Without sounding too sappyI like this brewery more with every beer I try.
I love Temptation, I really love White Stout, I absolutely love Bombay 106.
So this?
This I simply adore.
Weirdly, with it being a Belgian Tripel style, I don’t get that initial rush of yeast that I have come to expect when opening a bottle of Durham beer.
Bede’s Chalice pours a pretty mandarin orange with a light and foamy head.
There’s a gassy bread dough aroma pricked with red forest fruits and peach halves.
And taking a first mouthful took my breath away.
Great big red liquorice laces, and I mean huge ones.
Laces big enough to tie a giant’s shoes give super sweetie fun over a rich but still quite delicate bran biscuit.
There’s also a handful of chocolate coated raisins, a big hunk of liquorice root, peppery spice and a some fleshy mango.
Running through this beer you get a lovely alcohol warmth, like rum soaked victoria sponge, soft a crumbly, tinged with vanilla and tasting almost homely and familiar.
The Centennial hops bring dryness and orange rinds, all hot sunny afternoons with a lychee pithiness that leaves a finish that’s long and dry and lovely.
Bede’s Chalice is just super.