Something old, something new.

Recently, I was lucky enough to try a bottle of Emersons Old Cascade which my boyfriend, David, had bought directly from the brewery on his recent travels to Dunedin. This is a special release beer, based on Emersons Old 95 English old ale, which we suspect, with its stark packaging, is only available from the brewery itself. The Emersons Old Cascade is a new take on their old English ale, with the addition of cascade hops, known for their distinct citrus aroma and flavour.

As I have not yet had the opportunity to taste the Old 95 brew, David is going to write his opinion of the original version, and I will then offer my thoughts on the newer, limited release, brew.

Emersons Old 95
Truly an old style ale, this one tastes distinctly English.

The aroma has a peach and apple fruitiness, and a yeasty bready malt underneath. The bitterness in the flavour threw me off, as it isn't balanced very well. Some apple fruit is there and a slight malt sweetness which slightly takes the edge off the bitterness, but not much.
Full bodied, bready and a warm alocholic finish make this a nice winter beer. Just a bit too bitter for my liking.

Emersons Old Cascade

The new addition of cascade hops to the Old 95 appears to be a positive one, then.

The white label beer has malty aromas, with a strong caramel character and floral hops. Malt is the first flavour on the tongue, but is soon overtaken by the smooth fruit and floral hops. There is a a subtle citrus flavour present from the cascade hops, and caramel, vanilla and a hint of banana to sweeten on the finish. This combination is almost chocolatey and makes for a very drinakable ale.

It looks like this was the balance of bitter and sweet that David was hoping for with the Old 95 - Old Cascade is incredibly enjoyable with its smooth, balanced flavours and hoppy aftertaste. Highly recommended.