Blue is the colour (Coniston Bluebird 4.2%)

Member Name: cswann

Product:	Coniston Bluebird 4.2%
Date:	21/10/02 (68 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Available in supermarkets

Disadvantages: Too light for my taste, Morbid name

Coniston bitter has recently started appearing in the supermarket near to me, and I’m a sucker for trying out all those bottled ‘real ales’, so it didn’t take much for me to give it a go!

It’s produced by a micro brewery, Coniston Brewing Company, based up in the Lake District – in actual fact this is the work of two men, Ian Bradley and Rob Irwin.

Bluebird bitter is what’s known as a “single varietal” hop beer, and a “session” beer. The taste is distinctly light and hoppy, and very clean. There is a faint tinge of fruitiness, perhaps citrus.
It won the “Champion Beer of Britain award 1998” award, at the Great British Beer festival, so plenty of people like it – a lot.

Here are some of the more technical details, for those CAMRA members:
ABV = 3.6% (4.4% bottled)
Gravity = 1036
The malts used are Maris Otter pale malt and crystal malt, and Challenger hops.

Further information about the beer, and the brewery is available at their website, at
www.conistonbrewery.com

Here, a CAMRA expert describes Bluebird Bitter as having a “substantial 36 – 38 bitter rating.”
Me, I don’t know what that means, but I’ll tell you my opinion:

It’s very pale, and light, in colour and in taste, and in many ways I found it quite similar to beers such as Speckled Hen and Sainsbury’s Firecrest.
There's a slight fruitiness to it, if I had to describe it - maybe apples or pears. Now I have to say, that this, lighter, type of ale, isn’t usually my favourite – it tends to taste very weak. There's a slight fruitiness to it, if I had to describe it - maybe apples or pears. In comparison with more full-bodied beers such as Ruddles or Newcastle Brown, that is.
And I would honestly describe Bluebird as more of a pale ale than a bitter.
In fact it has a pretty stand
ard taste – a fair enough pint, but nothing extra to make go yummm… or, for that matter, buy any more bottles in future.

Another thing – I know the “Bluebird” name is no doubt intended as a sincere homage to Campbell’s accident, but for me it’s only ever going to bring to mind sad thoughts – and I don’t want a beer to make me feel depressed!

That said, I love trying out the small breweries’ wares, and it’s great there’s a much greater variety available across the country nowadays.

I’ve only tried the bottled beer – I am sure the draught option is wonderful when sampled from the Black Bull Inn, right next to the brewery itself.
I'll definitely like to try the draught out whenever I'm next up in that region, and report back!

Summary: