The nose is similar to the Leeds Best, but certainly more floral and yeasty. The yeasty smell was hard to pick out at first as the floral hop aroma fills the air but the more you smell, the more you notice the strong undercurrent of yeast. Onto the taste and the mouthfeel is lively and fresh with flowers dancing all over my tongue. There’s a massive fresh hop zing and a beautiful mellow citrus taste which leaves you wanting more. It’s even slightly appley – hops and fruit all the way which makes for a wonderfully refreshing beer. I don’t know which hops are used in this particular beer but I’m willing to wager the presence of some Challengers in there. The yeast is back on the aftertaste with the beer tasting fresh and ‘new’ – just how I like it.

It’s very rare that you get a bottle conditioned ale which tastes as though it’s fresh from the barrel but the Leeds beers I’ve tasted have been delightfully consistent. Fresh, light, hoppy, and very, very drinkable. Mark – you can send me more of these any time you like!!

On the pour, the beer retains a decent head and shows a clean light amber glow. The nose is sharp and fruity with noticeable hints of strawberry and grape. The alcohol is also very apparent on the back of the nose which took me a little by surprise.

Onto the first taste, and the beer tastes dry and fresh with the hop character doing most of the work. No sign of the strawberries and grapes from the nose, though. In fact, there’s a distinct lack of fruity flavour but that’s by no means a bad thing. The ‘unique strain of Yorkshire yeast’ as advertised on the bottles gives a pleasing freshness and a nice yeasty flavour.

A few tastes later and the fruity flavours start to come through. The fresh grapey notes are apparant and the dry, grassy bitterness from the hops gives a superb finish. As you get further down the glass, the hop kick does, as with most similar beers, blend away into the background a little as your palate adjusts and gives way to something of a lager quality. Perhaps it should be referred to as a quality lager quality, as this isn’t a bad  thing at all. All in all, this is a very pleasant beer in superb condition and with just my kind of hop balance.