As Rolo McGinty was once heard to say, “Well well well.”
This is rather good.
I mean, it’s not Williams Bros’ Alba, but it’s still pretty smashing, especially for a supermarket beer.
Brewed by Adnams, there’s a fresh clean toffee apple and (unsurprisingly) pine aroma, and the malting is caramel wafers and crunchy biscuits laden with brown sugar.
You get a decent bitter hoppy hit too, all hedgerow and hazel, nettles and green tea.
And under it is a sticky, resinous, fresh green pine needle woodiness that makes the beer round and chewy and really rather lovely.
In all honesty, I was completely taken by surprise at how much I liked it.
Well well well.