Crouch, Hold, Engage. Andwell Brewing Co

Brewer: Andwell Brewing Co

Brew: Crouch, Hold Engage

ABV:4.6%

Aroma: Malty

Style: Amber Ale

How time flies! It's that time again where I kick back, blow the froth off a few ales and review. Today's review is on a little known ale somebody recommended to me a few weeks ago. To be truthful I had never come across Andwell Brewing Co before, who are located near Basingstoke. Their website talks of their 'passion for crafting truly exceptional and internationally-acclaimed beer' and their commitment to using the finest ingredients. With this in mind, I expect great things!

As you can probably deduce from the photo, this is a rugby themed beer, one of Andwell's seasonal brews, which happens to only be available during February and during other major rugby tournaments.

The beer pours a dark rich amber colour and gives off a strong pungent hoppiness. Once I take a sip, I immediately taste the hops, notably the distinct spicy flavour. For some, the spiciness may be somewhat overpowering but I feel it complements the beers rich tangy, almost fruity taste. If I were to sum it up its like spicy fruit jam. It's surprisingly soft and easy to drink, despite its reasonable strength.

Andwell's have used Crystal Malts and Brown Malts prominently during the mashing process which gives the beer it's dark amber colour and can be an effective way of adding sweetness to the beer too. For the inquisitive reader, Crystal Malts are produced from barley grain in a process where intense heat stops moisture escaping, which in turn leads to the starch interiors of the barley grains being broken down into sugars by amylase enzymes found in the barley. Brown Malts as the name suggest darken the beer during the Mashing stage and like the Crystal Malts, are added to the Wort.

The hops used are not identified on either the bottle or the website, though I suspect they could be Cluster Hops which were a popular hop used in America until the advent of new High Alpha Hops. The Cluster variety of hop is described as fruity with spicy notes. Other than this, a hop variety closer to home called Pilgrim may have been used, which again is fruity and spicy with hints of citrus thrown in for good measure!

All in all, this is a satisfying pint to have to hand and does certainly go well when watching the Rugby. It seems a shame this rich Amber ale is only seasonal since I am convinced it would become a best seller if it were given more coverage and wider distribution.

Overall, I am going to give this beer the thumbs up and would implore anyone interested to give it a try.

4/5