Wells Bombardier (Pasteurised)

Bottle. Deep amber almost red colour with a small short lasting frothy white head. Fruity aroma with some malt. Flavour of malt, good fruitiness, bit sweet, some spices. Nice bitter finish.

Bottled. Clear mahogany colour, rich head. Very fruity nose with some grass and dried plums. Dry with evident crystal malt character. There’s dusty, resiny hops, plums and some salt. Desperately dry bitter finish.

Truly, this beer has a look and smell of something near perfection while sitting in the glass. Deep copper in color and wonderfully hoppy smell. The flavor is everything it is supposed to be, bitter and refreshing. Yet, the finish is not nearly as acidic as I have come to expect out of this style of beer. The truth be told, this is not my favorite style of beer but, the folks who made this beer certainly knew what they were doing. This is far and away the beer bitter I have ever drank. Cheers

500 ml bottle from the Woodmans on Gammon Road, Madison WI (purchased December 2006, BBD 09/30/06) chugged at cellar temperature from a Sam Smiths pint glass. A chunky, very stable near-white head tops the clear dark maple body and laces well.....a bit of diacetyl evident right away in the earthy, husky dry aroma, some caramel and vanilla-oaky notes show up eventually....on the tongue, drier than the usual ESB as well, some caramel sweetness and a bit of dried grass, but little to no fruit and a very minimal hop profile, just a sort of brackish-woody-saltiness that becomes very mineralic and bitter (not in a good hoppy way) at the finish....moderate to low carbonation, a bit gritty and syrupy. Mmm, this might be a bit better if a bit fresher (not sure how I could achieve that here in the states) but I don’t think it’d be worth making the effort. Quite close to the definition of "mediocre."

Bottle Date September 2006, Sampled January 2007
Pours with a brilliantly clear, deep amber to dark ruby color, it is topped by an initially three-finger thick, dirty tan colored head. The aroma is a mix of berry like fruit notes and light malt. Notes of raisins, currants, caramel, light toffee, perhaps a touch of buttery diacetyl and some dry biscuit-like malt all intermingle here in the aroma.

The taste is light on the palate, with a soft fruity sweet malt character up front. It finishes with some berry-like hop notes as well as a touch of spicy herbal character and a light bitterness that finishes things off. A very light diacetyl note adds a touch of butterscotch that lingers a bit in the finish. This actually has a good diacetyl character, it is very subtle, just enough to add some complexity, but not enough to become detracting. A touch of toasty malt character is here, it evokes some soft chocolate notes and even a touch of roasted coffee character.

This has a fair amount of carbonation in this brew, it probably adds a bit to the lightness of this brew. This is not a bad brew, but I can’t help but think that this seems a little thin in the flavor department. I am not looking for bigger, but there is a certain leanness here that I associate with cheap lager, though I am not quite sure why I say this. This does have a nice balance between spicy hop character and malt notes, though it does lean towards the hop side of the spectrum.

a 568ml, proper english pint in a bottle, serious stuff this, fine deep copper colour with a good off white head and some decent lacing too, aromas of sweet malts and caramel, dried fruit flavours, raisins up front, ever so slightly citrus. lots of malt on the finish and just the right amount of dryness at the very end, why haven’t i ever picked this up in the beer aisle before?, one to buy again

This is a re-rate and it just gets better and better for me. I love the beautiful hop bitterness and the eminent drinkability of this ale. For me I have found it to be a perfect afternoon ale with cheese. The carbonation it gets from bottle conditioning cuts through the milk fat of most cheeses (especially chreamy french ones such as camembert and livarot). This beer is now planted firmly in my favourites. I love Wells Bombardier.

Can. 4.3 ABV! as the caskversion. Creamy off-white excellent mostly lasting head. Nice cupperamber colour. Light malty powerfull pine/resin hoppy aroma. Ok but week flavor. Average bitter finish. A little watery palate, but nice balanced beer.