BeerCast #4 – Southern Delights

Posted by on Sep 16, 2007 in BeerCasts, English Beer | 2 Comments

The south of England – historically some of the world’s oldest breweries are found here. The second half of the BeerCast’s English two-parter ventures beyond the Midlands and into the home counties. Three of the region’s giant beer producers make it into the show this time – Greene King, Shepherd Neame, and Fuller’s. Between them, they own several thousand pubs, have many city shareholders, and have been known to absorb the odd smaller brewery here and there. Even in the distant north of Scotland, it’s possible to find many of their beers (bottled if not on draught), so the BeerCast panel sampled three of their flagship brands, respectively – Abbot Ale, Bishop’s Finger, and Organic Honeydew. For this episode – one of the first we recorded – our Edinburgh tasters are joined via the magic of the internet by London-based reporters Andy and Jess. Somehow it managed to work out, as both groups discuss the beers, despite being 331.98 miles apart (give or take).


1. Abbot Ale (5%abv)
Greene King, Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk.
500ml glass bottle

East Anglian brewing giants Greene King have been producing beer in Suffolk since 1799. They are now the largest British owned brewery in the UK, and as one of the UK’s largest companies Greene King PLC are a member of the FTSE 250 share index. They own more than 2000 pubs across the South-East, and have an aggressive history of takeovers – Morlands, Ruddles and Ridleys have all been acquired and subsequently closed, and in Scotland Greene King also own Dunbar-based BeerCast favourite Belhaven. Abbot Ale is their flagship beer, and it takes it’s name because the Domesday Book of 1086 recorded the town’s brewers as being in service of the Abbot of the Abbey of St Edmundsbury. Good enough for the clergy – but is is good enough for the panel…?

What They Say“A full-bodied distinctive beer with a bittersweet aftertaste.” [Good Beer Guide]. “It has masses of ripe fruit character, a malty richness and superb hop balance, followed by an intense bittersweet finish”. [Abbot Ale official website].

What We Say
Shovels – It’s a fine tipple 8
MrB – I’d be happy drinking this in a pub 7
Richard – It’s a grower 7
Jess – Lovely bitter aftertaste 7
Alison – Once you get past the smell, it’s alright 5
Andy – Smells like an old man’s pub 2


2. Fuller’s Organic Honeydew (5%abv)
Fuller’s Brewery, Chiswick, London.
500ml glass bottle

The Griffin Brewery has been sited in a leafy corner of Chiswick for over 350yrs. Popular with rowers and boating clubs, the Hounslow location by the Thames is on the site of a late-medieval cheese fair (from which the name Chiswick derives). Fullers – full name ‘Fuller Smith and Turner plc’ are one of London’s success stories, having won the coveted CAMRA Champion beer of Britain award five times in it’s 25 year history. Their flagship brand is London Pride, which is available pretty much everywhere in the south of England. But as part of their range they also produce a summery honey ale, made with full compliance of the Soil Association’s organic requirements. Has all that hard work by the bees paid off…?

What They Say“A light golden beer, it is a naturally palatable brew, approved by the Soil Association as 100% organic. Served chilled, it is light and refreshing, and has an appeal that reaches out to people who perhaps wouldn’t usually drink beer. It is brewed with English malt and hops and laced with the finest organic honey”. [Fuller’s website]

What We Say
Andy – It’s light, refreshing, and easy on the tongue 8
Richard – I can’t taste the honey, this is middling 5
Shovels – Doesn’t really taste of much 4
Alison – You get a rather sickly aftertaste 4
Jess – It would make me feel sick if I drank a whole pint of this 4
MrB – I don’t like honey, so I really loathe this one 1


3. Bishop’s Finger (5.4%abv)
Shepherd Neame Brewery, Faversham, Kent.
500ml glass bottle

Located in Faversham, five miles west of Canterbury, Shepherd Neame claims to be Britain’s oldest brewer, starting operations in 1698. They still use the same water source today, along with giant Russian teak mash tuns that date from 1914. Bishop’s Finger is brewed only on Fridays by the head brewer, and was awarded ‘Protective Geographic Indicator Status’ by the EU, meaning it’s the only beer in the world that can be called a ‘Kentish strong ale’ – all ingredients used come from within a few miles of the brewery. It takes it’s name from the distinctive signposts that used to point the way to Canterbury for weary pilgrims. When first produced in 1958, Bishop’s Finger was sold for 7.5p a pint. Is it worth the money…?

What They Say“This ember-warm Kentish ale takes the dense, rich fruit notes of gently roasted malts and mixes them with a profusion of locally grown Kent hops to give a satisfyingly clean, dry, lingering Seville-orange finish” [Andrew Jefford, BBC Radio 4 Food Programme]. “It is Britain’s most distinctive premium ale, with an intense taste that is more challenging than other brands.” [Bishop’s Finger official website].

What We Say
MrB – I do like this, it’s very hoppy 7
Richard – It’s a decent generic aley beer 7
Alison – Quite pleasant but I’m not blown away by it 6
Shovels – Starts alright tastewise, but lingers a little too long 5
Jess – I had this once some time ago, from what I can remember 5
Andy – I’ve never tried it 4

BeerCast panel verdict

Greene King’s Abbot Ale – 36/60
Shepherd Neame’s Bishop’s Finger – 34/60
Fuller’s Organic Honeydew – 26/60


Panellists – (from top left) MrB, Ali, Shovels, Jess, Andy, Richard

 

 

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with Episode 5 – our first foray outside the UK. Which country will it be? Our panel of four BeerCasters will reveal all….soon. Stay tuned for details…and please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!

2 Comments

  1. Arthur
    September 17, 2007

    Just to say that about 120 years ago someone at Sheps seems to have plucked the foundation date of 1698 out of the sky. In fact a brewery has been in operation on its site since at least the mid 16th century, though of course the name of the business has changed several times.

    Arthur in Faversham (and unconnected with the brewery)

  2. Richard
    September 18, 2007

    Thanks for the comment Arthur, it must be pretty good to live near such an esteemed brewery – although we have it pretty good up here with the Caledonian. Anything else from Shepherd Neame we should be aware of?

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