Nethergate, Umbel Ale, 3.8%abv. (Spiced Ale)

Coming in a 500ml brown bottle, BB Nov. 08, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass. The ingredients include Challenger and Fuggles whole-leaf hops, Maris Otter and Crystal malts, as well as a trace of coriander ("seeds", I believe).

4/5 Appearance: pours a clear dark amber hue with moderate carbonation, topped with a pillowy, off-white foam that retains its texture quite well.

4/5 Smell: the aroma is rich in tangerine-citric hops, biscuity malts, hays and stinky earthiness, as well as an unidentifiable aroma of dried herbs (presumably the corianders!); after a swirl, the different elements on the nose seem to intertwine and result in an almost peach-floral and stinky-earthy aroma, while constantly a slightly sharp edge of lemony sourness stays aside. The sweet malty body carries the exotic hoppiness and herbal scent quite well. Overall, very exotic and rich!

4/5 Taste: the bitter edge of burned caramel and toasted tangerines come on top of coffee-flavoured toffee with a pretty pronounced burned-sugary edge, then the biscuity malt theme goes deep, intertwined with lots and lots of herbal (apparently corianders), hayish and earthy bitterness of Fuggles hops… the hop bitterness comes so rough and deepening, that my tongue can’t help keeping chewing it!

3.5/5 Mouthfeel: although it’s slightly more spritzy for my preference, the mouthfeel remains quite light and refreshing, sometimes even tangy thanks to the good amount of hops used (apparently). The coriander bit is definitely there, though already well integrated into the whole picture.

4/5 Overall: All in all, this spiced ale shows a deeply earthy-hoppy and herbal profile on top of a rich base of lovely crystal malts. It’s unique in its own right, and truly “a class apart” – as proudly stated on the front label!

--Yau (tasted 07/09/2008, revisited 06/03/2013, notes transcribed 09/03/2013)