New River Lost River

Tasting Summary

These comments are the opinion of the individual reviewer and represent what they thought of the beer on a particular day in a particular pub. If a review is less favourable, it may be because the beer suffered somewhere in the supply chain between them and the brewery.

The Broken Drum, Blackfen, Greater London

Who	Score	When	Notes
Hogan Sampling		04 Sep 2026	2nd beer of this visit: Good head and lacing sticking to the end on this pale straw-coloured blonde ale from brewing set up in 2015 on the banks of New River in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. A gentle citrusy first hit. A fruited hoppiness rising with lemon-like citrus notes and a hint of grapefruit and peach for me. Its likely hops are Citra or Cascade behind its lemony citrus and grapefruit touches, New Zealand hops, Wai-iti or Nelson Sauvin, favoured for their lighter ales lending peach and stone fruit touches, and Goldings or First Gold, the traditional British hop, aiding its mild bittering foundation. A dry hoppiness prevailing with the merest hint of malt joining in from local malts likely to be Maris Otter or Extra Pale Malt aiding the light straw colour to remain intact alongside a touch of Caramalt or Wheat Malt to aid a light sweetness and the beer’s head retention. A lingering dry bitterness abseiling out. Served in very good nick.
Philip Pirrip	Not Tried	25 Jul 2022

The Door Hinge, Welling, Greater London

Who	Score	When	Notes
Philip Pirrip	Not Tried	29 May 2026
Philip Pirrip		23 May 2026	Rather thin gruel

The Pub Herne Bay, Herne Bay, Kent

The Tamil Crown (formerly The Charles Lamb), Islington, Central London

Who	Score	When	Notes
Magnus Greel		15 Oct 2016	Just starting to lose condition
Stephen Harris		14 Oct 2016	Golden, hazy and dry in the Blonde style.