Kea Porter (5.2% ABV, bottle)
This has always been my favourite of Stuart Woodman’s portfolio. Very, very deep red with a light tan head, the kea plums essential to the brew are right there on the nose, along with a light woodiness. On the palate, it’s slightly tart, very fruity, but with a sweetness in the background, even a little smokey. Quite vinous, the beer has a nice hedgerow quality. There’s a lingering fruity bitterness on the finish.
(28th October, 2020)
Three Trees (9% ABV, bottle)
Where to begin with this one — there’s so much going on! Hazy gold, it has a thick, foaming, off-white head. Aong with the usual fundamentals, there are foraged blackthorn leaves, cherry blossom, and rowan buds in the recipe. Like most of Stuart Woodman’s beers, the brew doesn’t stray ridicuslously from its base style, in this case a Belgian tripel. The aroma is herbal and spicy — so inviting, with hints of apple (both the fruit and the blossom). It’s woody, not like a barrel-aged beer but like the intoxicating freshness you get standing in a forest after a rain storm. On the palate, there is a nod to that dankness one finds in some American IPAs, but with more of a hedgerow note. There’s blood orange flavour, and some of that cherry bloosom, to lift the tone. Almond notes, too. It’s beautifully done, and all the better for having some Cornish ingredients in the mix. A good bottle to share!
(26th January, 2021)
Woodman’s Wild Ale | Ponsanooth, Cornwall
