I’ve previously mentioned the Charles Wells’ Bombadier varieties Satanic Mills and Burning Gold (see Bring me my chariot of fire and Dark Satanic Beer), but I haven’t touched on the “standard” Premium Bitter of that name. Well I had some of it this week – it’s an amber brew – malty and hoppy like all good beers, and smells – biscuity (I’ve seen that term used so many times, and never really found a beer that I could really say fitted the description, but this one does). It has a full, rich flavour, bitter but not excessively so, and slightly sweet with a bit of toffee. The bottle notes describe it as “the experience of England in a glass”, and goes on to describe the natural mineral water, the crushed Crystal malt, the ripest English Fuggles hops….but I have to say I was a bit disappointed to find “Colour E150C” and “Stabiliser E405” on the list of ingredients. It occured to me that the same brewer – Wells & Youngs – now brew Courage Directors, and I noted the presence of these additives in that beer in a previous post (see Director’s Cut).
I also had another couple of bottles of the Burning Gold variety. I actually think this is a nicer beer than the original variety. It’s light and refreshing, and far more drinkable. Very pleasant indeed. I’ve also got a couple of bottles of the Satanic Mills variety sitting in the beer cupboard – they might well be on the agenda for this evening!