For the latest in my journey around my purchases from Yorkshire Ales I head to the east coast and the North Riding Brewpub of Scarborough. Having won Scarborough town pub of the year on no less than six occasions as the North Riding Hotel they began brewing from the cellar in early 2011 and now have awards for their beer alongside their pub accolades. So without further ado let's get tasting although before I begin I must apologise for the glass used for the first two.
Motueka (4.3% ABV)
This single hopped beer uses pale and munich malts along wheat in the mash. The Motueka hop is a new variety of New Zealand hop with a Saaz parentage and it is one I am not too familiar with. The aroma is sweet and the colour is pale straw. The initial taste has quite a citrussy tang to it. There are also some floral and fruity notes hiding in there but the tang of lemon and lime continues throughout to give it a citrussy refreshing finish. This beer had a best before end of July and I was drinking it on the first of August so I'm not sure if I had it at its best and it also had to survive a house move. However, a delightful beer nonetheless and I would give it a solid 7/10.
Galaxy (4.3% ABV)
Judging by the label the beer appears to be identical to the first except for the hop variety. The same malts and the same ABV would suggest I am therefore able to judge how the flavours from the Australian Galaxy hop used here differs to the New Zealand Motueka. It even has the same use by date but it does taste fresher than the first. There is little difference in the look of the beer but the aroma is more tropical and the flavour is definitely more to my liking and my wife preferred this one too. There is a much more pronounced tropical fruit flavour with this one with passion fruit flavours dominant. It is equally refreshing but it has a sweeter finish to the first beer and this one is awarded an extra point giving it an 8/10.
60 Minute IPA (5.5% ABV)
The first two beers were appropriately consumed on Yorkshire Day and this final beer was saved for International IPA Day. This final beer had a best before end of October so was hopefully on top form too. This beer was brewed for the third anniversary of the brewery and the name refers to the 60 minutes of continuous hopping that goes into this beer rather than hopping in stages. The malt character is similar to the first two beers except for some additional caramedium and the hop variety is Simcoe. The aroma is not strong but has some earthy and fruity characteristics. The flavours are quite complex with citrussy lime, a sharp orangey tang, some pine freshness and some rich earthy notes. This all leads to a deep bitter finish and overall it is a delightfully interesting IPA. I will award it a score of 7/10 although in fairness it is very close to an 8. I do like it very much.
The final mark is for the branding. The labels are a bit basic although everything is clearly displayed and easy to read along with the ingredients. The website has the brewery information lumped in with the pub and only a couple of their beers have tasting notes. Overall I can only award it a score of 5/10 for this category giving a grand total of 27/40 which leaves them in 5th place. However, for a brewpub that also serves as a hotel they are wearing lots of hats and their beer certainly stands up well against the other Yorkshire brewers I have enjoyed so far.
Next time I will be judging Mallinsons. This will be my final brewery before I take a break as it completes the purchases I made from my first order with Yorkshire Ales. Later in the year I will come back with a further six breweries from this wonderfully beery county.
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