Triple crown and wooden spoon

Whilst Wales were brushing aside the English rugby team at Twickenham on Saturday, a far more important battle was playing out in the living room of my flat in Cardiff. The 6 Nations Wales vs England beer tasting was a tense battle, but a definitive victor was crowned.

The Commercial Room beer tasters!
Photo - Paul Evans

The four participants* blind tested 4 bottle conditioned beers (2 from Wales, 2 from England) and rated them on appearance, aroma and taste.


Beer 1

Proper Black

St Austell Brewery

Black IPA, 6%

Photo - Paul Evans



Appearance: The beer was dark and had a coffee coloured, frothy head.

Aroma: Very floral and hoppy, slightly bitter.

Taste: It tasted hoppy, with hints of citrus fruits, charcoal, some spicy peppery notes, with a bitter-dry finish.

Verdict: As one of the tasters put it, this beer is 'an intriguing mind f**k', owing to the fact that it pours black like a stout or porter, and tastes hoppy and fruity like an IPA. This was a popular beer amongst the tasters, and the overall verdict was that Proper Black is a high quality beer.

Average Score: 22/30


Beer 2
Twin Ram
Pen-Lon Cottage Brewery
IPA, 4.6%

Photo - Paul Evans

Appearance: Deep gold/amber, with a creamy head. Two of the tasters though it looked a little like chicken stock, and on reflection it probably did.  Although pouring it from a Pyrex jug probably didn't help that perception!

Aroma: Fresh apples, cantaloupe melon, banana and pears.  We all agreed that it had a cider-like aroma.

Taste: Fruity and cider like with a dry aftertaste.  Caramelised bananas were also mentioned.

Verdict: A nice looking beer (when poured in a glass) with an interesting aroma. To describe it as an IPA is a bit much as it is nothing like a usual example, which makes it a confusing beer. Consequently we couldn't decide if we loved it, or hated it.

Average Score: 19/30


Beer 3
Pale Ale
The Kernel Brewery
Pale Ale, 5%

Photo - Paul Evans

Appearance: Cloudy, amber body with a nice clean, bright white head.

Aroma: Intensely hoppy and floral. Hints of elderflower and ripe berries. Two tasters thought it smelled like a country pub garden.

Taste: Fruity, sweet and lively in the mouth. It was crisp, with elderflower hints, finished with a not overly bitter aftertaste.

Verdict: An extremely impressive beer, very complex and ultimately delicious.  This was mentioned as the perfect summer beer.

Average Score: 23/30

Beer 4
Cwrw Dewi
Vale of Glamorgan Brewery
Dark Bitter, 5%

Photo - Paul Evans

Appearance: Dark ruby, with a frothy short lasting head.

Aroma: Slightly muted coffee and dark chocolate aromas.

Taste: Initially very bitter, with hints of coffee and cocoa.  A clean and breezy taste, that leads into mild nuttiness, slightly spoiled by the weak aftertaste.

Verdict: A nice looking beer that lacks a powerful headline flavour, and flatters to deceive.

Average Score: 20/30

So, we awere unanimous in awarding the overall win to the very impressive Pale Ale by the Kernel Brewery in South London, with a very honourable mention going to the interesting and original Proper Black.

The Welsh beers simply failed to ignite the taste buds, and consequently suffered an English battering.

Final match score averages:

England 46
Wales 39

*Thanks to Ross Evans, Ian Owen and Chris Weaver for their expert tasting skills.