Generation Ale
With only 3,000 bottles released, Generation Ale boasts a 12-month ageing process resulting in a rich, full-bodied ale to be savoured and enjoyed. Beautifully packaged in a wooden presentation box, Generation is a collectors’ item and the ultimate gift for ale lovers.
The brewing team behind Spitfire and Bishops Finger has drawn on its collective 150 years’ experience to produce this strictly limited edition ale.
To signify the five generations of the Neame family that have run the brewery, this burnished gold ale combines five classic roasted malts with five of the choicest varieties of traditional Kentish hops. The ingredients are combined with natural chalk-filtered mineral water, drawn from the artesian well deep beneath the Shepherd Neame brew-house, and then brewed in the UK’s last remaining wooden mash tuns. Finally, the beer is aged in a deep maturation process lasting 12 months. As one of the few ales in the UK to undergo this lengthy ageing process, Generation Ale boasts a rich character, impeccably balanced flavour and a long warming finish.
Generation Ale is presented in a traditional amber bottle, embossed with the Shepherd Neame crook. Each bottle is hand-wrapped in paper and encased within a wooden box bearing the signature approval of chief executive Jonathan Neame. With an ABV of 9% and served in a 75cl bottle, the beer is priced at £17.50 and exclusively available from Shepherd Neame. The perfect ale to sip, share and savour with friends, Generation is the ultimate beer from Britain’s oldest brewer.
Tasting Notes
First brewed in 1998 to celebrate Shepherd Neame's tercentenary, this copper-bronze, bottle conditioned beauty is an intense yet uniquely intricate offering thrice-hopped during the brewing process. This adds rich resinous notes and spikes of citrus to a moreish strong ale already rife with notes of liquorice, Masala wine, caramel and spicy orange. A frisson of dark fruit freshens the finish. Serve with smoked cheese.
Tasting notes by beer writer Ben McFarland