Saturday and the sun is out and I’m out in the garden with a nice bottle of Clouded Yellow.

Up until this bottle came along, my only exposure to Wheat beer was that Hoegarden stuff which I didn’t really have a lot of time for.

This St Austell wheat beer is a far different kettle of fish.

Worth noting – that St Austell was voted regional brewer of the year in 2009 which is far praise given the number of Cornish ales that are out there.

Clouded Yellow headlines as ‘… A deliciously refreshing wheat beer brewed with the rare taste of vanilla, cloves and coriander’.

Clouded Yellow is names after a butterfly that can be sometimes found in Cornwall. There’s a picture of the butterfly on the label.

Clouded Yellow is a bottle conditioned ale, coming in at 4.8% and it is suggested that you either pour it with care and leave the sediment/yeast in the bottle or you give it a swish and make it ‘a clouded yellow’ appearance. Makes sense ! There’s quite a lot of lumpy sediment so it’s your call what you do !

This bottle uses the Willamette hop and with the addition of cloves and coriander the flavour and aroma is quite unique.

This ale really does hit the spot. Especially on a hot day. It is so refreshing and the after-taste of vanilla is a nice touch too. I don’t pick up the banana aroma that they suggest – but I have just eaten a bowl of fruit so maybe my scent is off.

As wheat beers go I don’t know another that compares. If this was just about wheat beers, the Ouse score would be 5 out of 5. I just can’t imagine there being better out there.

Overall it will score 4.5 – pushing 5 on a sunny day. I’m off to get some more.