Freeminer Trafalgar IPA
Cask; Regular. Also available bottle conditioned.
At 50 EBU this IPA is far more bitter than one would normally expect at 6%, but we believe in serious hopping at Freeminer. Pale in colour, with hints of sunset browns in the colour betraying the splash of crystal malts, the single varietal dosing of premium Goldings cuts into the tour de force of serious Marris Otter malts at play with the taste buds. The prolonged dry hopping is very evident in the nose and finish.
At 50 EBU this IPA is far more bitter than one would normally expect at 6%, but we believe in serious hopping at Freeminer. Pale in colour, with hints of sunset browns in the colour betraying the splash of crystal malts, the single varietal dosing of premium Goldings cuts into the tour de force of serious Marris Otter malts at play with the taste buds. The prolonged dry hopping is very evident in the nose and finish.
3.3
171 reviews
Cinderford, England
Community reviews
Bottle. Firstly I was amazed to find a beer from Freeminer in Canada. A brewery only 5 miles away from my home town. What I remember of Freeminer, I thought it was a little pub brewery. Things must have changed. Fresh malty aroma, Cloudy brown ale with a decent white head. Nice flavour of hops, bitter with some caramel. Initially high in carbonation but settles to a decent well rounded IPA. Tidy brew.
Bottle. Light aroma of cereal for the malt, moderate aromas of lemon and barnyard for the hops and yeast, and sour apple and vinegar in the background. Head is large, rocky, off-white, is fully lasting and has excellent thick lacing. Color is clear dark amber. Flavor starts moderately acidic and finishes moderately acidic and lightly bitter. Palate is light to medium, watery and has a lively carbonation. I guess this is the true version of an English IPA. I can can appreciate the differences, but I definitely prefer American styles.
Pours a light amber color with a white head. Aroma is a little mild with citrus hops, caramel malts, and floral hops. Flavor has a decent malt background with citrus and floral hops giving a bitterness to the finish. Not what I would expect from an IPA but still pretty good. Decent balance.
One of the few beers I’ve ever not wanted to finish. First, this beer is way too carbonated. It foams up in my mouth. I feel bloated after drinking it. Maybe its just an old bottle. Flavor is just plain blah. Wheres the hops??? Frankely the body is not too bad, but the aftertaste reminds of vomit and alcohol. I’ll drink this, but only because there’s alcohol in it. Extremely disappointed.
12oz bottle-pours an off white head and copper color. Aroma is medium malt, flat hops. Taste is medium malt-some caramel, flat/metallic hops, some fruitiness. OK/mild carbonation.
Bottle. Light caramel and floral hop. Orange tinged gold color with a white head that filmed, leaving lace tatters. Medium bodied with mild, creamy, carbonation. The flavor is hop, with some light malt. It is a bitter IPA. The finish is dry, and it is bitter. It’s not all that simple. It is extremely good.
Bottled. Medium to light orange, huge annoying head that did at least leave clumps of lacing. Aroma slightly sweet, faintly floral. Light sweet malts with balancing floral hop finish. Slightly seedy somehow with the hops. Faint raisin as well. Just OK.
Bottle. The head was overwhelming. A few ounces into the pour and it was already overflowing the glass. The color was a cloudy amber with a thick slowly dissipating head. The aroma was a mixture of soap and hops. The taste was a bit citrusy but not overwhelming. A nice refreshing brew for a hot day in Bombay.
Pours a slightly clouded golden brown with a nice off white head. Nose is of old leather and a bit of citrus with a slight smokey edge. Flavor has a constant sweet tone to it. In the back there is a bit of bitter to it though. Feel is good. Thick with carbonation and definitely drinkable. Nice to try and worth it. Good looking bottle too.
Bottled. Poured slightly hazy medium golden with a short cap of white head. The aroma was sweet and softer with floral notes present along with caramel at the core.. a little bit of lemon zest appears as it warms up a bit.. really quite pleasant! The flavor had sweet caramel at the core with soft, non-descript floral and grassy bitterness.. some pine and lemon zest accenting the edges.. sweet finish. Light-medium bodied with a decent balance and some sourness.. short, mildly bitter finish. Decent stuff.
Bottle: Pours hazy orange/brown with head that doesn’t go away. Slightly sour and citrus aroma. Not very hoppy for an IPA. Taste of grain and carbonation on the tongue. Was very disappointed in this one. Maybe it lost the hops on the trip over. Don’t let the terrific head fool you.
Found this one bottled in St. Charles, Illinois. A wonderful example of the direction an IPA can go, if the brewers decide not to hop bomb it. Clear, champagne bubbly light copper pour with a thin, off white head, a nice nose of citrusy hops, violets and apple cider, the cidery notes work into the body of the beer, with lots of floral hops but very balanced and not overpowering. Not terribly bitter, it is actually quite sweet for a pale. Finishes strong and very clean, and tapers to a really nice delicious apple aftertaste. One of the best IPAs I’ve had in a long time.
This pint exhibits dry hopping and Goldings hops. It is understated, and though at 50 IBU more bitter by ranking, was more balanced than many an ESB and certainly the West Coast assault. Lots of foaming from the bottle, and so lace. Numbs the tongue after a treat of easy mouthfeel. Citrus orange aftertaste.
Date: 05/01/2003
Mode: Bottle
Source: Ale Atlanta
hazy orange, whispy head, sweet malt aroma, nice hop flavor, touch of sweetness, light woody character, nice short bitter finish, a hopped up esb, the hops grow as it warms
Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Score: **+/4
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The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.
Bottle. I don’t know if I just had a mishandled beer or if the head is really that foamy, but even with my careful pouring into the bottle it was undrinkable for nearly 15 minutes while I tried to get the foam to dissipate. Slight citrus aroma, with a bitterness in the finish. Overall the beverage was not freshing.
Clear golden amber body with a huge rocky white head. Aroma of sour floral hops. Flavor of sour caramel and floral hops. This bottle was probably infected. After mixing in a bit of bud light, the sour taste was mellowed some, but I’m leaving my original rating. I can’t say it’s worth the price to buy another bottle to try again.
Bottle at Bier Garden Portsmouth VAHazy orange brew large expanding foamy head, very creamy look. Sweet orange aroma, not very strong citrus aroma but great bitter sweet orange zest flavor. Sweet like unsweetened OJ if that makes sense. Very dry easy drinking with a very faint warmth and a slight pucker effect in the lips. Good stuff.
This was a disappointment. Pour was a dark orange with no head. Aroma was decent...very hoppy and grassy. Taste was very flat. Little carbonation with a Windex type taste of hops and no malt. Very thin mouthfeel...almost like water. Blah
The Dan Journal #11. Tasted May 2006. 500ml bottle. Ruby hue. Large white head. Heavily sedimented. Light enough to be almost transparent. Clinging white head. Not much in the nose at all. Initially lively and effervescent. Crisp 7-Up ness. Slight malt backbone. Orange and citrus notes. Nice yeasty note...then, this funky bitter tongue numbing gravely metallic lingering finish. Meh?
500 ml bottle, from Liquid Solutions. Pours a clear amber color with a large, fluffy white head that leaves spindly lacing. Biscuity malts with floral and spicy hops dominating. Thin malty backbone, again with the floral and spicy hops plentiful and hints of baking powder, pretty clean and simple overall in the European style. Medium body and tingly carbonation.
From a twenty four ounce bottle purchased for me by my girlfriend Nancy - Very frothy brew with a large, ebbulent tan head. Aroma of citrus, pine and malt. Pine and citrus were the big tones with some caramel in the sharp finish. A bit of an unpleasant bitter taste in the finish.
From a 1 pint 9 oz. shaped bottle with pouring instructions on the back label, freshness date on shoulder of bottle, sampled at cellar temperature in a pint glass.
Poured carefully to leave the yeast in the bottle, a partly hazy orange hued copper with a frothy, foamy off-white head, good retention, small amount of ringed sticking.
Aromas of oranges, lemons and cedar, toasted grain and sweet malts, spicy and earthy.
Good even carbonation and a crisp, dry, slightly slick, smooth medium-light bodied mouthfeel.
Pleasant EIPA taste, sugary and nutty grain malts, a touch of butter, oranges and lemons, a hint of cedar wood, the hops have a good lingering soft bitterness, towards the end, from the dry hopping, a tea-like earthy bitterness and a dry, sweet malty, hoppy finish.
Highly quaffable, this is a nice and balanced EIPA, one of the better ones I’ve tried.
This English IPA has a ton of brown sediment clining to the sides of my glass. The nose is somewhat perfumy...reminding me of an old lady’s dresser drawer liner. The flavor is a strong tea leaf and perfume note with some moderate English floral hopping. The texture is somewhat dry and there is a lingering floral hop bitterness. Not my cup of tea.
Pours a light amber color with moderate sediment and slow carbonation beneath an off-white head that holds as a thick, creamy film. There is a noticable white wine vinousness to the aroma along with cheesy notes of yeast, metallics and alcohol. A dry yet "full" presence in the mouth makes for a nice palate. A bittersweet flavor rings of tea and alcohol and there are pleasant, leafy bitters in the finish.
Pint bottle from Kenwood Liquors, Oak Lawn, IL 60453
Bought this at the LCBO in Ottawa some years ago. The list of ingredients got me excited but the beer was average. Page 171 of Michael Jackson’s Great Beer Guide on 407 out 500 Classic Brews to go.
500mL, no date. I think this is a new offering from Johns Grocery. Pours a hazy orange caramel and a gigantic white head--four fingers after pouring maybe 8oz. Aroma of some floral and woody hops (like Bluebird Bitter), a citric tang, some toasty malts, and a bit of biscuits. Flavor again has some floral and woody hops, and the same tang with a dry herbal hop finish. Moderate bitterness. Light to medium body with high carbonation. Fair lacing not so much in lines, but small chunks here and there. Not terrible, but I don’t feel I need to try this one again.
16.9 oz. bottle. Very active pour with a massive, fluffy off-white head. Aroma of grapefruit, pine and light caramel. Pine and citrus were the dominant flavors with some caramel malt in the background. A bit of an unpleasant bitter taste in the finish. I can best describe it as biting the white pith of an orange. This was an ok brew, but I wasn’t crazy about it.
Heavily carbonated from bottle conditioning. Unsure of bottle age, but the beer seemed stable and not oxidized (the beauty of bottle conditioning). Flavor was nicely balanced between malts and hops (leaning to bitterness), very much as expected for an English IPA. Head was dense and rocky, staying on the glass in frothy chunks for the duration. Earthy flavor possibly from hops.
The beer pours amber with a light tan head. Nice hoppish aroma with notes of fruit and spices. The flavor is strongly bitter with a pleasent malty balance.
Orange to dark orange body with a HUGE head and later decent lacing. Aroma is spicy hops with bread and caramel. Fairly bitter and alcoholic for a relatively light body.