Nethergate IPA 2

Next up on the East end crawl was a pub called "The Florist".Now upon walking into here I should have known better than to order a Real Ale, however I couldnt resist and ordered a pint of Nethergate IPA (3.5% abv). Needless to say the condition of the beer was terrible and basically I will not be heading back to the Florist in a hurry! The pub itself is kind of substandard with a too cool for school crowd.

Nethergate IPA

This was the last stop from my mini pub crawl last Thursday night and we headed to the Fox and Anchor which is where I have previously enjoyed the Nethergate Umbel Ale. The Fox and Anchor is a nice and cosy pub with inadequate WC facilities and not enough room to move. The top of the bar is solid pewter and the beer is served in pewter tankards in keeping with the theme. The Nethergate IPA is one of the new school ‘weak’ IPA’s weighing in at 3.5% abv. Through the glass bottom of the pewter glass I could ascertain that it’s a rich amber colour, it had a moderate bitterness and was generally ok. Much better than Greene king IPA or Well’s Eagle IPA which also fall into this emerging beer style. Its really just a session bitter and in this role it does the job. Well a lot better than the breweries Umbel Ale anyway!

Nethergate Umbel Ale

Next we moved round the corner to the Fox and Anchor. The Fox and Anchor is a recently renovated pub that is notable for having a pewter bartop and for serving beer in Pewter mugs. The tipple of choice inthis establishment was the Nethergate Umbel ale which is a 3.7% abv beer which is seasoned with coriander (and a lot of late hopping!). The result is a very herby beer with a strong hoppy but not over the top aroma. The hop variety they use complements the coriander perfectly. One downside that I noted with this pub, besides the fact that it was full of pretentious types sipping ‘lager’ was that the pork scratchings were not actually scratchings and more resembled pork nibble. Besides these small shortcomings the pub is a good one with an interesting selection of guest beers. I am still unsure about the Umbel ale though. I think its one of those beers you only have once to satisfy your curiosity, and there is no way you could do a full session on it. But once again I’ll let others be the judge of that.