Day 74, Beer 74 - Badger's "Fursty Ferret"

Today's Beer

Name - Fursty Ferret

Brewer - Badger

Classification - Amber ale

Strength - 4.4% ABV


Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye - Bronze meets copper in a dark alley for a fistfight which, mercifully, ends in a draw.

On the nose - Granary loaf oats and seeds. Faint straw. Rather yummy.

On the tongue - Traditional malt-led ale, elegantly executed.

On the subject - A seasonal beer in cask form, Badger have taken this ale from very humble beginnings in a tiny brew pub and made it one of the best selling bottled beers in Britain.

On the market - Very well stocked nationally in the UK. Supermarkets have long since signed up to this beer's considerable fan club. Badger's online store is there for those so inclined.

On the whole - 8/10


Full Review

For the first time (or should that be the 'furst' time?) here on The Bottled Beer Year, I have just reviewed two beers back-to-back which share an overwhelming array of similar qualities.

In fact, I've little doubt that an absolute newcomer to the gloriously nuanced world of ale would name them as the same drink in a blind tasting.

But even I (who now barely recalls ever being a newcomer) find myself having to admit that my most recently reviewed brew prior to this - Belhaven's Robert Burns - and today's beer - Badger's Fursty Ferret - really are quite alarmingly similar drink experiences.

But therein lies a lesson to any folk who might still be subscribing to the unfortunate preconception that 'all ales taste the same'. After featuring nearly 80 brews during this project - for two similar beers to crop up on only one consecutive occasion must say something about the sheer variety on offer in the modern world of finely crafted ale.

And a 'finely crafted ale' is certainly what Badger have here with their delightful Fursty Ferret.

But for all it's similarity to Belhaven's previously mentioned Scottish interpretation, there are just enough subtle differences at work here to set this drink apart.

The sweet malts are in excellent form, but there's a shade more bitterness in this recipe, resulting in an overall experience which feels a shade more mindful of balance and flavour-contrast than many of the other 'big malt' ales.

Badger - being the great lovers of floral and fruit themes that they always have been - have integrated soft twangs of rosewater, apricot and orange into the mix which, again, add a certain sharpness to delicately counter that sweetness which might otherwise be too syrupy and rich.

This is a full bodied ale - not in the same way that many of the new wave beers are full bodied, with their hyper-dense, velvet textures - but in the classic sense, that feels substantial in the mouth whilst still feeling more like a liquid than a solid.

And perhaps that's the trick of this beer - it wears tradition like a badge of pride, and no brewery could be more proud of a traditional beer created with this degree of skill and care.

It might not be massively 'trendy' in the current beer climate - which is in danger of becoming nothing more than a high-jump contest for ever more exotic hops, who compete purely and simply to induce our tongues to protrude ever further outward from our skulls - but I'm deeply grateful for beers like this which quietly continue to do their own thing, in spite of the clamour of the crowd.

This is a pretty damn tasty ale.

Let that be enough.

Day 73, Beer 73 - Belhaven's "Robert Burns"

Today's Beer

Name - Robert Burns

Brewer – Belhaven

Classification – Scottish Ale

Strength – 4.2% ABV


Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye - Regal, elegant, deep walnut.

On the nose - Malt bonanza. Nutty. Nice.

On the tongue - A rich, sweet and refined malty treat.

On the subject - Established in 1719, and now under the watchful eye of the increasingly persuasive Greene King, this brand is likely to become more widely known now than ever before. After nearly three hundred years - that's not before time.

On the market - Speaking as a resident on the English side of the Scottish border, beers wearing the Belhaven name can prove shockingly hard to locate. Options are far greater on home turf. But fear not, for the brewery's online store is more than able to supply your needs.

On the whole - 8/10


Full Review

This is not for the faint hearted.

Those with a tendency to flee in terror at the sight of a full bodied, malt-rich ale should seek shelter without delay.

Seriously, if dominant malt sweetness ain't your bag, you should run to the nearest cave right now.

For the rest of you who remain - an absolute treat awaits you.

This, my malt-savouring comrades, is a veritable marvel of a brew, which will have no problem injecting some extra delight into an evening of your choice.

'Choice', though, is a pretty key word here - because for all it's character, and for all the appeal that stems from that character - I do doubt that this beer would remain a favourite if it were to be consumed with any great regularity. This is not the kind of brew you settle with for a whole season.

That sweetness, raised to intensely rich heights from a sumptuous malt base of wonderfully aggressive potency, would surely become overwhelming to the palate if taken in too enthusiastically, and too often.

But as a, for instance, twice weekly autumnal indulgence - there can be few better candidates in the world of British beer.

Dark berries and honey swirl and interweave, with the subtlest of dry assistance from the muted hops, and the almost macho consistency of the walnut coloured fluid - all make for a taste event to better any dessert course after a hearty Sunday roast.

In actual fact, the twang of spiced Bramley's and the deep red hue make this a viable alternative to a Christmas pudding, or a formidable rival for a freshly baked blackberry and apple pie.

There really is a sense of the old 'naughty but nice' after-dinner appeal to this beer.

Though, personally, I wouldn't want to wait around even for my starter to arrive before tucking into this liquid feast.

Without doubt, one glass of this would be not enough.

However, three glasses would probably prove difficult, and might even trigger a bout of mild regret.

But a couple of these beauties I can enthusiastically recommend to those who still retain (quite against the run of current fashion) a fondness for robustly malty ales.

Personally, I certainly do retain such a fondness, and beers like this remind me why.

Day Seven, Beer Seven - Derby Brewery Company's "Old Intentional"

Today's Beer

Name – Old Intentional

Brewer – Derby Brewing Co.

Classification – Premium Ale

Strength – 5.0% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Copper. I'm sure there are other ways of encapsulating it, but in the meantime...copper.

On the nose – Very appealing for anyone who adores fruit cake and Garibaldi biscuits. Someone like me, for example...

On the tongue – Malty to the point of showing off. Complexity in spades, but without ever being difficult.

On the subject – Saviour of the much admired Brunswick Inn in Derby, Trevor Harris has since applied his Midas touch to the independent brewery business. This is one very clever Trevor!

On the market – Wide local supermarket presence in the UK Midlands and beyond, and Majestic have become big fans. Buying direct is still an option.

On the whole – 7/10

Full Review

It seems silly to begin a review with the single word 'delicious', but some beers just have a way of sending me silly, so here I go...

Delicious.

Delicious and somewhat dangerous, I should add. This is one of those menacingly morish ales of a certain alcoholic strength which trick you into having incredibly stupid thoughts such as – “I reckon this is an excellent session beer..!” and “I'm going to drink this all night..!”

I was similarly conned by Greene King's 'Abbot Ale' a few years ago, and paid heavy price at breakfast time.

The reason they can trick us with such sinister ease is because these are the types of beers that speak directly to our mouths using words which mouths can really understand. Actually they really only ever use two words – the word “keep” and the word “going.”

This being said, I can think of several pals of mine who won't like this beer. Not a bit. They'd moan about the strongly metallic flavours, “it's like drinking copper,” they'd cry – foolishly believing that such an experience was a bad thing. Then there's the 'it smells like antiseptic' crowd who would take exception to the highly hopped fragrance which hits you at every sip. Pal's like these could go on making these 'novices errors' all night long when faced with a complex beer like this. But, as the witty name of this brew suggests – it knows exactly what it's doing.

There's an intensely nutty finish which, despite it's utter dependability, always comes as a surprise. That's a real achievement. Few beers can claim to repeatedly dazzle and bewilder you, gulp after gulp, with such apparently deliberate nonchalance.

This is a deep, rich, full bodied and fully rounded drink experience – not for the uninitiated – and I'm going to be careful to recommend it only to those with a wide repertoire, who do not consider 'copper' to be a swear word, and who do their drinking with the precisely the same Old Intention with which most brewers create their beers. 

Those kinds of drinkers....will absolutely love it.