Gentleman James is another one of Walmart’s order-made beers by Shepherd Neame. I was expecting a malty ale after reading the label, but it turned out a bit different.

It’s got a clear amber body with a small, dirty white head that leaves quite some lacing behind.

A malty, sweet caramel nose suggests that the label’s claims are correct, but then…

Gentleman James has a medium body (hell this reads so weird with such a name) with fizzy strong carbonation. The first impression is malty indeed, but it’s nowhere as sweet as I expected. On the contrary. Not to mention that the carbonation makes the otherwise (probably) full body feel jagged as well. The hops bitterness plays a much bigger role than the tropical fruity malts ever got in this game.

I guess the order was something suitable for the tastes of the masses, because this toned-down bitter-centered slight maltiness isn’t exactly impressive. One could talk about how it’s cheap, but it’s not that much cheaper than actual craft beer.