有朋友問：英國酒廠裡最早開始運用北美酒花的是哪家？又是哪款酒？真把我問倒了…

想一想，從 1990 年代開始大玩酒花實驗、酒風革新，創造出許許多多跨風格或跨大西洋精釀文化交流產品的英格蘭小型酒廠，到目前茁壯成熟，在所在地區各占鰲頭，且經得住雨後春筍般林立的最新型小酒廠挑戰的… 心裡直接的印象是：一南、一中、一北：南有從 Brighton 出身的 Dark Star ；中有 Peterborough 的 Oakham Ales；北邊則是 Yorkshire 的代表 -『公雞』/ Rooster’s 酒廠。

這裡嚐的『洋雞』/ “Yankee” Original Pale Ale ，便是 Rooster’s 一款歷久不衰的老產品，目前終於有了瓶裝版，可以外銷到海外了。由於不是要釀所謂的美式 Pale Ale ，這裡用得雖是單一 Cascade 酒花，但基底只用著名的英國 Golden Promise 極淺色麥芽，整體而言是屬於目前 CAMRA 官方歸類的 Golden Ale 酒風。事實上，也就是比傳統一般顏色較深的 Bitter 麥味清淡許多，但酒花香味集中，同時苦質依舊的新一代 “Golden Bitter” 。

這款的桶裝生啤版本 (Cask-Conditioned) 可是贏得了不少的地區性全國性啤酒評審獎；來到英國，有機會在酒吧看到的話，可別錯過這款20年前便開始興奮地啄酒花的老洋雞喔~~

Rooster’s, Yankee (Original Pale Ale), 4.3%abv. (Golden Ale)

Coming in a 500ml slim brown bottle, not bottle-conditioned; BB 16/04/2014, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass.

Notes: the back label describes this beer as “A dry-hopped version of one of the original, new-style, pale ales to be brewed in the UK… [showcasing] the floral and citrus fruit aromas of the cascade hop (grown in the Yakima Valley in Washington State, USA) projected against a back drop of soft Yorkshire water and Golden Promise pale malt”.

3.75/5 Appearance: dark golden in colour, coming with very restrained carbonation and a dissipating off-white beer head.

3.75/5 Smell: the sweet floral & acidic citric aroma comes on a par with quality, “clean” pale malts with a touch of corns, as faint salty mineral-ish notes stays consistently on the fringe.

3.75/5 Taste: effervescent, clean, the foretaste is immediately juicy-hoppy yet underlined by a very clean and lovely pale malt body; the zingy bitterness soon reveals in a rather “evolving”, than crude and harsh, manner, leaving floral undertones to linger in the finish, where the lightly salty-mineral-ish flavour mingles well with remnant flavours of semi-powdery grainy-malts.

4/5 Mouthfeel & 4/5 Overall: clean on the palate, smoothly carbonated, medium-minus bodied, this flavoursome hoppy pale ale is far more like one’s CAMRA-defined Blond Ale than an American Pale Ale , probably to do with the lighter body endowed by the Golden Promise pale malts. Interestingly balanced, quaffable, a successful session ale all in all.

-- Yau (tasted 24/05/2013, notes transcribed 02/06/2013).