I often find this kind of beer at this kind of strength a bit samey.
Taste one session ale and you’ve tasted them all.
But this one is different.
It smells of haystacks and honey and caramel and sunshine.
Pouring it into my glass and taking a sip I found myself saying out loud, “Sherbet Lemons.”
My wife looked at me as though I were mad and so I handed her the glass.
“Actually yes,” she agreed.
Garter has a delightfully soft caramel biscuit base but it’s awash with zingy, sweet, bitter lemons.
There’s a good helping of grass straw too (that haystack again), along with a pinch of black and white pepper, a bowl of bran flakes in honey and a grating of orange pith.
The finish is long and drawn out and so dry and clean it takes the skin off your teeth.
I wish more session ales could be even half as good as this one.