Marston's brewery in England is a bit of a throwback to days long gone, being the last major brewery to use the Burton Union system of oak barrels, pipes and troughs. That being the case, and also in part due to the praise they have received from beer experts the likes of Jackson,I was a bit excited when I saw bottles of their beers on the shelves recently. The bottles had just arrived, the glass was brown and shiny, and the beers turned out to be in excellent condition.

Pedigree Bitter was the first Marston's beer I sampled. As I poured it into my glass, a slight head formed atop this medium copper-colored brew. The carbonation was on the light side. The nose yielded slightly buttery, soapy notes. The first sip! Very light malt flavor with a touch of diacetyl and a minimal hop finish. I was surprised at how thin the beer seemed. Original gravity is given as 1043. The minimal hop finish combines with the very light maltiness to produce an almost mass-market lager type finish. Still, Pedigree would make a pleasant quaffing brew; I could easily imagine downing several pints of this beer in an English pub.



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