Wells Bombardier (Pasteurised)

Brewed by Wells & Youngs
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Bedford, England

Nice looking beer in appearance, dark amber with ruby aspects, lovelly large dense creme coloured head. Nice dark fruity, malty aroma, with a hint of hop and mild pipe tobacco. Great balanced flavours, mainlly malty on first taste..dark malts, slightly toffeeish, some dried fruits, slightly prunish, a hint of dried apricot..all vert nice, but the understated English hopping as always supports well and leads to a well balanced beer. Very good mouthfeel, not thick but pleasing..dryish finish. I liked this beer very much , typical English flavours make for a easy going Summer night beer here in Salem.

Brown color, with a frothy beige head, toasted grains, caramel malt, butterscotch, dark dry fruitiness, of raisins, plums, dates, hint of molasses and chocolate in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a chocolate toffeeish character, dry sultana raisins, with a plumy accent, caramalized malt, toasted malt, hint of graininess, nutty accent, leading towards a nice hops dryness finish.

Deep ruby colour, fast dissipating head (probably due to improper glass handling courtesy of Stampen Pub in Stockholm). Both aroma and flavour here are really great, lots of hops and surprisingly thick layers of malt (dried fruits, raisin). Quite powerful though, one was enough.

Bottled, 568 mL (or something). Amber/brown coloured, medium head. Malts, rye, some caramel, pleasant bitterness. Not really my favourite style, but this one is quite ok. Thanks to my girlfriend for bringing it from London!

Bottle 50cl. Poured dark, rich red amber, with a decent white head. The aroma was raisiny, slightly spicy. Though the taste wasn’t that complex, it was a very pleasant soft bitter, with a malty finish with a hint of raisin. Good and easy drinking, though not my favourite bitter.

Bottle: Aroma is sweet malt somewhat nutty. Amber body when held to light with decent tan head that settles to a film on top of body. Sweet brandy up front for flavor. As beer warms a caramel and nut presence appeared. Not overly bitter and little sweet taste on palate. Good enjoyable beer.

I was extremely pleased to have this beer. I was working my way through a large group of English ales, mostly finding myself disappointed, but then I tried this one. The bottle is a massive object in itself, containing 568 mL (an "imperial pint" apparently) of ale. The label reads Bombardier English Premium Ale. Pours a ruby-caramel, like a cola, really. It’s fairly clear. The head is slightly tan. Frothy and sudsy, it falls back without ever opening up the slightest bit. Not really lace... more like a thin carpet of suds. Smells like a dark molasses bread, a slice of rye bread to be more specific, with a nice citrusy hop character. As it warms, a bit more of a grainy profile emerges. The carbonation is nicely medium, very much in keeping with the British preference. The taste is very molasses in the malt district, with mellow earthy bitterness on the exit. A spicy ’zing’ like a low-profile ginger is in the background. The aftertaste is pleasant and tangy, not bothersome in the least. I like this beer quite a bit. It’s really too bad it’s not very common where I live.

Aroma is is heavy with caramel, not too much hop presence. Taste is sweet with a hop background that is very light, and enjoyable.