Courage Directors (Bottle/Can/Keg)

Courage Directors (Bottle/Can/Keg)

Bottle, keg & can: Filtered. Regularly available.

Originally only brewed for the Courage directors, the spare beer was sold locally as Alton IPA, but soon became known as Director’s. Courage brand bought by Wells & Youngs Jan 2007. Wells & Youngs taken over by Charles Wells, and later sold to Marston's.

Full bodied with a clean, bitter taste, balanced with a sweet burnt, malty and fruity notes with a distinctive dry-hop aroma and flavour.
2.9
383 reviews
Bedford, England

Community reviews

3.7 (bottle) Aroma: raisins, caramel Taste: dry, flavour of roasted malt, herbs and earthy Palate: medium body, medium carbonation. Overall: Good one !
3.9 0,5 bottle. Deep amber, almost semi-brown in color, caramel, slightly spicy with a clean scent. Its foam is off-white, not very thick. Moderately carbonated, well sipped, well-slippery, moderately bitter, delicate, with a malty base flavor and fruity aftertaste. Floral, citrus taste, very good hops. The whole beer is very good, express delicious! *** Mély borostyán, már-már félbarna szín, karamelles, kissé fűszeres letisztult illat. Habja piszkosfehér, nem túl vastag. Közepesen szénsavas, jól kortyolható, jól csúszó, közepesen keserű, finom, malátás alapíz mellett gyümölcsös mellékízek. Virágos, citrusos íz, nagyon jó a komlózás. Az egész sör nagyon jó, kifejezetten finom!
3.1 1/12/2018. Bottle from Asda, Ipswich and shared at the 1st Kesgrave 50/50 bottle share. Pours clear amber with a small off-white head. Aroma of caramel, malt, hops, fruit and biscuit. Medium sweetness, moderate bitterness. Medium body, slight oily texture, soft carbonation. Malty, bitter finish. Ok.
3.2 Years ago, I knew someone who would drive miles to find a country pub serving this brew. It seemed rather special back then, though standards have evolved in the meantime. But it's still a decent, honest, unpretentious bitter.
2.5 Bottle. Pours a clear amber colour with a thin white head. Aroma of fruit, slight brown sugar, bready malt and subtle apple. Taste of fruit, slight bready malt, a little apple and subtle spicy, earthy hops. Light bodied and moderate carbonation. A dry, black tea like astringency on the finish. Same as the cask version, the quality of this as deteriorated over the years. The head went straight away and I was left with a dry, not so flavourful, sub par bitter.
3.0 Earlier Rating: 9/19/2018 Total Score: 5
2.0 Dry and bitter. Better as opens up with sweet malts. Still dull though.
3.2 Bottle. Copper color, close to white foam. Aroma: malt, caramel, a little butter and fruit. Taste: malty, caramels a little, biscuit, toast with jam and butter, drinkable.
2.8 Bottle from B&M, Team Valley, Gateshead. Dark amber coloured with a thick white head of foam. It has a toffee and plum flavour with dried fruit and warmth on the finish. Good.
2.9 Bottle from Aldi. Must have had this before.. a long time ago perhaps. A nice slightly malty nose, good deep amber colour. Not a taste sensation but I've had much worse pretending to be better! A decent traditional bitter style ale.
2.6 Floral aroma with notes of caramel and roasted sugar, a little bit sweet. Deep copper color, good clarity, quickly disappeared foam. Light biscuity, toffee flavor. Light body, low carbonation. A bit watery.
2.2 Bouteille de 50cl. Couleur rousse, mousse moyenne, peu de tenue. Aromatiquement, c 'est léger léger, un peu de malts torréfiés mais c 'est surtout cet arrière goût métallique qui m' a immédiatement interpellé. Carbonnation un peu tristounette. Vraiment pas top. Trouvée à Auchan- Noyelles Godault
3.7 Smells malty and hoppy, medium carbonation, maltey biscuity slighty hoppy taste with long lasting bitter finish...very nice!
3.4 A very good English bitter and that is a complement. Flavour and texture that derive from plenty of malt and a well balanced hoppy bitterness. And a very well made beer! I would happily drink this again.
2.5 UT 240817. 50cl body at home from a supermarket. Nose is fruity. Caramel, brown sugar, floral malty. Medium sweet, light bitter. Medium lasting bit roasty malty medium bittersweet. Light body, thin, medium carb. 536308
3.9 From old tasting notes. Orange copper color is topped by a mousse-like beige head. Soft caramel malt nose. Silky smooth toasted malt flavor hints at toffee. Crisp citrus hop finish balances this ale nicely.
3.5 Butelka 500 ml. Data spożycia: 20.04.2017. Piwo o bardzo ciekawym smaku. Lekko kwaskowe. Nuty chlebowe i ciemnego miodu, również wyczuwalne w aromacie.
3.0 Botella 0,5L. Color Ambar oscuro, espuma blanca, muy fina, alta, de duracion prolongada.Aroma- malta, cereales.Sabor - malta, poco de dulzor, amargor suave, algo de acides. Cuerpo medio.Bebible, bastante buena
3.0 500ml can. Pours a clear amber with a small, creamy, short lived, off-white head that laces. Mild aroma of caramel malt and a hint of orange. Sweet flavour of bready malt, caramel and citrus with a hoppy, bitter grass finish. Light to medium body with a watery to oily texture and soft carbonation. Ok.
3.3 This is a beer that ended up in my cellar. A couple days ago, I popped it into my fridge and I brought it out before my late night run. Now, I’m settling into my chair and I’ve got a whiff of the malty and fruity notes and I’m a little nervous. It looks nice...let’s start there. It’s always good to lead with a compliment. The taste...is not bad. Not bad at all for a ’premium’ bitter which from what I remember is purely a marketing ploy in the UK because the premium ones tend to taste just like the regular ones. Yes, they tend to be a bit stronger in alcohol, but in my opinion, not in taste. However, after that aside, I’d still drink this over a macro lager any day.
3.1 Bottle at home. Clear amber colour with no head. Citrus rind nose, slightly sweet, citrus, mild malts, bitter rind finish. Light bodied.
3.2 Can into pint glass. Pours a clear copper colour with tan head. Aroma is stone fruit with a toasty maltiness. Taste is about the same.
3.1 50 cl bottle from tesco hungary. Pours hazy coppar with little head. Sweet malty aroma with caramel and sweet malts.
3.0 Bottle Aroma-honey, grass Appearance-amber, hazy, white foam, Taste-light sweetness, lightly bitter, lightly sour, Palate-medium body, slick feel, average carbonation, abrupt finish Overall-good
2.2 BBE 11/08/16. Tummankuparisen värinen, olematon vaahto. Olematon tuoksu, hakemalla hakien löytyy joku pieni kukkaisuus. Suutuntuma vetinen, vissyinen, yksinkertainen, mitäänsanomaton.
4.1 0,5l bottle. Clear deep copper colour with quickly shrinking small off-white head. Aroma: Caramel, honey, herbs, fruits (apple, plum) and yeasty notes. Taste: Sweet richfull malty start (with a lots of fruits) than a pleasent light bitter mouthfeel. Light/medium body with soft carbonation. Short bitter/sweet finish. A very good drinking beer with surprisingly rich and fruity caracter.
2.7 500ml Can. This one is an acquired taste and Im going to acquire a different beer next time. Theres nothing particularly wrong with it but its not great either. Pours a deep copper red and has a minimal head. A slight malt taste with a sweet bitter finish - unremarkable.
4.0 From Hipercor. In Ikea’s pint glass. Playing Tomb Raider 2015. Very balanced and sessionable. Im starting to become a fan of the style
3.1 500ml bottle into a nonic glass. Steady pour resulted in a one finger head. Served a touch colder than cellar temp. Mild aroma, with sweetish malts and dry hops (but very mild). Clear amber, a touch on the dark side. Head fades reasonably quickly, leaving a little more than a ring, some lacing. Taste is slightly bitter-sweet. Quite nice and very easy drinking, with a hint of lingering bitterness on the palate. Easy drinking pints. Good with a few salty crisps.
2.7 Color rojo oscuro, espuma color crema nl nuy duradera. Aroma a malta y caramelo, ligero toque fruta. Sabor dulce al comienzo con final amargo seco.