Brewery: Hall & Woodhouse (Badger)
Location: Blandford St Mary, Dorset, England
ABV: 4.5%
Version: Bottled
Source: Sainsbury’s

Badger Golden Glory has to be the most insanely cheerful and downright pleasant summer ale I sampled last year.

The effect begins with a fresh, zesty aroma that floods out of the bottle and continues as the beer pours a quite wonderful orange-gold colour with a thick, frothy head. The first mouthful delivers a big hit of honey, orange and spices with a rich, satisfying mouth-feel and there’s a lingering fruitiness that brings to mind all sorts of citrus flavours – particularly nectarine and grapefruit – as well as the promised melon and peach from the label.

All in all, this one really is summer in a bottle; drinking it in December made me hugely nostalgic for the long, balmy days of August (not necessarily August 2008 mind you…) and I’ll definitely be stocking up when the weather starts to warm up a bit. Can’t wait for a long weekend with some decent sunshine: a chance to fire up the barbecue and enjoy a few bottles of this one with friends. Lovely stuff.