Learn Beer » Reviews » Beer Talk

Beer Talk

Melbourn Bros. Cherry Ale

Published November 2003, Volume 24, Number 5

All Saints Brewery
Stamford,Lincolnshire, England
Imported by: Merchant du Vin
Tukwila, WA

Available: nationally, except SD, MO, CO, TX, KS, OK, MN

Founded in 1825, the All Saints Brewery closed in 1974. When it reopened twenty years later, it set out to brew beer with wild yeast in the manner of Belgian lambics, and flavored the beers with the fresh fruit of the Lincolnshire area.

Alcohol by weight: 3.4
Color: n/a
Bitterness: 13
Gravity: 1054

  • Fred Eckhardt

    Grand color. Pink head! Delightfully aromatic, and quite refreshing with an almost intense flavor. Not Belgian in character—and a bit sweet—but great on a hot summer day, and quite nice on any day.

  • Garrett Oliver

    You gotta love a beer in a uniform; this comes in a very handsome low-shouldered bottle. The look is unmistakable—deep cherry red with a lavender head. The nose reaches you before the beer does—it smells just like a cherry pie. The palate is sweet up front before acidity jumps in to balance it out. There’s some nice almond and wood in the sweet center, and the beer finishes with a sweet and sour zing. Traditionalists will have a cow. Let them. Bring me my cheesecake and chocolate truffles, please.

  • K. Florian Klemp

    Beautiful ruby-red color, with a billowing pink head. The aroma makes it to my nose even before the requisite sniff. The bouquet is fresh, natural cherry. The cherry dominates, and I am entirely happy with that. The flavor has a nice, clean tartness with a lightly sweet ballast and some background malt complexity…and cherries, cherries, cherries. Good body for a fruit beer. Perfect for sipping and savoring. No flaws here. Excellent with cheesecake or vanilla ice cream, or even as dessert by itself.

Add Your Comments