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Battle of the beers - 2nd round, Heat 4
- Thread starter Uncle Leo
- Start date
-
- Tags
- brettie angell guinness
Pubey
Guest
Hobgoblin for me - never really like bombardier
Mr. Benedict
The Devious Badger
Tough one this, but Hobgoblin just about shades it.
canveyshrimper
R.I.P
Another tough one, but I've gone for Bombardier.
OldBlueLady
Junior Blues Coordinator⭐⭐🦐
Both good beers, gone for the Hobgoblin though. Yesterday's was an absolute travesty.
Hazey
Director
A review by a beer drinker:
~~~THE BEER.
***A Bit of Background***
Bombardier is the flagship beer for a campaign to make St George’s Day a public holiday ~ you can follow a link on the Charles Wells website to sign a petition and get involved. There is also lots of information about the different ways you can buy and drink it ~ Bombardier is a versatile drink that comes in cans, bottles and cask (they even do a smooth version….but that’s not worthy of a mention!).
***Vital Stats***
Bombardier weighs in at 4.3% ABV and is brewed using Crystal and Pale malts, combined with a mix of Styrian Goldings and Challenger hops. The strength puts it in the category of a premium or best bitter.
***Look, Aroma & Texture***
Bombardier is an amber to copper colour, with chestnut tinges when held up to the light. It has a decent sized milky coffee coloured head that is pretty foamy and long lasting. The aroma is hoppy (not the citrus hops I normally mention, but a kind of spicy/peppery scent) and fruity (like grapes or raisins), with a balancing maltiness. Texture is quite rich, yet remains quite light on the palate. There is also a faint spicy tingle.
***Taste***
The first flavour I got from my first sip was malt ~ a rich malt with underlying hints of caramel and toffee. This soon blends with flavours of raisins, blackberries and other dark, rich fruits. Add to this a hoppiness that develops and becomes increasingly bitter towards the finish. This leads to an aftertaste that retains that bitterness but also brings in a hint of spices and more vine fruits. The aftertaste is quite long and combines the flavours that are present throughout ~ the final mouth feel is pretty dry and still has a burnt malt character.
~~~WHAT TANGE THINKS.
It is a shame that Bombardier seems to be reaching saturation point in my local pubs. There was a time when it was quite difficult to find, but it is now everywhere. Some pubs serve it in a less than ideal state so many people’s experiences of cask Bombardier will not be a particularly memorable one (and maybe in some cases an unpleasant one).
Thankfully The Industry (a pub round the corner from my house) in Newbold, near Chesterfield, has it on as one of their long term Guest Ales at the moment. We pay £2.20 a pint for it (slightly overpriced, but a decent beer all the same) and have found it to be well kept and rather tasty indeed.
When in good condition, and well cared for, Bombardier is an excellent example of an English Bitter. It is well balanced, full of flavour and with a good amount of body. The fruit flavours mix well with the malt and the bitter hoppiness makes it quite refreshing and dry all at the same time. I find it to be quite complex, but it definitely works well and is a drinkable beer. The alcohol content is still low enough to make it a creditable session ale too!
If your current experiences of Bombardier have been less than favourable I recommend that you persevere and seek out a good pub with a well kept cellar! I think that Bombardier is an under-rated beer that is better than most people think ~ I have enjoyed it on many occasions and would drink it again. It is quite a rich beer, so may not appeal to the lager style beer drinkers, but it has enough flavour and character for a Real Ale drinker like me.
~~~THE BEER.
***A Bit of Background***
Bombardier is the flagship beer for a campaign to make St George’s Day a public holiday ~ you can follow a link on the Charles Wells website to sign a petition and get involved. There is also lots of information about the different ways you can buy and drink it ~ Bombardier is a versatile drink that comes in cans, bottles and cask (they even do a smooth version….but that’s not worthy of a mention!).
***Vital Stats***
Bombardier weighs in at 4.3% ABV and is brewed using Crystal and Pale malts, combined with a mix of Styrian Goldings and Challenger hops. The strength puts it in the category of a premium or best bitter.
***Look, Aroma & Texture***
Bombardier is an amber to copper colour, with chestnut tinges when held up to the light. It has a decent sized milky coffee coloured head that is pretty foamy and long lasting. The aroma is hoppy (not the citrus hops I normally mention, but a kind of spicy/peppery scent) and fruity (like grapes or raisins), with a balancing maltiness. Texture is quite rich, yet remains quite light on the palate. There is also a faint spicy tingle.
***Taste***
The first flavour I got from my first sip was malt ~ a rich malt with underlying hints of caramel and toffee. This soon blends with flavours of raisins, blackberries and other dark, rich fruits. Add to this a hoppiness that develops and becomes increasingly bitter towards the finish. This leads to an aftertaste that retains that bitterness but also brings in a hint of spices and more vine fruits. The aftertaste is quite long and combines the flavours that are present throughout ~ the final mouth feel is pretty dry and still has a burnt malt character.
~~~WHAT TANGE THINKS.
It is a shame that Bombardier seems to be reaching saturation point in my local pubs. There was a time when it was quite difficult to find, but it is now everywhere. Some pubs serve it in a less than ideal state so many people’s experiences of cask Bombardier will not be a particularly memorable one (and maybe in some cases an unpleasant one).
Thankfully The Industry (a pub round the corner from my house) in Newbold, near Chesterfield, has it on as one of their long term Guest Ales at the moment. We pay £2.20 a pint for it (slightly overpriced, but a decent beer all the same) and have found it to be well kept and rather tasty indeed.
When in good condition, and well cared for, Bombardier is an excellent example of an English Bitter. It is well balanced, full of flavour and with a good amount of body. The fruit flavours mix well with the malt and the bitter hoppiness makes it quite refreshing and dry all at the same time. I find it to be quite complex, but it definitely works well and is a drinkable beer. The alcohol content is still low enough to make it a creditable session ale too!
If your current experiences of Bombardier have been less than favourable I recommend that you persevere and seek out a good pub with a well kept cellar! I think that Bombardier is an under-rated beer that is better than most people think ~ I have enjoyed it on many occasions and would drink it again. It is quite a rich beer, so may not appeal to the lager style beer drinkers, but it has enough flavour and character for a Real Ale drinker like me.
Interpol Shrimper
Member
Me too, sorry mate!
Matt the Shrimp
aka Harry Potter
Who are all these shandy drinking nancy-boys on here with no taste?!
:thump:
Bombardier for me. Dunno why, but I've never really got into Hobgoblin - a bit too rich for my palate.
Matt
Napster
No ⭐
I suppose for the same reason I like Laphroaig rather than Bowmore
Cricko
Guest
Vange Shrimper
Mrs Rock God
I better vote for Hobgoblin....
SUFC_Al
Metal Monday Dude
i voted against my brothers choice to try and get Bombardier through!
Cricko
Guest
Sacre Blur!..............I will have to back Rich now you turn coat Al..;)
Interpol Shrimper
Member
Don't think I ever saw Damon, Graham, Alex and the little weasly ginger one who nobody knows his name ever drinking either of these in The Good Mixer in Camden.
Think they were more lager-top kinda guys!
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