Reviewed October 2009

It’s second time around for Freeminer’s Harvest Ale.

Brewed exclusively for the Co-operative grocery chain, this 4.8% beer first reached the shelves this time last year. Now, with the new season barley and hops gathered in, it’s back to brighten up the shortening days.

Freeminer does plenty of work with the Co-op. It started with Gold Miner, the bottle-conditioned pale ale, and has continued through a number of other products.

The relationship is obviously good, because Harvest Ale leans more heavily on the Co-op’s reputation than normal supermarket ‘own labels’ tend to do, with the barley grown on the Co-op’s own farms in Down Ampney, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire.

After harvesting, the barley – a strain known as Quench – is transported to Warminster Maltings where it is subjected to a full and proper floor malting, in the old-fashioned way.

When the malt finally arrives at Freeminer in the Forest of Dean, it is combined in the copper with Sovereign hops cultivated exclusively for the brewery in Worcestershire.

All About Barley

For the drinker, however, this beer is all about barley. The dark amber/copper colour suggests a good malt presence and the aroma and taste do not disappoint in this respect.

The nose is fresh and nutty, suggesting that crystal malt has joined the pale malt in the mash tun. There are also echoes of barley sugar boiled sweets and just a hint of toffee as the beer warms in the glass.

The same nutty character takes the lead in the mouth, with more barley sugar notes filling out the palate and the malt also providing a silky texture on the tongue. A soft bitterness assumes control but this is not one of those notably hoppy beers for which Freeminer is well known.

It really must have pained brewer Don Burgess to hold back on the hops, as he usually can’t put enough in. I didn’t know he was capable of such restraint.

The hops that are there, however, do have an impact, not just in providing that slight bitter dominance but also in adding a floral accent and then having the last word in an otherwise dry, nutty finish.

It’s good to see Harvest Ale back for a second run. Apart from the seasonality, there are no gimmicks: it’s a good, solid, satisfying beer in the best bitter tradition, and there’s nothing wrong with that.