12 October 2013

Wychwood Brewery: Ginger Beard (Tesco) [By @SpectreUK]



When I saw this bottle of ginger beer in the supermarket I was immediately drawn to the image of the ginger bearded dwarf on the front of the bottle. I’m quite The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings fan, and have dabbled for many years in Warhammer. Therefore images of a Dwarf, Goblin or otherwise will always pull me in. I was expecting a cloudy lemonade colour as that is what ginger beer often looks like, but I hadn’t read the label before I poured out the ginger beer into a clear glass and exclaimed; “Oh, it’s beer coloured” to Cinabar who was sat close by fiddling with her laptop, as often she is. I then took a sip and exclaimed; “Oh, it tastes like beer, but with some ginger in it”. This made Cinabar giggle a little before becoming mesmerised again by whatever she was looking at on the screen. I then read the label of this 4.2% volume ginger beer which said; “Fiery alcoholic ginger beer. A traditionally crafted beer infused with fiery root ginger to deliver a refreshing spicy finish, with a bit of bite”. After the surprise of pouring out the ginger beer from its 500ml bottle with its amber colour, there was an initial beer taste of barley and hops followed by a noticeable bite from the ginger, although I didn’t find this in anyway fiery like some of the other ginger beers I’ve tasted in the past, which can curl the hairs in one’s nose on first sniff from across the other side of the room. The ginger flavour travelled through to the aftertaste with a definite yet muted spice by the overall beer flavour. The combination of the beer and ginger made for a really pleasant drink, however I wouldn’t say it was fiery like an angry bearded Troll slaying Dwarf, but I would certainly have it again.
By Spectre

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