Review: Ruddles County, Golden Champion & John Willies’ Premium Bitter

Football on the telly is always a good excuse to have a few beers, so with England confirming their place in the next world cup (no doubt a great excuse for an international beer feature come next June) I seized my chance to try a few new ales from Morrison’s reasonable range.

First up, Greene King’s ‘Ruddle’s County’ a dark ruby ale with a sweet nose, a slighty fruity aroma that gives away a hoppy essense (Brambling Cross hops according to the bottle).

The impressive part once in the mouth is just how smooth this beer is for a bottled product; limited carbonisation suggests that a cask version of this product could not possibly be much smoother. An uncommon thing in many mass-produced bottled beers in my experience.

The aftertaste is particularly strong, and the alcohol in the ale is particularly prominant, leaving a bitter aftertaste that lingers a little too long in the throat to be considered a treat.

Reflecting on the finished bottle, it almost felt like the beer had not been left to mature quite long enough, causing a sensation that, quite frankly, left my throat burning slightly in the similar manner that a weak spirit of some form might.

Next up was a total contrast: Badger’s ‘Golden Champion’. The ‘Golden’ part of the name is not ironic; the liquid is certainly that, pale and transparent, as opposed to deep and opague.

As soon as the beer hits the glass a torrent of fresh, fruity aroma is released – traces of mango, orange and particularly peach are all there like a tropical cacaphony waiting to impact the mouth as it does the nose.

The same flavours are all present, with the overall effect reminding me immediately, strangely enough, of the Refreshers sweets of my youth. Passing the glass round with the suggestion gave a couple of agreeing responses.

One of the features of fruit-based beers, I have found, is the ‘softness’ in the mouthfeel and this is definately present here. Very light carbonisation makes this go down a treat. The flavours make for a particularly invigorating aftertaste that soon fades away.

I often find such ales a little too sweet for my liking and although I enjoyed this enormously and would have another in future without a second thought, I wouldn’t personally consider this to be a session beer. However this is a must for anyone with a sweet tooth.

With England comfortably in the lead, the final drink I had almost felt like a celebration. However J.W. Lees ‘John Willies Premium Bitter’ didn’t really reflect my euphoria at the promise of having a televisual feast to look forward to next June.

This is a traditional bitter with a malty, down-to-earth scent and typical dark ruby colouring that looks nice in the glass and certainly enticing.

However I found it hard to find the words to describe the flavours that came out at me. Instead, I was only able to describe this as a ‘heavy’ beer; one that doesn’t sit too comfortably in the stomach once consumed. From beginning to end, I found it hard to pinpoint anything truly unique and memorable about the ale.

Perhaps it may require another tasting at the front end of a session, but in all honesty there was nothing about the beer that particularly excited me and after the experience of ‘Golden Champion’ earlier, it was a disappointment.

So the football provided a champagne performance by England, but it will be the beers that I’ll be looking forward to come June.