Trying the 'World's Best Beer' - which is brewed in East Sussex

Long Man Brewery, based in Litlington, has won six awards at the World Beer Awards 2022 - including the ‘World’s Best Beer’ for its Old Man premium bitter for the second time.

Three beers from the Long Man range have won a combined six awards in the taste category, which featured entries from more than 500 of the finest beers and ales from around the world. The Old Man premium bitter (4.3%) won: World’s Best Dark Mild Beer 2022, Gold Winner (UK), Country Winner (UK) – Dark Beer. The Long Blonde ale (4.1% - 3.8% cask) won: Gold Winner (UK), Country Winner (UK) – English Style Pale Ale. The Long Man Helles Lager (4.6%) won: Bronze Winner (UK) – Lager Helles/Münchner

The Old Man premium bitter is the brewery’s most decorated beer, with 16 individual awards, including ‘World’s Best Beer’ in 2017 and 2022.

The ale has a 3.55/5 rating on Untapped, a platform for enthusiasts to rate beer. On the app it says the ale has dark, coffee, malty, rich and sweet notes. On the back of the bottle the brewery says the ale scores 4/5 for bitterness and 2.5/5 for sweetness.

Jacob’s review:

I am a big ale fan and have been ever since my uncle introduced them to me when I turned 18 – but I must admit that I rarely choose a dark ale.

Straight after opening the bottle I could smell the sweet notes of the ale and it was quite pleasant. Like the smell, the taste had a surprisingly sweet note which was welcomed. As mentioned in the video it reminded me of Spanish vermouth for some reason – which is not a bad thing as I do enjoy the occasional vermouth on the weekend.

On the back of the bottle it says you should experience a hint of coffee and you definitely notice this when you are drinking the ale. Overall the taste was quite strong, so I wouldn’t recommend this for someone who was an ale novice.

In my opinion, after drinking around 200 different beers throughout the years, it is not the best in the world – but obviously this is just my opinion as someone who is not the biggest dark ale fan. As far as dark ales go it is definitely up there, although I still wouldn’t say it is the best I have ever had. Looking back I would get the Old Man again if I was to see it in a pub and would recommend it to any ale fans out there.

As I said in the video I imagine it would hit the spot a bit better if the ale was just slightly colder and if the environment I was in was also cooler. This isn’t a beer you are going to want to drink on the beach in summer, but it is one that would fit the vibe perfectly in a traditional pub in the middle of winter.

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