BEER REVIEW: 454

BREWER: Wye Valley Brewery, Herefordshire, England

STYLE: Pale Ale

ABV: 4%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 19th June 2026

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

The tale begins, as these tales often do, with hope. I stood before the glass like someone about to open a long awaited letter, convinced that what lay inside would justify all the anticipation I had allowed to build. The liquid settled into the glass with the bright, harmless look of a lager, pale and unassuming, nothing like the deeper glow you expect from a pale ale. Still, I told myself not to judge too soon. Stories turn slowly. Some heroes take time to reveal themselves.

Then came the nose. Or rather, the absence of one. A faint gesture toward something between a lager and a traditional ale, but nothing that stepped forward with conviction. It was like waiting for a character to deliver a grand monologue only to realise they have forgotten their lines. I searched for depth, for intrigue, for anything that hinted at the promise I had been sold. Instead, I found a small hint of lemon and not much else.

The first sip sealed the fate of the story. Watery. Thin. A beer that seemed to apologise for existing even as it touched the tongue. It carried the weak, hesitant vibe of a lager that had wandered into the wrong genre and was too polite to leave. Whatever pale ale identity it was meant to claim never arrived. The mouthfeel was so slight it felt like the ghost of a drink rather than the drink itself.

And so the disappointment grew, not because the beer was terrible, but because it was so astonishingly unremarkable. You can drink it and not be offended, but that is hardly a victory. It is the kind of beer that leaves no trace, no memory, no moment worth retelling except the lesson it quietly teaches. A reminder that expectation is a dangerous companion. Build something up too high and the fall becomes the only thing you feel.

Sammy’s Rating: 33%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

After last week’s bad blue label offering from Star, here we are again. Though this week it is nowhere near as bad, it still does not look too good I’m afraid.

Packaging is important. It leads the way for a brew. Represents it on the shelves. Creates intrigue or ambivalence. But, ultimately if a beer is incredible, the way it is presented doesn’t really matter… maybe… blimey, I could actually go on for hours about this!

Look, HPA is fairly nice, alright, inoffensive… but not much more than that for me I’m afraid. It’s a brew that comes with a good rep for sure and certainly from a great brewery. But it just didn’t quite deliver for MOB Jymi.

With a tangerine and lemon nose leading the way and also a crisp and refreshing nature to her in the sip, I genuinely thought we could be onto a winner with this brew. But ultimately it did just kinda pale into insignificance.

Jymi’s Rating: 51%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 42%

MOB review next weekend: SNAPSHOT by DURATION

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Bluesky: @museonbooze.bsky.social

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com

M O B 2026