19 August 2017

Sea Fury (Waitrose) By @SpectreUK


This Sea Fury Special Ale was brewed by Sharp's Brewery in Cornwall. It was first brewed more than twenty years ago to warm up Cornish fishermen after long stints in the rough Atlantic during the dark cold Winters.

Now I'm no fisherman, but I do remember a very rough crossing on a ferry back from Calais when I was boy. As soon as we left the harbour I noticed the crew tying down the gambling machines. Deeper into the relatively short voyage the sea became incredibly rough as the car ferry struggled along through the Channel.

I remember everyone had little paper bags as we sat in front of a forbidding gallery of windows at the bow of the ship. Every time the ferry climbed a mountainous wave we would see the darkening cloud ridden sky. Only to plunge down the other side into the depths of each watery ridge as the sky became an almost vertical wall of greenish swirling sea. Weirdly I don't remember being afraid at the time, maybe I was too young, either that or just concentrating on trying to keep hold of my last meal!

Anyway, on opening this 5% volume Sea Fury Special Ale there was a strong traditional bitter smell of sweet roasted malt and fruity hops. On taste this deep amber almost brown ale splashed my tastebuds with full bodied sweet roasted malts followed by fruity berry hop flavour. These two flavours rippled around each other into the aftertaste. I could feel see why the fishermen would look forward to few hearty pints of this brew whenever they hit port. I'm sure I'll be back for more myself!

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