A bit of a conflict here – I love Badger beers, but I don’t particularly like beer that is flavoured with things such as herbs, spices or flowers – or, in this case, peach blossom. Badger Golden Glory (4.5%) has an almost overpowering flowery aroma as soon as you open the bottle – you can’t smell much else at all above it, I certainly couldn’t make out the scent of any hops or malt. It has a very sweet, flowery, fruity flavour – a slightly bitter finish, but a bit weedy (since we’re on the flowery theme).
The bottle notes claim that this beer is “the ideal ale to complement duck paté or cheesecake”. Hmmm – hedging your bets a bit there, guys – starters or puddings? I don’t think this beer has the strength of flavour to handle duck paté – traditionally duck is served with a fruit with a bit of bite, like oranges or cherries; I think peach is a bit too “gentle” for this. As for cheesecake, well it depends on what the cheesecake topping is – if it’s a sweet, mild flavour, then OK, this beer would probably suit, but for anything with a stronger taste, probably not. I think that it would be well suited to something that is also fruity and aromatic, such as mangoes or – dare I say it – peaches!
The Hall and Woodhouse website has a page on matching their beers to food.