Brewery: The Witchwood Brewery, Witney, Oxfordshire, England

Brewery Description: “Circle Master is brewed using a unique blend of Plumage Archer Barley Malt, organically grown for us under the auspices of the Prince of Wales Duchy Estate in Gloucestershire. Whole leaf target hops, naturally grown in a single garden in Kent, are added to create a beer of exceptional taste and character. The Circle Master conducts a melody of refreshing citrus and delightful malt flavour, rounded off with a spicy bittersweet finish.” Note: This beer is sold in the USA and Canada as Scarecrow, and elsewhere as Circle Master, since evidently the rest of the world doesn’t know what a scarecrow is.

Brew Style: English pale ale/ESB, 4.7% ABV

Recommended Glassware: English pint

The Ugly Truth: So when I went to my beer store this week, I grabbed 5 different 1-pint, 9-ounce bottles just to give myself some variety and check some new beers out. I grabbed the rest of Baltika’s that I had not had yet, another beer that I’ll review later and Scarecrow because I realized I’d been mostly drinking dark beers lately and wanted to switch it up. Grabbing Scarecrow was a completely arbitrary thing, and I have to say I am very glad I landed on this ale. It was a beautiful golden color with a substantial white foamy head. The aroma wasn’t anything overly impressive, it smelled like the usual golden ale; kind of light with some fruit. The taste, however, was phenomenal. This ale had the longest lasting taste I’ve ever had in a beer. Allow me to elaborate: for most beers, the taste lasts for about 3-5 seconds, then melds into the aftertaste. The taste on this beer easily lasted 6-8 seconds. It almost seemed like it slowly climbed, hit a steady level and then hung there until it declined into an aftertaste that I found not so much spicy, but more a mulled taste that was really enjoyable. It was really good, probably one of the better golden pale ales I’ve ever had. I highly recommend seeing if you can find it and give it a try.

Verdict: Lagers and Tripels and Beers oh my! This ale gets a 9 out of 10 bottlecaps. (Sorry, best I could do with that one)