Sadlers Ales: Thin Ice [Beer @SadlersAles] [By @SpectreUK]

This extra pale ale was produced by Sadlers Ales which is a favourite brewery of mine. The brewery was established in 1900 and is very close by to where I was born in the depths of the Black Country. I’ve never had a bad Sadlers beer, so I was immediately looking forward to trying out this brew. Looking at the food matching suggestions on the bottle I decided to drink this beer to wash down a Salmon Wellington with Prawn and White Wine Sauce wrapped in a crisp puff pastry by Northern Catch (courtesy of Aldi).

This pale ale was brewed with English Maris Otter barley and Green Bullet hops from New Zealand. The label mentioned aromas of orange, melon and kiwi leading to a tart citrus sensation, also pointing to a sweet malt character to dull the citrus twang followed by a bitter finish. Reading the label made me salivate. On opening I could certainly agree with the fresh citrus fruity smell, the odour had a light wheat beer after smell and hoppy bite to it. The smell didn't remind me of the usual pale ale smell, such as Marston's Old Empire; with its remanisence of meat sausage odour. So this brew didn't feel like a normal pale ale, rather like a fizzy wheat beer with a citrus kick. There was certainly a fizzy beer flavour with a wheat and barley taste initially, a citrus punch midway and sharp bitter hoppy taste at the end. Having said that this ale went very well with the fish meal. The citrus kick and bitter hops brought out the fishy taste, and the fizziness tickled my senses whilst eating. The ale also went well with the buttered potatoes and Caesar Salad too, washing the meal down in a polite complimentary fashion. This pale ale was very nice indeed, and I would have it again. It gave a sterling alternative to the Orange Peel Beer and Samuel Smith's Organic Apricot Fruit Beer for drinking with a good fishy meal. No wonder it's called Thin Ice so you can get to the fish underneath easily to wash them down with this beer!

Information on the bottle:
Extra pale ale. An extremely pale beer, finished with a hint of citrus orange hops. 4.5% volume, 500ml bottle. Cookery tip: Try this ale in beer-batter, bread or mustard. Food matching: barbecue meats, fish and Asian cuisine. Contains barley and wheat malt.

By Spectre