Geeves Brewery step up to the bar this week for my third Yorkshire Ales review. Before ordering from Yorkshire ales I knew nothing at all about Geeves and I don't know whether it is pronounced with a 'J' or a 'G' either. They began brewing in 2011 with a 5.5 barrel plant on an industrial estate in Barnsley. The owners once lived on a narrow boat and that is where they actually began brewing before moving on to dry land to set up their brewery. This would explain their logo and obsession with all things related to canals and the vessels that use them.
If you want to catch up on my previous reviews you can click here for Revolutions Brewing Company and here for Axholme Brewing Company. Twenty-eight is the score to beat so let's see if Geeves can barge their way into the lead.
Clear Cut (4.4% ABV)
This is my favourite pale beer of the competition so far by quite a distance. The aroma is reminiscent of pine needles carpeting the forest floor after a sudden downpour. It is packed with American hops and there are strong pine notes in the flavour along with some lemony and floral notes. This beer is really lovely and it is instantly refreshing and crisp and it finishes with a superb dry bitterness. My wife appreciated this one too and this extremely drinkable session ale picks up a score of 9/10.
Fully Laden (6.0% ABV)
After the last one I had high hopes for this strong IPA. This just goes to show you should never assume anything. It looked perfect after pouring but I could not detect much of an aroma. The initial taste was quite grassy and earthy and the finish was smooth and rich but the sweetness was keeping the bitterness in check and vice versa. Perhaps everything was just being cancelled out. There were some tropical fruit notes and the finish had some earthy bitterness but overall it was a little too bland for my liking. My wife said it was a little tasteless too so it wasn't just me. This one picks up 6/10.
Red Diesel (4.1% ABV)
This final beer is a red ale and I must say it had a fantastic rich copper colour to it. The aroma gave me a whiff of bitter oranges and there was a lovely earthy bitterness to this one throughout which mixed with a complex malty base. This is definitely a complex beer despite it being single hopped with the American Willamette variety. There were hints of apricot there initially along with a sweet malty base. A more rounded sweetness of peaches slowly seeped into the bitterness making for a lovely bittersweet finish. My wife didn't dislike it and I would give it a score of 8/10. A very interesting and enjoyable beer.
My final score is for the branding. The barge theme works well and the logo shape of a sliced section through a barge works well and would look good on a pump clip. The labels are colourful without being 'in your face' and I like it that the beer names are explained on the labels too. Everything works well. The website is easily navigable (as I'd expect from their theme) and overall it is well worth a score of 8/10. This means that Geeves have cruised into pole position with an overall score of 31.
Next week I will be introducing you to the delights (or otherwise) of The Hop Studio.
Cheers.
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