Beer #77 - Williams Bros The Honey Thief

Another one from the Sainsbury’s Great British Beer Hunt and another from a Scottish brewery: Williams Bros Brewing Co. of Alloa. The Honey Thief is brewed with Cascade and Nelson Sauvin hops with the addition of an ‘infusion of honey and whole cone hops’ according to the official blurb. I must say I’m not an aficionado of honey flavoured beers although I am partial to the occasional pint of Fuller’s Honey Dew. The Honey Thief is a fairly good golden ale with a faint citrus tang however I really struggled to pick up any honey in it at all which was something of a disappointment to me. All told it’s a nice brew but it doesn’t really live up to it’s name (unless of course somebody nicked the honey from my bottle). Good, but not great.

 

Brewery: Williams Bros Brewing Co.

Country: United Kingdom

ABV: 5.2%

Beer #76 - Atlas Wayfarer

Another one from Sainsbury’s Great British Beer Hunt. Wayfarer is brewed by the Orkney Brewery which was set up by husband and wife Roger & Irene White on their retirement in the late 1980s, with the aim of bringing brewing back to the Orkney Islands. The brewery was subsequently taken over by Sinclair Breweries in 2006 yet retains its name. This is yet another beer heavy on the citrus side and having checked the label (I really need to be more discerning when I’m doing my beer shopping) it confirmed that it is made with cascade (and amarillo) hops. As you’d expect there is a dry, bitter, grapefruity flavour that dominates. For some reason I keep complaining that beers are too citrus heavy and yet I continue to buy them. Work that one out. Despite that I actually quite enjoyed this one, it’s not too heavy and at 4.4% far weaker than many brews of this style, which made it far more drinkable.     

 Brewery: The Orkney Brewery

Country: United Kingdom

ABV: 4.4%

Beer #68 - Thwaites Crafty Dan

Crafty Dan is Thwaites' entry into the Sainsbury’s Great British Beer Hunt – a nationwide competition that sees twenty shortlisted entries stocked in Sainsbury’s stores for three weeks. The best-sellers during this period go to a grand final where two overall winners will be chosen and stocked in the supermarket for a further six months. I picked up a handful of the 20 beers last week (for an excellent £1.50 each). Crafty Dan was the first of the beers that I tried and it’s really very good. Much lighter in body than its 6.0% ABV would suggest. It’s a lovely deep copper colour and combines toffee and fruit flavours absolutely beautifully. Much like the DNA collaboration that I featured in yesterday’s post this beer really acts as an excellent stepping stone between real ale and craft beer, it packs in some lovely flavours yet remains incredibly drinkable. Super.

Brewery: Thwaites

Country: United Kingdom

ABV: 6.0%