O'Hanlon's Royal Oak
Cask: Occasional. Also available bottle conditioned, mainly for export to America.
Has been seen as Royal Oak Pale Ale and Royal Oak Traditional Bitter.
Ingredients: Optic Pale, Crystal, and Torrified Wheat malts; Challenger, Northdown and Goldings hops.
"Royal Oak is a pale ale of noble character in the grand tradition of British country brewing. Classically deep amber, rich in malt and fragrant with hop aroma, it’s a rounded, soft ale of beautifully balanced complexity and lasting finish."
Has been seen as Royal Oak Pale Ale and Royal Oak Traditional Bitter.
Ingredients: Optic Pale, Crystal, and Torrified Wheat malts; Challenger, Northdown and Goldings hops.
"Royal Oak is a pale ale of noble character in the grand tradition of British country brewing. Classically deep amber, rich in malt and fragrant with hop aroma, it’s a rounded, soft ale of beautifully balanced complexity and lasting finish."
3.3
293 reviews
Newton St Cyres, England
Community reviews
Bottle, Pours a medium brown, slightly hazy. Very creamy slightly off white head. Hop aromas and some malt sweetness. A little port also. Aromas are reasonably subdued but very well balanced. Flavours are extremely complex, initially showing plenty of bready malts, toffee and caramel. The finish shows heaps of bitter hops and plenty of port and whiksy smokiness. Very well balances and as I said quite complex. Mouthfeel is a little thin but it seems to work for this beer. Bllody good beer I reckon.
Hazy reddish pour with white head that lingers. Nose is pretty malty, with some earthy/herbal hoppiness. Likewise for the flavors...bready malt sweetness, cookie dough, and caramel with the earthy/herbal English hopping coming up strong in the finish. OK Engish pale ale.
500. Crystal clear dark amber with a fluffy platinum blonde head that leaves tons of ridged sedimentary layers of eggy lace down the sides of the glass. Looks very promising. Shortbready nose. Maybe a little bit of spicy brown bread happening there. So funny to think so many ESBs share a label designation with APAs when they’re such worlds apart. This smells and drinks closer to OSA than it does to any APA I can think of. Watery medium body with soft carb. Light spices, almost pie spices, with maybe a bit of banana and some shortbread. Half a liter of this will start to feel like drinking a loaf of bread, I just know it. Drinkable and well-made, but completely preoccupied with the malt bill, and gets to be a little on the heavy side for the amount of complexity it can offer.
50cl bottle: Hazy, dark red appearance with a stable off-white head. Lots of maltiness in the aroma, toasty, lightly chocolatey. Some sort of fruitiness as well, green apples? The dry, toasted malts carries on in the flavour, notes of raisins and caramel. Very little hop presence. Bittersweet and slightly salty finish - very drinkable, malt-forward and full-flavoured beer.
Bottle. Pours with quite the massive head of foam, taking considerable time to retreat into the shiny bronze beer. For an British ale, this has a remarkably American aroma, with a citric hoppy aroma, if a little soapy. But this drinks with a distinctly European tilt, sweet like tea, and thinner than what most American beer geeks would consider acceptable. Drinkable and flavorful for sure, but defiantly "old school". Hey, I like it. (#3745, 11/19/2009)
Pours a slightly hazy redish amber with a huge light tan head. Aroma is hops with a few notes of grain. Fullbodied and creamy on the palate. Hops taste is first on the tongue and predominate flavor. Not too bitter on the finish. This is a nice crisp ale that can add balance to a meal, especially slightly spicey dishes. Washes down well with chicken fajitas.
Frothy tinge of biege head,red/brown pour,aroma fruity floral,caramel malt,honey,flavour dry at first sweet honey caramel a bright fruit taste mild bitter,toffee taste late on the palate with the fruit and hop bitter,nice ale.
50 cl bottle. Dark copper body with small head. Flavour is malt, fruit and hops.
Bottle ࿒ cl) at Bishops Arms, Vasagatan, Stockholm, Sweden. Clear amber, medium fluffy off-white head. A bit oxidized-like malt aroma with red apples, spicy and citric hops. Light to medium bodied, medium carbonation. Dry, slightly acidic, with medium bitterness. Despite best-before-date being well into 2010, I suspect that this bottle was beginning to get infected.
Serving: 16.9 oz bottle.
Appearance: A very slightly hazy amber with a large, fluffy, off-white head.
Aroma: Earthy hops, caramel, cotton candy, and a bit of dirt. Okay, but a little on the sweet side.
Taste: Lots of caramel paired with a dry earthiness and a little soap. Light floral notes. Definitely more interesting than the average beer!
Mouthfeel: Medium, slightly aggressive carbonation with a medium-light, very dry body. Medium-short, dry finish. A bit on the over dry side if you ask me.
Overall: While it is a bit on the dry side, it was very mellow and smooth. I wish there were more beers produced in the U.S. like them. Maybe there are and I just haven’t found them yet. Let the search continue.
Would I buy it again: Probably not. The price was a little high for the quality, but I am guessing that had something to do with having to be shipped over the Atlantic. If you can find it for less than $5 a bottle, it would be worth considering.
Best before July 23, 2009. Murky copper color with a large, rocky head. Aroma of sweet malt and a dry, earthy hop. Fruity taste, with a bit of apricot and apple. Qutie bready along with some yeast. Light floral hop finish. Quite nice.
Bottle conditioned and best before November 2005. This one poured a most attractive medium-to-dark copper colour, and it was quite hazy with a lot of sediment. Poured every bit of this into the glass, to. The head was almost no head, what there was being ivory in colour and it died away quite rapidly. Aroma was faint, maybe a hint of fruit. Taste was "odd", having perhaps some malt and hop but it was hard to determine what it really was about. Mouthfeel was thin and watery. A disappointing beer.
Poured out a deep burnt orange brew that was not entirely clear - probably due to my pour. I was pretty careful but got greedy near the bottom. The large super light brown crown is really thick and has amazing retention and lacing - an excellent looking brew, no doubt. The aroma is pleasant but quite mild. Found a bit of bread and caramel, the latter being the weaker of the two, fruit that comes from the darker side of the citrus family. Something faint a short that reminds me of chocolate milk powder...?? The more this warms the more the hop character comes out. The taste is really goo, so good that I’ve put another in the freezer. I’ve really gotten hooked on English bitters lately. Neat blend of malts - I know there’s some bread and some caramel but it all seems a mystery.... comes across dry. Tasty hops that come over the top of the malt but do not overpower the flavour. The hops really become more sour as I bottom my glass. It’s almost like this beer is layered. Something Xmas hard candy like in the spice. It might even taste like bark. Nears medium bodied. Smooth brew with a lengthy bitter and bready finish, more so later on. I think I’m in need of a blind English Bitter tasting and let these suckers battle each other to the death. Did I overrate this? I’ll have to hit it up again, me thinks.
(Cask at Akkurat, Stockholm, 17 June 2009) Nut brown colour with foamy, beige head. Malty, nutty nose with dried fruit, toasty malt and orange peel. Malty, nutty taste with notes of dried fruit, almonds, hints of brown sugar and dusty hops in a bittersweet finish. Medium body, solid malt structure with some sweetness throughout. A nice and malty premium bitter.
Very nice drop. Odd cardboard driving taste through the middle. Excellent and my favourite ale.
"What a brutal pour I got 4” of beer and 8” of foam and its disappearing so very slowly hurry up dam it I want to drink you. The body appears dark honey brown and crystal clear. Aroma is not winning me over mild sweet wood some faint chemical smell and a touch of citrusy hops. Biscuty malts, mildly bitter hops, dried out grass and wood make up the light and dry flavor. Banana comes out in the flavor but only on the last few sips when the beer was room temp. Mouth feel was thinner then I would have liked it to be. Ok to drink but forgettable. My marks seem to low."
500 ml bottle at chacers pub in London Ontario
Pours a nice dark copper with good sized head
Nice malt and hop floral aroma
The taste is a malty but a little thin would make a nice session beer for sure
Aroma is pleasant but not too prevalant. There is a great read hue to the brownness. Flavour is a bit malty but pretty nice and very smooth. The taste drops off nicely for a bit and then very sharply and slighty bitter with malts and hops. Pretty nice, but I’m not such a fan of ESBs.
Looks great in the glass, deep amber colour and a thin head. Aroma of yeast and a light hoppyness. Flavour is great, Bitter, but not over powering. Very malty with an almost chocolate finish. Fantastic mouth feel, light and creamy, with perfect carbonation, and great lacing. Very complex. This is a great beer!!!
Pours an amber colour with a big tan coloured head. Aroma is sweet and light. Caramel, dandelion, spices, and citrus. Flavor is as refined as a good businessman from London. Caramel and brown sugar take the start with soft fruits and dandelion coming in behind it, a nice hint of citrus goes the whole way through and a spicy finish quenches and makes you want more. Soft effervecent mouthfeel. Excellent bitter!
Deep amber with a large head. Fruity, spicy, light yeast inthe aroma. Similar flavor with bright fruits and finishing with a spicy, yeast bite. High carbonation level. Very tasty brew and a nice thirst quencher.
From bottle. Deep amber colour. Decent frothy white head. Nice malt aroma with hops and sweet brown sugar. Rich flavour of fruit. Wood, malt comes through. Tasty quality beer.
A roasty bitter. Thick and creamy containing some dark chocolate notes mingled with light woody flavours. Sweetness in the finish which takes the edge off of the hearty burnished nature of the brew. Fantastic mouthfeel.
Pours a hazy dark orange-red with a thin off white cover. A nice fruity caramel aroma, citrus orange and an woodiness. Taste if unfortunately thinner, light caramel, a nuttiness, and more grapefruit fruity hops.
16.9oz bottle, best before 5.23.08.
The Eldridge Pope Royal Oak was one of the first beers I truly enjoyed during my initial intro to craft beers, so it’s interesting to revisit this. Pours translucent orange amber, topped with a thin tan head. Sweet caramel aroma, with notes of fruit and nuts. Flavor is fairly sweet, with fruit, caramel, hazelnut, earth and mild citrus. Medium bodied and incredibly drinkable. Straightforward, drinkable and very refreshing. #800
16.9oz bottle. Pours cloudy amber in color with full foamy tan head. Aroma sweet, nutty and light hops. Taste roasted malt and light hops with bitter finsih.
Bottle- hazy redish brown with reasonable frothy beige head. A little thin. Sweet caramel malt background. Hoppy, earthy, slightly fruity with just a hint of alcohol showing. Lasting finish with medium bitterness.
Poured from fat bottle. Unique aroma of brandy, molasses, raisin. Opaque amber, thin head. Flavor is also unique with lots of roasty malt, but not sweet. Bitter backtaste. Sour cherry notes. OK beer but did not quite work for me.
500ml bottle, best by 11/05/09. Clear amber gold with a big tan head. Nice sweet nutty nose, some herbal hoppiness. Mild flavor, herbal and lightly nutty. Decent, but nothing special.
Bottle. Deep red colour with an off-white head. Sweet aroma with hoppy and fruity notes. The flavour is sweet, malty, hoppy and nutty with bitter finish. Quite nice bitter.