Wells Bombardier (Pasteurised)

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

Beeryum!!! This went down a treat. Had mad expectations after staring at ’MattBob’s’ Avatar, had to see if the beer meets the grandish bottle presentation. Poured into an English pint glass, cool and not cold, clear deep russet brown body with very, very fine carbonation raising up an extraordinarily dense, creamy off-white crown that lasted the length and left rings down the glass. 5 for 5 on presentation. Husky, woody and slightly smoked, toasted malt nose with an underlying hint of prunes and sultanas that progressed into the taste. Rich fruit and muesli grain mix in the mouth; sultanas, toasted and burnt malt, and some woody, nutty notes. Body was lighter than expected. A little sweet upfront, but the mid-palate and beyond dries out, with fruit and dark malts following through into a husky and bitter, yet quite refreshing, smoky malt and grassy hops swallow. Unexpectedly good, balanced and easy to drink. A nice Bitter. (568ml, 5.2%, BBE 02/06)

(5.2% bottle) Aroma is lightly hopped with caramel notes. Average size frothy off-white head which produces good lacing and is mostly lasting. Colour is dark red. Light to moderate bitterness with some sweetness present. There is also some hop spiciness and alcohol in the finish. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.

Bottle. Pasteurised. Added co2. 5.2%. A smooth, bland slightly sweet malt with edges of toffee and that boiled sweet quality that pasteurised beers have. Suggestions of fruit, but nothing really defined. Hops are integrated and barely noticable. There’s nothing directly offensive about this other than lack of character so it’s quite drinkable, but it does fail to make an impression. A smooth, sweetish alcoholic malt drink is probably the fairest description.

Bottled, 5.2%. Dark copper colour, big foamy beige head. Fruity hoppy flavour with hints of malts. Fruity hoppy flavour with a bit artificial sweetness. Very sweetish bitter beer. Wellbalanced.

On tap in London and at Norrlands Nation, Uppsala (Sweden) - tasted the same at both places, so I’m putting the same review in for the export and non-export versions. Nice and dark, creamy almost brown ale, but bitter and fruity. Great fruity aroms, very impressive overall.

Bottled, alc. 5.2%
Nut brown, good creamy head, lace. Nutty hoppy aroma. Woody, nutty, sweetish flavor. Mild nutty hoppy aftertaste.

[bottle from asda] nose is nutty malts with some caramel notes and some light, fruity hop notes. body feels dead and fizzy, a touch of bitterness in the finish

Sharp initial taste of vegemite and then it smooths out very quickly with strong malt flavours and dried fruit. Colour of the body is ruby brown with a light tan head that was fairly compact and mostly lasting. Aroma is of dried fruit, sultanas and prunes. Quite like the bitterness in this as well as the hops that balance out the malt very well.