Harvey's - Old Ale

From the oldest brewery in Sussex comes an AF brown ale, a dealcoholised take on their winter brew. The hops used are the typical English ones (the recipe of the alcoholic version dates back to the 50s) - Goldings, Fuggles and Bramling Cross. But a beer like this isn't really about the hops, it's about the malts from the roasted Maris Otter barley. The beer pours a beautiful rich red-brown but the head is thin and dissipates quickly. Flat as the proverbial mill pond in fact. The aroma is sweet and very malty, think Christmas pudding perhaps. Certainly the taste is of dried fruit and dates. The mouthfeel is very thin and the aftertaste is rather sticky. The taste disappoints after the initial promise from the aroma.

2/5