Friday 24 February 2012

Battle of the Blonds

It's the first sunny and warm(ish) day of the year. I've got something to celebrate in the form of getting offered a job at London Fields Brewery in East London (more on this in the future) and last week I moved into a new flat - with a garden, no less!

So, sat in my new garden (I say garden, it's more of a great example of crazy paving with a good splattering of moss and weeds...a definite work in progress) it naturally occurred to me that I needed some beer to make this moment perfect, and what better on this oddly balmy February afternoon than a nice blond beer. Blond beers are a great alternative to a lager or pils on a sunny day as they are equally light and refreshing, but possess a little more complexity and fruit flavour.

Popping over the road to my new local offie, I discovered they actually have quite a good range of Fuller's, Wychwood and Ringwood beers amongst others – so, inclined as I am for a bit of light beer geekery, I thought it apt that I compare each brewery's blond beer offering.



First up, we have Fuller's Discovery:
This is a fruity little number with citrus and nectarine flavours and a lovely snappy bitterness. A refreshing dry finish makes you reach for the next glug with gusto. There's nothing hugely complex here, but that's not what we're looking for in a blond. The dryness and light but fruity character goes down a treat. I've had this on cask before and I think it benefits from the cooler temperature of my fridge, enhancing the freshness and making the snappy bitterness more up-front.

Secondly, Wychwood Wychcraft:
This is a much softer and light beer, with less carbonation and citrus flavours than Discovery but with more leafy hop aromas. At the same ABV, this is dangerously gluggable but with a candied, sherbet note on the finish, losing some of the dryness. For me it's not as expressive but does have a pleasing peachy/apricot flavour that sets it apart from the others.

And finally, Ringwood Boondoggle:
As a Hampshire boy, I've been exposed to a lot of Ringwood's beers, which have always featured in the better local pubs. I have often found them of good quality (if a little boring compared to those of other Hampshire breweries), but with now national availability they must be doing something right. Interestingly Shipyard Brewery in the States - who already license Ringwood's Old Thumper - are also taking on Boondoggle too, with Shipyard's brewmaster having trained at the Hampshire brewery. Shipyard are great so it's good news for Ringwood but how does Boondoggle compare to these other classic blonds?

Instantly after pouring a wet leaf and vanilla aroma rises from the glass, implying more richness. Not only is this beer half a percent more ABV than the others – sitting at 5% – it is also fuller in body with caramel, malty flavours sitting underneath the leafy but delicate citrus notes from the hops. Boondoggle has more bitterness than the others, with an astringency to the finish that would make it great with food. On its own however it lacks the pleasing fruit characteristics of the others, with less of that refreshing snappyness. The finish is unusually creamy, again meaning it would be great with food but losing it some sheer summery gluggablility points.

Again and again Fuller's comes up trumps in the 'best of the bigger ale breweries' stakes in my opinion and Discovery is no exception, beating the others hands down. Wychcraft is nice if a little underwhelming, whilst (as much as I want my fellow Hampshire brothers to be on top) Boondoggle is too creamy and astringent for a summery session beer. If I had a big pork roast, Boondoggle would be perfect but for now, I'm off to the offie to buy another bottle of Fuller's Discovery.

No comments:

Post a Comment