You’ve probably seen them in the movies: stodgy old codgers sitting at the bar of a quaint English pub, sipping languorously at a brimming imperial pint of reddish-amber colored nectar. Just what is it about that beer, you ask yourself, that makes it so irresistible that they can simply sit there for hours gently pulling at it, carelessly watching the world go by?

Friends, the answer to that question is easy enough to unravel: get thee hence to thy local liquor store and pick up a bottle of Well’s Bombardier. Well’s beers have become more celebrated of late in their native England, and as a result of the company’s merger with the Young’s brewery, they’re now also easier to find here in the states.

Bombardier has long been a flagship brand for Well’s, generally enjoyed on cask straight from the beer engine. By style, it’s a Bitter, which when you bottle it instantly transforms into pale ale. Certainly, there are differences between the bottled and kegged versions, and real cask ale should always be quite different from bottled ale.

That said, bottled Bombardier is a real treat and a genuine taste of what English ale is all about. At 5.2% alcohol by volume, it’s a beer of average strength, and certainly one you can slowly sip over a long afternoon, never growing tired of its soft, dark fruity notes and yeasty buttery flavors.

Wells Bombardier pours to a brownish-red color with a light cap of creamy foam and a distinctively English yeasty-malty nose. The palate is wonderfully smooth yet robust with a decidedly rich texture and firm body. It’s a bit caramelly from the crystal malt but a little nutty and toasty too, with some chocolate and toffee notes. The malts here are a bit darker than you’d find in an American pale ale, I think, and that’s apparent in both flavor and color.

A touch of dark fruit (raisin) is also apparent, with hints of spice cake and buttery yeast flavor. Herbal, grassy hops are present too and lend a fine aroma as well as a gentle bitter buzz in the finish.

This is a wonderful beer. American beer geeks sometimes think you can’t have a really good ale without getting hit by a hop hammer. But Bombardier doesn’t hit you over the head; rather it seductively sneaks up on you and seduces you with dark juicy malt and herbal hop aroma.

Definitely a treat, and one you should not pass up by any means.

Update: May 9, 2012: Enjoyed a wonderful mug of this beer on draft at Taco Mac tonight (see picture right). As previously described, this beer simply bursts with dark nutty malty notes. Perhaps a bit less chocolaty than in the bottle, it might be all the more raisiny and dark fruity for it. The spice cake notes bust out just as before, and the beer drinks amazingly easily. Listed at 4.3% alcohol by volume, Well's Bombardier is proof that lost of flavor can be easily packed into a lower alcohol package. $7.00 for the pint was on the high side, but i enjoyed the beer so much I wasn't complaining. Absolutely delightful.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 



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