Our Tastings


Hyde & Wilde – American Style IPA

Hyde and Wilde is “Sainsbury’s own craft brewery” but its actually brewed by Marston’s exclusively for Sainsbury’s.

This one is the American Style IPA with a blend of barley and wheat, as well as Citra and Summit hops. According to Sainsburys …

Yee-Haw! Let’s thank the Yanks for their bold, citrusy hops! With a blast of grapefruit and a hit of gooseberry, this beer rocks! 

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (3.3 / 5)

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UPDATE: Little London – Hoppy Hilda

A light golden pale ale brewed with Maris Otter barley and crystal malts, generously complemented with fuggle and golding hops.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling):  (3.8 / 5)

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UPDATE: Wild Weather Ales – King St Pale

An easy-drinking hazy extraordinaiore of a beer, King St. Pale is loaded up with oats for a silky mouthfeel and topped off with a healthy charge of Mosaic dry hops.

Brewed in conjunction with Honest Burgers, Reading.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (3.5 / 5)

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Longdog Brewery – Columbus Single Hopped Ale

No pump-clip or description on their web-site, no hits on Google I think this is an American Pale Ale but who knows!

Are we the first people to taste this beer?

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (3.3 / 5)

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Camerons – Ahop-alypse Now

ATTEN HUT!!! Camerons have created a golden beer with a citrus aroma and satisfying full hop flavour. The Cascade, Chinook and Fuggles hops deliver an initial citrus flavour followed by a satisfying bitter taste

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (3.5 / 5)

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Rebellion – Near Miss

A pale ale with a hoppy finish. 100% pale ale malt for a golden colour and light biscuit flavour. Motueka and Simcoe hops add a citrus fruit character.

Malt: Maris Otter Pale Ale
Hops: Motueka, Simcoe
Strength: 4.2%

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (3.3 / 5)

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Andwell’s Resolute

Taking its name from a town within the high Arctic, despite its cool name this is the sort of bitter that you’ll easily warm to.

Andwell’s Best Bitter combines the finest malt and hops to produce a well balanced malty and hoppy flavour with a light amber colour.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling):   (3 / 5)

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Oakham Ales – Citra

Light gold in colour, bursting with citrus and tropical hop flavours and sensationally refreshing. The original UK Citra.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (4 / 5)

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Muddled Memories – Calmer Llama

Calmer Llama is an American IPA made with a blend of Biscuit and Vienna malt and the fruity flavoured single hop Citra all wrapped together to give a 6.6% ABV.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (4.3 / 5)

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Rebellion – Dive Bomb

Dive Bomb is a Golden Ale with a pronounced hop aroma. Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, Azacca and Citra all vie for your attention, layering on flavours of Citrus and tropical fruits.

Malt: Maris Otter Pale Ale, Crystal

Hops: Mosiac. Nelson Sauvin, Azacca, Citra

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (4 / 5)

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UPDATE: Morland – Old Speckled Hen


A high proportion of crystal malt in Old Speckled Hen provides the key toffee/caramel flavour. The yeast used to ferment the beer provides the other key character – estery or banana/pear drop. This estery note provides the fruity and refreshing balance. The hops used add a palate cleansing herbal note and very slight orange citrus. A very malty, full bodied and warming ale.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (3 / 5)

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Zero Degrees – Downtown

Zero  Degrees take on making a great American Pale Ale. British & German malts meet sexy American hops and their first brew!

Fruity is the first word that comes to mind – mainly tangerine, grapefruit and melon. Then you notice the pleasant, full bodiness of it and how easy it is to drink. ABV 4.6%.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (4 / 5)

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UPDATE: Wild Weather Ales – Shepherds Warning

Shepherd WarningShepherds Warning is a pale IPA where the flavour begins soft and smooth building to a wonderful big hit of hoppy grapefruit, peach and mango.

At 5.6% it should carry a warning!

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (4.5 / 5)

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UPDATE: Siren Craft Brew – Soundwave


A 5.6% west coast IPA: golden, immensely hoppy and alive with grapefruit, peach and mango flavours.

Soundwave carries her drinker to the west coast, to the golden shores of California where craft ale is nectar. She is the driest of Siren’s ales – full with flavour but subtle with bitterness.

Her resinous finish will pull you off balance.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (4.5 / 5)

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Binghams – Brickworks Bitter

Brickworks Bitter is a malty bitter which is chestnut in colour with a slightly nutty hint. Hops balance the maltiness to provide a well rounded best bitter.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling):  (3.5 / 5)

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Devil’s Backbone America IPA by Marstons

American IPA is the first Devil’s Backbone beer to be sold outside of the United States. The beer is an original Devil’s Backbone recipe showcasing American hops and brewed especially for the English palate. It’s a mix of English (East Kent Goldings and Admiral) and American hops added late in the process with a single-infusion mash of Pale Ale malt.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (3 / 5)

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Rebellion – Afterburner

A classic British brown bitter with plenty of dark malt and exclusively British hops. Roasted maltiness with spicy, earthy and floral hop aroma.

Dark & Malty – delicious!

Malt: Pale, Crystal, Chocolate

Hops: Fuggles, Phoenix, WGV

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (4 / 5)

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Windsor & Eaton – Last Drop

Rose Red Bitter

Specially brewed for the Six Nations. How better to celebrate an English grand slam.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (3.8 / 5)

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Ossett Brewery – Yorkshire Blonde


A Fruity Pale Ale.

Yorkshire Blonde is a mellow, lager coloured ale. Full-bodied and low in bitterness, there is a delicate malty sweetness on the palate. The fruity hop aroma results from a generous late addition of Mount Hood hops.Our biggest selling beer, Yorkshire Blonde is a mellow, lager coloured ale.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (1.8 / 5)

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Rebellion – Gold

A rich golden ale with an intensely hoppy aroma. We’ve crammed the hop back with as much American Mosaic hops as we could. This gives the beer a huge aroma of tropical fruits, citrus fruits and red berry. We’ve kept the bitterness relatively low despite the huge dose of late hops, so Gold retains its drinkability and balance. A truly contemporary golden ale.

Harper Arms Rating (5=Tribute, 1=Carling): (4 / 5)

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It's all about the beer!