“The drinkers’ favourite, a classic pale ale with a complex citrus and hoppy aroma. It has won more awards than any other beer, winning both CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain and the Brewing Industry Awards Gold Medal four times.”

Glassware: English pint.

Appearance: Pours a gorgeous bold amber hue and holds a sturdy two finger head. Excellent retention and equally excellent lace work as we go.

Aroma: Another edition to the “we can’t believe we haven’t reviewed this before” files. This beer has literally graced our fridges dozens of times over the past 15 or so years and not once has it crossed our minds to review it. Well here we go. Hallmark British Pale Ale features of caramel, sweet doughy bread/brioche, toast, marmalade, mandarin, orchard fruits and somewhat nutty and woody malt notes. Brilliant.

Flavour: Drinks almost exactly how it smells – a delicious sweetness washes over the palate but it’s kept in check by a perfectly integrated bitterness. It’s genius coz as it progresses that caramel sweetness and bitterness holds steadfast and it builds up from there with marmalade on toast, brioche, nutty and woody malts, buttered biscuits, a kind of floral-infused honey sweetness and a spicy herbal tea quality to finish.

Mouthfeel: Smooth but with good grip on its way down. Medium body, mild-moderate Co2. The 4.1% ABV is dead set spot on.

Overall: Absolutely brilliant. We were proper bummed when we heard Phoenix are no longer importing these to Australia. We hope another supplier picks them up as it is as good as an English Pale Ale gets.