Vale Old Toby - Ep02 (Badged as ABC - Aylesbury Brewhouse Company)

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.

Hemel Old Town Beer Festival 2026, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire

Who	Score	When	Notes
Hogan Sampling		18 Jul 2026	5th beer of this visit: Some head and lacing presented but not overly lasting on this dark smoked porter*. A smoky first bite from its beechwood smoke. Bittersweet chocolatey and roasted coffee flavours rising from its Chevallier heritage malts alongside Munich, Crystal and Chocolate malts. A fig or two joining in. A sweetish maltiness prevailing. A dry hoppiness emerging from its Northern Brewer hops, a classic, highly versatile dual-purpose hop originally bred at Wye College in England in 1934, and a crossing of a Canterbury Golding female with a male seedling of Brewers Gold. For me an earthy and woody flavouring with hints of resin, cedar and pine needles and a smidgen of wild herbs and black pepper lingering. Served in not such good nick for its head and lacing but certainly flavoursome. *This porter belongs to Vale’s Aylesbury Brewhouse Company’s (ABC) range. While the main Vale line focuses on traditional, classic regional ales, the ABC banner serves as an experimental "lab" for small-batch, limited-run recipes. Old Toby has been released with handpump badge references including Old Toby Ep02.

The Six Bells, St Albans, Hertfordshire

Who	Score	When	Notes
Hogan Sampling		16 May 2026	2nd beer of this visit: Very good head and lacing presented and lasting on this smoked porter brewed by the Aylesbury Brewhouse Company, stylised as ABC, and which is owned and operated by Buckinghamshire’s Vale Brewery at Brill, some 41 miles slightly north-west from St Albans, and Thame is the closest historic market town, situated just 7 miles south in neighbouring Oxfordshire. One brew per month is produced and never repeated and this is marked as Ep02 on the pump clip, referring to episode 2. A smoky bitter first hit from being wreathed in beechwood smoke. A very dry bitterness rising from being hopped with Northern Brewer. A malty hoppiness winning over with waves of chocolate, roast coffee and dried fig caressing my taste buds. Brewed with Chevallier heritage malt lending it a chocolatey, caramel-infused flavouring. A dry malty bitterness paddling out. Served in very good condition.