Brewsters Mata Hari

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

Very nice dark amber, with a thick and fluffy off-white head that persists. Aroma is crisp and malty with a strong undertone of apple cider. Flavor, however, is on the thin side; it is more hoppy than malty, decidedly but not unpleasantly bitter. Texture is smooth and a little watery. Aftertaste is mildly bitter with a hint of fruit.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Amber colour, small white head. Aroma is fruity and flowery hops. Flavour is hops, salts and some grassyness. Not much aftertaste, but is very mouthdrying.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Hmm, well..., I suspect this might be a bit more interesting from a cask.

But I have a bottle of this. And that's not such a great thing.

Now, granted I tend to think most all Ales taste better hand-pulled from a firkin. So why am I calling this beer out?

Only I think some of the nuances that would have been brought out from a cask-conditioned sample of this would smooth over some of the rough edges this beer has -- rough edges that are highlighted with the bottle conditioning, IMO.

On my first pull of this from one of my many Pizza Port Imperial Pint glasses, "sour!" was my very first impression. Had that "tart, shrunken-in-cheeks" vibe that I never expect (or want) to find in a Bitter. This initial impression calmed down as it further warmed up -- or..., as I just got used to it, perhaps.

Highly fruity in the nose and the overall presentation, very estery, that folks might confuse for skunk. Not terrible, but seems a bit "above and beyond" for it's intended purpose.

Three solid English hops in this one (Fuggles, Northdown, and Progress), but I would not agree with the label's claim to this beer having a complex hop character. Kinda muddy and confused, IMO..., but not terrible, per se. It just sort of reminds me of many a'homebrewer's initial experiments with mixing "this hop" with "that hop", and "this one too", and so on...., with vaguely indifferent results by the time it gets into a glass.

This gets a bit better as it gets both warmer and flatter (yes, it's cask-conditioned stereotype, but at least in this case, it's for the betterment of the beer in question!)..., but even at it's "best", this is still kinda lackluster. Finishable, but not something I'd seek out again....

Mata Hari was a spy who was shot in 1917. You won't get shot for buying this beer, but you might very well be disappointed by it, like I was....

Music: "Thee Corsair's" self-titled E.P.
//TB

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

This ESB/Bitter pours a medium amber color from a 500ml bottle. Medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is mild, somewhat earthy and spicy. A medium bodied ESB. Malts are fruity, toffee and caramel, semi–sweet. Hops are earthy and floral. Kind of mild tasting. Fairly typical English bitter that gets exported to the USA. I do need to ask MYSELF why I keep buying these beers. I know what I am going to get, I do not particular like the style or flavor yet I still buy them. Oh well… That’s not the beers fault it’s mine. It’s a drinkable beer, but a little bland and kind of “boring”. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is crisp and dry and a bit mineraly. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.