Cassels & Sons Milk Stout 5.2%
Sweet Stout Wins Out
(Carl Hadler)
Dispensed by a traditional handpump, this beer was the gold medal and trophy winner for the best cask conditioned beer at the 2011 Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards. And if you’re thinking dry and bitter, like that famous Irish stout - forget it!
Pouring an intense black hue beneath a deep, tan coloured head, the aroma is appetisingly rich, with a sweetish, mocha-like combination of chocolate and coffee notes dominating. Creamy and smooth, with just an edge of sweetness, the combines milk chocolate, caramel and soft fruity esters and leads into a cleansing finish with an ashy, charred malt note and suggestion of tart hops.
Cassels & Sons Best Bitter 4.3%: Cask conditioned and served from a traditional handpump, this beer pours a bright amber hue with a thin white head. The aroma is sweet and fruity with lemon curd and grape combining with luscious cookie-like malt notes. In the mouth the beer is medium-bodied and drier than the nose suggests, with lemon zest and stonefruit sitting on top of the malt before the bitterness and drying effect of the hops wins out to leave an emphatic appetising finish. Tending more towards a pale ale than a bitter, this beer is a great match for most flavoursome English cheeses. Otherwise, try it with a classic Kiwi meat pie or a well loaded burger. 
Golden Pale Ale: "This beer was difficult to pigeonhole in terms of style. It wasn’t full of malt and sprucy hops like an APA, it wasn’t restrained and full of traditional hops like Fuggles and Goldings etc, it wasn’t light enough to be a Golden Ale where only colour matters and you get a mouthful of fizzy water.
Gigs
