mind of cookies. Bready and sweet, but enough hops to stop it becoming sickly.

Worth trying?

Overall it’s not a beer I could drink all evening, but it’s satisfyingly different from many of the bulkier beers coming out of London at the moment.

This is a beer made for nursing on a warm afternoon in a quiet pub, rather than slinging back in the evening, and it makes a good addition to By The Horn’s interesting range.

Best drunk with…

A crossword and some nuts. Failing that, have it with a hot dog in the garden. Everyone likes hotdogs.

For more of the latest and tastiest brews, check out our new craft beer reviews section including this round-up of the best pumpkin ales.

Author: Matt Owen Date: 2015-06-26 Title: By The Horns - Wolfie Smith (Amber Ale) Rating: 4