Summer Perle

On Saturday afternoon I headed out to Kent to catch up with a mate of mine Neil who is about to emigrate to Australia. As it was getting on the afternoon and we fancied a feed we headed out to a cosy country pub near him called The White Swan where I opted for a Hearty Ploughmans lunch and a pint of Summer Perle (3.8% abv) from the Westerham Brewery. Summer Perle is a summer golden ale similar in style to the other summer ales I have been coming across over the last few weeks. The beer is a pale golden colour with medium bitterness and designed to be consumed at a slightly cooler temperature. Westerham originally brewed Summer Perle for the 30th Annavesary (Pearl Annaversary) of the CAMRA Canterbury Beer Festival where it was a sell out. The popularity of the beer was again demosntrated at the Maidstone Beer Festival and the beer has now been added to the portfolio as a limited special summer seasonal. The beer is quite dry and imparts a fruity, floral flavours which are derived from dry hopping with the Perle variety of hop (hence the name). Overall a nice summer beer but probably not up to par with some of the other beers of similar style. Website:http://www.westerhambrewery.co.uk/