Brewery: Fullers
Location: London, England
ABV: 8.5%
Version: 500ml bottle (Number 25835 of a limited 150000)

This edition marks the 10th anniversary of the introduction of this annual limited bottled release, which sets out to be a blend of that year’s best crops. The bottle comes in its own presentation box, with the label embossed with the number from the batch. Bottle-conditioning allows potential for the beer to mature over time much like a fine wine, making the legal requirement of a best before date a bit of a contradiction.

The individual nature of each year’s bottling no doubt makes for some differences from one year to the next, and quite possibly from bottle to bottle, but this being my first sample of any of them I can’t compare with previous ones. Fuller’s website describes the 2007 release as -
“A classic Vintage Ale with an aroma which incorporates spicy hop notes with rich fruit character and leads on to a very full malty, fruity, sweet palate which has a surprisingly clean finish coupled with a matching bitterness.”

Pouring a reddish, dark amber colour it’s initially very fizzy but quickly settles, probably just the beer’s eagerness to escape from the confines of the bottle and be enjoyed. Taste is very much of malt to the fore, some perfectly balanced sweetness and bitter hops in the background. At first its a bit overwhelming, all the different malt and fruit flavours jostling with each other for attention but give it a few minutes and they soon settle down. There then follows a pleasant lingering aftertaste, resulting in a beer to be enjoyed slowly rather than guzzled (especially considering that 8.5% strength), the better to appreciate the time and effort put into its creation. Considering this particular number had probably only been bottled for less than 6 months its very good, so leaving it for a while longer would no doubt have matured it very nicely indeed.

The 2008 release should be in shops in October (Waitrose and Sainsburys stocked the 2007), so I might just pick up a couple of bottles and stick them in the back of a cupboard for a year or two. Maybe even open them a few months apart. All in the name of research of course.

Brewery: Fuller’s
Location: London, England
ABV: 5.0%
Version: 500ml bottle
Source: Sainsbury’s

With a giant bee on the honeycomb patterned label and a major clue in the title, there are no prizes for guessing the predominant flavour of Fuller’s organic summer beer. It pours like liquid honey as well, settling to pale gold with a thin head of small bubbles and possesses a sugary, citrusy aroma that offers just a hint of what’s in store.

And that’s a syrupy sweetness; whole gobfuls of the stuff. In fact it’s so sweet I’d hazard a guess it’s practically an alcopop (or I would do, if I’d ever drunk such a thing on which to base a comparison, but I’m proud to say I haven’t). It could even be verging on mead territory? It’s been a few years since I last sampled actual fermented honey though, so again I’m not 100% confident on that one.

Okay, sticking to what I do know: despite the honey, honey, honey, there are more complex malt and hop tones that develop as the drink goes on. And at 5.0% abv it’s deceptively strong as well: the buzz creeps up on you quite pleasantly, even as that sweetness continues to lull you into a false sense of security (“see how light and tasty I am..? Why, I’m practically a shandy… Go on, have another…”)

So, potentially dangerous stuff, then. Luckily though, it’s so sweet that your tooth enamel will most likely start screaming for mercy after a pint… Or two, tops. But it’s damn tasty, all the same, so I’d be prepared to take the risk with a draft variant sometime. You know… for the team.

This Saturday’s Independent Magazine carried an advert / feature placed by CAMRA, suggesting a selection of bottled ales and bitters that can be “served refreshingly cool… the perfect tipple to accompany summer barbecues at home or the pub.” 10 to 14 degrees celsius, ideally…

And the seven cool-ones of choice are:

• Wychwood Hobgoblin
• Fuller’s London Pride
• Caledonian Deuchars IPA
• Brakspear Brakspear Bitter
• Brains SA
• Sharp’s Doom Bar
• Greene King Greene King IPA

I can vouch for Hobgoblin, Deuchars IPA and Greene King IPA – all very nice indeed at cellar temperatures – although I wasn’t all that impressed when I tried a draught pint of Brakspear Bitter a couple of weeks ago (mind you, it was mid-session when I was on something much stronger and heavier, so maybe that wasn’t the best time to try it).

The last three are now on my ‘to try’ list. We’ve just had a brick barbecue built in the back garden (which could explain the recent spate of crap weather) so hopefully I’ll be able to get a few in for the first time we fire it up…