Skinner's Heligan Honey

Skinner's Heligan Honey

Style: Bitter

Alcohol content: 4%

From: Truro, Cornwall, England

Purchased from: Tesco

Skinner's is a British brewery founded in 1997 by Steve and Sarah Skinner in Truro, Cornwall, England, UK.The company produce cask ales and bottled beers, the names of which may come from Cornish folklore. The beers have won a number of Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and SIBA awards.The company's pub, the Skinner's Ale House in Newquay, was sold, and is now called Leadbelly's. Heligan Honey is named after the Lost gardens of Heligan, near Mevagissey in Cornwall. If you are ever in Cornwall, try and visit in the summer when the flowers are in full bloom! It is truly a sight to behold. Ah how i love the west courty.

The label reminds me of the racy postcards that used to be sold at British seasides. Here we have a a naughty "flasher" character running away from the bees with ale in hand. Very saucy! These labels are a real draw and drew me straight to this ale.

Naughty seaside postcard label

Colour: Rich copper with a small white head. The head does not stay around very long. About five second in total. It looks a lot like runny honey or the Flying Dog Doggie style pale ale i reviewed earlier in the blog.

Smell: Sweet sticky honey on the nose. But not the runny kind; its more like set honey. You also get a smell of lavender. Its almost like the bees have been pollinating sweet lavender flowers just for this brew. The smell will actually stay with you throughout you drink which is quite rare for any beer. This makes the beer the most potent honey infused brew i have ever smelt.     

Body: For a beer that is mixed with real honey, it is extremely light and refreshing. However, this drink ouzos a sticky richness from the honey. Strangely the honey does not clog you mouth, as just the rich amount of hops are used to give you a lovely crisp finish. This leaves you very satisfied and gagging for more!

Taste: Sweet honey with a crisp bitter finish. Very nice to have in a beer garden, in the summer, with a few good friends. The real Cornish honey really stays with you though out the drink. It is almost like you a drinking a pint of honey straight from the jar (although you will have a lot less mess). A very, very nice brew indeed.

Sweet honey bee!

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