Elusive Tenacious C

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 River Ale House, East Greenwich, Greater London

Who	Score	When	Notes
Philip Pirrip	Not Tried	27 Aug 2026
Hogan Sampling	Not Tried	27 Aug 2026
Philip Pirrip		25 Aug 2026	Flat in glass
Hogan Sampling		25 Aug 2026	3rd beer of this visit: Still exhibiting a little head at the start but struggling to hold onto it on this stout from Finchampstead, Berkshire, near Wokingham, where brewing was set up in 2016. If it came on last Friday that would make it now five days old, or it might have just come on, on Saturday when I first sampled it. A chocolatey first hit on this stout acting as a chaser to my Belgium chocolate cake I just happened to bring along. This stout's specialty malts, namely dark and roasted malts, giving rise to its espresso and chocolate flavourings mixed with a Madagascan vanilla sweetness for my taste buddies. Challenger and Goldings, its bittering hops, lending a dry bitterness. Still served in reasonable nick though not keeping its head and lacing and with a loss of conditioning.
Philip Pirrip		23 Aug 2026	Unimpressive being flat in glass
Hogan Sampling		23 Aug 2026	4th beer of this visit: This stout from Finchampstead, Berkshire, near Wokingham, where brewing was set up in 2016, now on at least its second day, or possibly third, was still displaying a good head and lacing at first. A chocolatey first hit. Still layers of creamy chocolate and coffee mixed with a vanilla sweetness for my taste buds to contend with. Its dry but sweet bitterness rising from its specialty malts, and namely its dark and roasted malts aiding its espresso and chocolate flavourings. Its lasting sweetness emanating from its Madagascan vanilla. Challenger and Goldings, its bittering hops, doing battle with its roasted malt sweetness before its slide downwards. Its vanilla lingering on in its slide downwards. Still served in good nick though not keeping its head and lacing as well as it did on the evening before and now with a slight loss of conditioning.
Hogan Sampling		22 Aug 2026	3rd beer of this visit: This vanilla stout was fresh on since my last visit on Thursday and displaying a very healthy, creamy head and lasting lacing from a brewing operation founded in 2016 and located on an industrial estate in Finchampstead, Berkshire, near Wokingham. So-named is this stout in paying tribute to one of Chris Bingham's most fondly remembered beers from his former brewery. Chris is a legendary figure in the UK craft beer scene, best known as the founder and head brewer of the former Bingham’s Brewery based in Twyford, Berkshire, and who co-brewed with Andy Parker, the founder of Elusive Brewing, Tenacious C as a special brew in following Chris’s award-winning vanilla stout recipe. A chocolatey first hit. Rising for me are layers of creamy chocolate and coffee mixed with a vanilla sweetness. A malty dry bitterness emerging from its specialty malts, lending a selection of dark and roasted malts behind its espresso and chocolate flavourings. The addition of Madagascan vanilla aiding its lasting sweetness. Its traditional English bittering hops are Challenger and Goldings and balancing the roasted malt sweetness before its slide downwards. Served in very good nick with lots of conditioning on the mouthfeel.