i've been checking out some of the co-op's own brand real ale recently. have to say of all the ones i've tried the only one I think is possibly worth giving the time of day is their 'strong brown ale' but even that isn't great considering the price (just 11p shy of £2) the others,"bumble bee honey ale" and "gold miner bottle conditioned" weren't really too great, the gold miner being the worst and these were priced higher @ £1.97.
certainly better stuff out there deserving of your cash.
some news I tweeted earlier, sainsbury's will be stocking 16 new british beers for a limited time;
Quote:
“Sainsbury’s Great British Beer Hunt 2011 will see 14 British brewers compete to win a permanent place on the shelves of the retailers stores nationwide.
From September 7-27, 16 new-to-market British beers will go into Sainsbury’s stores, all vying to win that permanent deal. They will be on spacial offer, priced at three for £5 and will be given pride of place in the seasonal beers aisle during September.
Following their three-week stint in store a grand final will be held to decide the two winners. Sales count towards the decision.
There are plenty of interesting beers to choose from, including: Golden Summer, from innovative Yorkshire microbrewery Wold Top; Profanity Stout, made from a recipe created by students which was discovered by Scotland’s Williams Brothers’ Brewing Company at a home brewing competition; and Full Bore, a beer which was created by accident by newcomer Hunter’s Brewery in Devon when the brewer, a former pharmacist, added the wrong quantities to another recipe.
Recognising the depth of talent of UK brewers, Sainsbury’s re-launched the Great British Beer Hunt earlier this year, with a view to bringing something new and exciting to Sainsbury’s shelves for beer-loving shoppers.
The 16 finalists were selected by Sainsbury’s customers and beer experts at four regional beer hunt events during May. The four beers which received the most votes at each event won the chance toi compete in the September final.
The 16 finalists are:
Wild Hop IPA, Harviestoun Brewery, Clackmannanshire, Scotland
Caesar Augustus, Williams Brothers, Alloa, Scotland
Profanity Stout, Williams Brothers, Alloa, Scotland
Flying Dutchman Wit Bier, Caledonian Brewing Co, Alva, Scotland
Ivanhoe, Ridgeway Brewing, South Oxfordshire
Bad King John, Ridgeway Brewing, South Oxfordshire
Stronghart, McMullen & Sons, Hertfordshire
Bishop’s Farewell, Oakham Ales, Peterborough
Wye Not, Wye Valley Brewery, Herefordshire
Churchill Ale, Oxfordshire Ales Ltd, Bicester
Golden Seahawk, Cotleigh Brewery, Somerset
Full Bore, Hunter’s Brewery, Devon
Two Hoots Golden Ale, Joseph Holt, Manchester
Golden Summer, Wold Top Brewery, Yorkshire
Frederic’s Great British Ginger Beer, Frederic Robinson, Stockport
Worcester Sorcerer, Sadler’s Ales, Stourbridge”
the hambleton ales one was ok but not quite as good as this one.
can't wait for the next proper real ale festival that's up my way, whenever that may be *gets onto CAMRA*
