PubsandBeer
Bowl Inn (Free House)
[Back to most recent] [Previous Visits]
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Oakham - JHB |  | 1 |
| Westerham - Grasshopper Kentish Bitter |  | 1 |
| Woodforde's - Headcracker |  | 1 |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - Vintage Ale | | 1 |
| Mauldons - Mole Trap | | 2 |
| Arundel - Castle | | 1 |
| Arundel - Little Willy | | 1 |
| Black Sheep - Emmerdale Ale | | 1 |
| Rooster's - Cream | | 1 |
| Woodforde's - Admiral's Reserve | | 1 |
| RCH - East St Cream (was East Street Cream) |  | 1 |
| Ringwood - Old Thumper (now superseded by 5.1% version - separate entry) | | 1 |
| Smiles - Maiden Legover | | 1 |
| Orkney (Sinclair) - Red MacGregor | | 1 |
| Wychwood (now brewed at Banks's) - Wychcraft | | 1 |
| Ringwood - Boondoggle (now is 4.2% version) | | 1 |
| Springhead - Charlie's Angel | | 1 |
| Eagle (formerly Wells & Young's, formerly Charles Wells, formerly Wells) - Wells Summer Solstice | | 1 |
| Wyre Piddle - On the Pump |  | 1 |
Visits Details
14 Jul 2007 (Ian)
Here for their annual summer beer festival. 36 beers on with a good choice from around the UK and a good mixture of strengths. Got here for opening on Saturday and I sat in the beer garden sampling the beers.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster's - Cream | 4.70 | | Gold, thin white head. More earthy than I was expecting but still has a tang of American hops. Lovely beer to savour. Hops are slightly on the tongue ripping side. |
| Mauldons - Mole Trap | 3.80 | | Beer was in good condition and had a nice malt/hop aroma. Hops on end are tasty. |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - Vintage Ale | 8.50 | | 2007 version. Cask had BBE 12/03/2008. Strong alcohol and a bit syrupy. Decent hop on finish but more muted than other vintages I’ve had. Good raisin fruit. Malty/raisin up front, then dry hop on finish. More earthy and less grapefruity than I expected. Still got plenty of hop though. Needs time to mature. |
| Arundel - Castle | 3.80 | | Copper with thin beige head. Delicate roasted caramel and earthy hop aroma. Very tasty session bitter. Good earthy bitterness on finish, quite citrusy, but good malt balance. Terrific session bitter from one of the better English breweries. |
| Black Sheep - Emmerdale Ale | 4.20 | | Maltier and fruitier than the standard bitter but still with that distinctive Black Sheep yeast. |
| RCH - East St Cream (was East Street Cream) | 5.00 | | An old Mogul favourite. Slightly syrupy malt. Very good hop on finish. It is slightly syrupy, but the hop balances it. Fine. |
| Smiles - Maiden Legover | 3.50 | | Easy drinking golden ale. Lacks a bit of character, but slid down easily |
| Eagle (formerly Wells & Young's, formerly Charles Wells, formerly Wells) - Wells Summer Solstice | 4.10 | | Gold colour with thin off white head. Some yeast, some lemon citrus aroma. Again, fine, just a little bland. Easy drinking. Decent lemon citrusy finish which lifts the whole beer. |
| Wychwood (now brewed at Banks's) - Wychcraft | 4.20 | | I don’t often get the chance to try Wychwood beers in cask, so I’d thought I would try this. Copper colour with lasting off white head. Yeast/hop aroma, ok in mouth, malts are pale and not over the top. Hop on finish is a little dusty, but got good citrus flavours and definite dryness. Reasonably pleasant. |
| Wyre Piddle - On the Pump | 4.00 | | Gold colour with thin white head. Little bit hazy and a tad green appley and nettley. Bit off putting on aroma with a bit of rubber and then this nettle dominates the rest of the beer. Not my favourite |
14 Jul 2006 (Ian)
I came here on the Friday afternoon. Some of the beers were not on yet (a couple not even tapped) and some were on which could have done with another day perhaps to develop. However, having said that, this is a fabulous pub and a really good beer festival. I sat in the garden with Test Match Special on the radio and gradually tried the beers. Where the beers were ready, they were in excellent condition.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakham - JHB | 3.80 | | So my homage to this beer continues. One of my proudest moments was to get a middle aged woman clutching a glass of white wine to try it. The liveliness in the mouth impressed her even though she said she wasn't a bitter drinker and then the tangerine/grapefruit finish rather amazed her. Yeasty aroma, creamy lively mouthfeel, with spritzy citrus finish. Utterly amazing. Smooth. If i had one very small criticism, I would say that it's a bit too yeasty on the aroma, but I don't care because of the mouthfeel and the finish. I mean the finish is just so spectacular. Will be even better on the next day. So fresh. |
| Westerham - Grasshopper Kentish Bitter | 3.80 | | Deep brown/mahogany colour with thin beige head. Excellent session bitter, yeast, hop and dry malt aroma, plenty of fruit/tea in the mouth with a malty dry finish and a peppery hop. One of my favourites. |
| Woodforde's - Admiral's Reserve | 5.00 | | Clear chestnut colour with thin beige head. Rich fruit aroma, some dried fruit with raisins and sultanas in evidence. Nice hop. Full in mouth. Good malt, very tasty. Strong tasty grapefruit hop. Malt is excellent. Good beer. |
| Woodforde's - Headcracker | 7.00 | | Amber colour with thinning off white head. Jellied fruit aroma. Good malt. Some hop. Juicy malt in mouth. Impressively not sickly or overly sweet. Very drinkable. I would say more a very strong bitter than a barley wine. Really quite dry on finish after sweetish mouthfeel. But it really isn’t half bad. Wouldn’t want the other half of this pint though if I wanted to cycle home safely. |
| Arundel - Little Willy | 4.00 | | Chestnut colour with lasting beige head. Well balanced best bitter. Bits of yeast, malt, hop. I’ve had several Arundel beers now and have been impressed with all of them. Good best bitter. |
| Ringwood - Old Thumper (now superseded by 5.1% version - separate entry) | 5.60 | | Copper colour with thin off white head. Yeasty and malt on aroma. Warming alcohol, but not unbalanced. Touch of apple. Maybe not quite ready to be served yet. Drinkable strong bitter. Probably expect a bit more flavour. I prefered the Woodforde’s Admiral’s Reserve that I had just before this. |
| Mauldons - Mole Trap | 3.80 | | Hazy amber colour with lasting beige head. Earthy hop, bit of apple. Maybe not ready yet. Muddy in mouth. Good biting citrus and hop on end. Bit of rubber. There's a good beer in there somewhere. |
| Springhead - Charlie's Angel | 4.50 | | Gold, thin white head. Farty yeast, some citrus. Drinkable golden ale. Bit too farty. Finish need to be a bit more rounded. Dusty hop finish which is quite prickly too. Fine, but not quite to my style of flavour. |
| Orkney (Sinclair) - Red MacGregor | 4.00 | | Very hazy russet colour with thick lasting beige head. Yeast and red berry aroma. OK in mouth, fulllish, good malt. Dry finish, bit earthy, red fruits. Pretty good red fruit, malt bitter with very hoppy finish |
| Ringwood - Boondoggle (now is 4.2% version) | 3.90 | | Gold with thin beige head. Yeasty aroma, bit farty. Some good fruit in mouth, citrus fruit mix, some juicy pale malt. Finish is tingly, earthy hop. OK golden bitter with good juicyness and spicy finish. |
About the Bowl Inn
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 6 |
| 20 |
| 24 |
| 16 |
| 4 |
The pub is found in Charing, Kent, TN27 0HG.
This pub is off the main road at the top of Charing Hill in Egg Hill Road. Probably a good idea to use the OS grid reference to find it, if you haven't been before. Friendly, busy pub on the junction of several country lanes. Always popular. Holds a regular summer beer festival that has around 30 beers.
We have visited this pub 32 times, seen 129 different beers and tried 62 of them.
Postcode: TN27 0HG