Comments on: Quick catch-up #1: 2008 Holiday Beers

By: Ed Ashby

Ed Ashby — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:19:44 +0000

Only getting round to trying the Plum Duff now. It’s not my fault, I was in Sainsburys just after Christmas and they didn’t have any but did today.
The mace is certainly there in the aroma and I reckon it’s matured in the bottle to be more prominent in the flavour. Definitely very fruity, agree with your sweet and sour note, and there’s a dryness to the finish. Overall not bad, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing to look for more next Christmas. I much prefer their Bah Humbug! which oddly I didn’t see any of this time around.

By: Darren Turpin

Darren Turpin — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:15:31 +0000

Hi Rob – Glad you like the site, and thanks for the tip! Not sure there’s a branch of B&M Bargains near me, but I’ll keep an eye out, certainly.

Ed mate – On reflection you could be right about the Old Crafty Hen. My taste buds were probably shot after four hours of sucking on mint humbugs in an effort to stay awake, plus some truly execrable service station coffee halfway along. I should probably re-visit when I’m more alert as well…

By: Ed Ashby

Ed Ashby — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:05:30 +0000

I better add some comments for the four you’ve covered that I’ve recently tried myself.

White Shield – It had an interesting flavour but I doubt it’s one I’ll be going back to. It started off well with a lovely fresh bread aroma from the bottle, followed up with light fruity hops from the glass. The upfront yeasty and sweet alcohol taste overpowered the slight bitter hop zest that was trying to push through, ending with a disappointingly thin and short finish.

Midnight Sun – Certainly not the best offering from William Bros but a perfectly acceptable one. A malty, toffee aroma with the listed ginger kept subtley in the background, and I detected a whiff of mint in there too. The taste is very smooth, malty, caramel, milk chocolate, a bit more of that ginger again in the background and I got a little more mint as well. Downsides were it was a wee bit too sweet and the finish was a bit short.

Old Crafty Hen – I reckon I enjoyed this one more than you, maybe it was due to being the first one after your long drive. It has a lovely fruity/malty aroma with a hint of chocolate and some woody notes. First flavour to burst out was the malt, followed up with hints of liquorice, raisins and toffee and some well-balanced sweetness, ending in a smooth and lingering finish. One to savour and not rushed.

Pickled Partridge – Easy drinking, quite ordinary and inoffensive. A biscuity fruity aroma with a dry malt flavour, accented with some bitterness and something else I couldn’t quite identify, perhaps apricots, that didn’t sit well in the balance, with a dry finish. It’s has the Badger character but definitely not one of their better ones.

By: Rob Bithell

Rob Bithell — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 13:50:31 +0000

Hi
Just found your fab site. I’ve tried the Plum Duff, it was ok but nowt spesh. Can I suggest you search B&M bargains for beer. Dont be put off by all the rubbish they sell, navigate your way to the beer bit, my local one currently has Lowenbrau oktoberfest beer @ £1.20, Wychwood Goldwing, various Shepherd Neame and wychwood brews, and some real odd stuff like chinese pale ale. Previosly I’ve found beers from Hanby, O’Hanlons and Titanic in there, so It pays to keep a regular eye on this place as the range can change daily! Home Bargains also sell beers but the range in there is not as good as B&M
Cheers
Rob