Brewery: Badger (Hall & Woodhouse)
Location: Blandford-St-Mary, England
ABV: 4.0%
Version: Bottled
Source: Sainsbury’s

Badger First Gold has a very dry, hoppy nose and pours a deep, rich chestnut brown. Flavour was nutty and warm, with a good balance between malt and hops; mouth-feel was smooth with a lingering dryness. All in all, it reminded me of a more cultured version of Newcastle Brown.

A very pleasant drop indeed, much more fully-flavoured than the majority of the similar-strength beers I’ve tried this year. It would make a very good session beer on draught, I’m sure. Plenty of character without being too over-powering, you really could keep going on this one all night, with perhaps the occasional Poacher’s Choice to spice things up a little.