Day 32, Beer 32 - Butcombe Brewery's "Blond"

Today's Beer

Name – Blond

Brewer – Butcombe Brewery

Classification – Premium beer.

Strength – 4.5% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – No prizes for guessing... but yes – you guessed. It's blond.

On the nose – Dominant hops, but with a definite and very distinguished malt base.

On the tongue – Very much like a recently decommissioned iconic aircraft. (Read on...)

On the subject – Butcombe's Bristol base-camp sends the good stuff over to to Fullers for bottling. This in spite of their own premises being among the largest modern plants in the entire UK sector. Go figure!

On the market – West Country outlets dominate output, but on-line options are many. Beer Ritz did me proud this time.

On the whole – 7.5/10

Full Review

This might not be the most complex beer in the cosmos, but what it lacks in complexity, it more than makes up with its awesome capacity to 'zing' you into submission.

For those of you without a dictionary to hand... to 'zing' means to 'aggressively refresh beer lovers with a wonderfully zesty charm.'

Or at least – that will be its definition for the next few moments.

Butcombe's Blond has a much lighter feel to it than its 4.5% ABV might suggest, but then – that's all down to that 'zing', which pulls all the focus away from such trivialities as 'alcoholic content.'

Much like the majestic Concorde pictured on the label – the essence of this beer's design is narrow and to the point, but the ingredients have been skilfully chosen, and among the impressive results of this careful selection is a citrus-imbued dryness which is both surprising and delightful.

This would make an excellent option on a hot midsummer afternoon, when you're in the mood for refreshment with more than the usual 'zing'.

I'm already eager for the seasons to begin changing so I can start putting that very theory to the test. After all, the present iciness of the conditions here in the UK were never destined to do beers of this kind too many favours.

But, regardless of the changing seasons, genuine class will always show through.

And, as Concorde showed us for several glorious decades – 'narrow and to the point' can sometimes work wonders.