Beers I Enjoyed In May And June 2026
- arthurpeterchappell
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
Beers I Enjoyed In May 2026
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Brew York – Marice The Otter 3.9% ***** Don’t know if they just mis-spelt Maurice or not but a great beer, roasted finish feel to a traditional bitter, with toffee, caramel and toast add ins. Toffee and caramel I could taste but no sense of toast. Given that the ingredients of bread and beer are the same (yeast) not sure how toast is added or at what stage of brewing. Are toast crumbs sprinkled in? How well or lightly done is the toast? What kind of bread is used? Who cares, the beer tastes great. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
Brixton Brewing Co – Reliance Pale Ale 4.2% *** Drinkable keg, the kind of beer to fall back on for the sake of anything more interesting. Keg – Argento Lounge City Centre, Preston
Castle Rock – Black Gold -3.8% **** Decent low strength mild bitter, with some sweetness. Real Ale Black Horse, City Centre, Preston
Castle Rock – Carousel 4.1% *** Very pale, not too memorable, slightly lemony ale that has too much citrus for my personal tastes. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
John Willie Lees - Boddington’s Bitter 4% *** Lovely to see the reinvention of what was once a defining bitter of the North West Of England. It tastes fine. So long since I had the original Boddington’s draught (as opposed tp the garbage sold in widget cans) that I couldn’t be sure how well it matches the old taste but it’s great to see the revival anyhow. Well done JWL. Keg – The Guild, Ashton, Preston.
Marble Brewery – Ryes Against 4.7% ***** Great name and good to see a fresh ale from one of my favourite Manchester breweries (The Marble Arch, their flagship bar in North Manchester was a regular haunt for me). This has a terrific dry finish to it. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
Nash Point – Gelert 4% *** Hazy pale beer with more citrus than bitter to the taste. Odd meaningless name. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
Ossett – Thunder Rat 5.5% ***** Strong mild is a rarity and this one tastes great. Real ale Guild Ale House City Centre, Preston
Ridge Brew - Boggart – Best Bitter 4.2% ***** Boggart was a brewery in its own right and now seems to be absorbed into the Ridge Brew brewing business. The Best Bitter is a fine copper coloured benchmark classic standard ale though. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
Ridge Brew – Lap It Up 3.8% **** A fine pale ale from the Longridge, Preston based brewery. Decent taste and mildly citrussy aftertaste but not particularly memorable. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
Salopian – The Light Fantastic 4.2% *** Light as in light golden colouring, in another ale overdosed in citrus add ins. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
Small Batches – Paradox 3.9% **** Fine golden session ale bitter with modest fruitiness that doesn’t overpower it. Real Ale, The Orchard City Centre, Preston
Tiny Rebel – Lemonade Stand 4% ** If I wanted to drink lemonade I’d just order a lemonade rather than a beer masquerading as an alcopop. Drinkable but lacking in beer taste. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
Tiny Rebel – Pacha 4% ***** Presented as a cherry mild, and tastes fantastic though not really a mild given its red colouration and distinctive taste but a great little ale. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
Vocation – Naughty & Nice 5.9% A very strong beer with the unusual taste of white chocolate – works just great. Real Ale The Orchard City Centre, Preston
Photos taken by me.
Beers I Enjoyed In June 2026
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Bristol Beer Factory – Power Drive 4.4% *** Fusion of German & US hops but over-saturation in citrus add ins. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
Chain Bar – Meat Pie & Sausage Rolls 3.7% ** You should not name any beer after food products unless it tastes even remotely like any of them. This is a hazy pale with a grapefruity edge. Real ale, Chain Bar Brew City Centre, Preston
Chain Bar – Negotiating The Chamber 6.7% **** Similar to the equally in house brewed Meat Pie, etc ale from the pub’s internal brewery, as listed above, but without the citrus add ins to spoil it, so tastes much better and stronger too. Real Ale, Chain Bar Brew House City Centre, Preston
Little Brewing Co – Panther 4.2% ***** Oatmeal stout with a great taste. I was very sorry when the barrels dried up and new beers came in to replace this one. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
Moorhouse – Dave Day 3.9% ***** Great session amber ale brewed in tribute to the North West’s much loved late TV chef, Hairy Biker, Dave Day. A very taste brew he might well have appreciated. Real ale – Northern Way, City Centre, Preston
Red Willow – Feckless 4.1% ***** Malty, hoppy toffee flavoured amber ale – an excellent session choice. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
Ridge Brew – Gold Rush 1846 4.3% **** Pretty decent golden ale with just a dash of citrus. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
St Austell – Anthem 3.8% **** Interesting pale ale blending a 100 ingredients, for quite a decent finish. Hard to tell where one ingredient ends and another one starts. Real ale – The Philharmonic Dining Room, Liverpool
Three B’s – Honey Bee 3.7% **** Decent sweet golden session ale, lively headed and perfectly quaffable. Real Ale – The Grey Friar, City Centre, Preston
Tiny Rebel – Rave Nation 4.6% *** The palest looking pale ale I think I ever saw and quaffed, and a fairly decent if un-memorable taste. Real ale – Vinyl Tap, Ashton, Preston.
Titanic – First Class 3.8% **** Fine light brown session ale, quite traditional, but not one of the best of the Titanic range. Real ale, The Black Horse, city centre, Preston.
Weetwood – Cheshire Cat 4% **** Fine golden blonde session ale, that I drank effortlessly but not too memorable. Real Ale – St Peter’s Tavern, Liverpool.
Beer revisited – Timothy Taylor’s Landlord – The Globe, Liverpool. (June 27th 2026)
Photos Taken by me.
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Arthur Chappell
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