Well Christmas time came and went, and with it came a lot of beer and ale. One of the first I sought was the previously untried Scotts 1816 ale, from the Copper Dragon Brewery in Skipton, North Yorkshire, received as a gift among several ales as a Christmas present/reward for getting a new job!
The Copper Dragon Brewery was established in 2002, They've been doing a fine job ever since, establishing themselves as a fine independent brewery. It stands as a restoration of the historic Skipton Brewery, which was bought out and subsequently shut down in 1904, after nearly 90 years in service from its beginnings in 1816, when it was commissioned for construction by Leeds maltster Christopher Scott. This is where I presume today's owners of the site took inspiration for the name of the featured beverage. They've been doing a fine job ever since, establishing themselves as a fine independent brewery.
I was mostly intrigued thanks to Scotts' elder sibling and more well known ale, the Golden Pippin. Up until this point, my knowledge about Copper Dragon's products didn't extend beyond the Pippin, so to try this one for the first time was not one to resist. The blurb reads:
'A full bodied flavoursome rounded ale with a distinctive hoppy palate and aroma. Only the choicest British malt and Continental hops are used to produce this ale.'
Wow, was I impressed from the get go. Into the tankard this 4.4% real ale went, delivering an impressively frothy head. The first taste was equally one to savour, a flavoursome sip full of fruitiness and joy, a pleasure to the palette. Off I went into the living room tree, in the glow of the Christmas lights, to drink this fine ale and play Assassins' Creed. I didn't rush; only taking it further gulps during breaks in action. The drink lasted me a full hour, and not once did it lose its flavour or its balance.
Put simply, Copper Dragon have another masterpiece here in this fine ale. One I shall definitely drink time and time again, and certainly one you should be willing to try too. Head to the Copper Dragon's website, and learn about their full story, their fine Bar Bistro, and order some of their fine ales while you're at it!
Peter Clegg
Copper Dragon Brewery official site
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