Wells Banana Bread Beer - The Spit or Swallow Beer Review
Shagdog & Jammer almost slipped on some Wells Banana Bread Beer.
Brewed by: Wells & Young's Ltd United Kingdom (England)
This dark golden coloured ale hugs the palate with great intensity. Its malty aroma is complemented by the gentle nose of Banana. Its flavour unfolds with a sensual sparkle and a smart crispness, which balances its aroma perfectly. Tropically fruity; its ripe banana flavour, emphasised by a hint of bitterness, comes from the addition of real fair trade bananas and finishes with an emphatic, steely dryness. 2005 Recipe changed from 5.5% to 5.2% Bottled, Pasteurised.
Beer Advocate
BA Score: 79
The Bros Score: N/A
Style: Fruit / Vegetable Beer
ABV: 5.20%
Availability: Year-round. bottle (727), on-tap (13), cask (3), growler (1), nitro-tap (1)
Rate Beer
Overall Score: 42
Style Score: 30
RATINGS: 1108 WEIGHTED AVG: 2.97 EST. CALORIES: 156 ABV: 5.2%
The making of a brewery in Bedford
Bedford born Charles Wells was a Chief Officer in the Merchant Navy. In the early 1870s he met his sweetheart Josephine Grimbley while on leave and the pair later became engaged. However Charles' prospective father-in-law wouldn't give his daughter's hand to a sea-faring man so he took a drastic career change. In 1875 Charles bought a brewery and thirty two pubs for £16,700 in his hometown of Bedford.
Charles was very industrious and went on to remodel the brewery on Horne Lane and get it working smoothly. In his first year Charles made a profit of £829 and within four years he had increased the number of barrels brewed from 3,229 to 5,632 and had bought six more pubs. The brewery continued to expand rapidly and by 1890, Charles Wells owned 80 pubs and was brewing 12,552 barrels of beer per year. By the 1900s, profits had increased to £15,000.
Charles had lots of children who went on the give him lots of grandchildren and each generation of the Wells family continued to be involved in the business. As well as investing in new equipment the company bought some other local breweries in towns such as St. Neots, Newport Pagnall and Northampton, which provided extra pubs for the beers to go to.
Charles Wells enters the Twentieth century
In 1910, the brewery became a private limited company and was valued at £150,000 with a pub estate of 141. Its beers included XX Mild, Pale Ale, IPA, XXX Strong Ale and Single Stout. In those days, the greater number of Xs meant the stronger the beer was.
Water is one of the most important ingredients in beer accounting for 90% of the finished product so quality and consistency is vital and in the early 1900s, Charles Wells sunk a well which would provide the brewery with the highest quality supply of water The water from this well is still used today, and has now been accredited as natural mineral water. This means that the water could be bottled and sold, but we don't because then there wouldn't be enough for our beer!
A new site and a new chapter
Charles Wells died on 18 April 1914, and was survived by his wife Josephine and five sons. Three of them -- Ernest, Hayward and Richard took the reins at the company until the third generation, David and Oliver, joined after the Second World War. They added more pub sites in the Fifties and Sixties and then the most important change came in 1976 when the decision was made to build a brand new brewery on a larger site in Havelock Street, Bedford. The old site in Horne Lane became a car park by the river for Bedford Town Hall.
This new site opened in 1976 with state of the art equipment including a brewhouse and vessels that could produce ale and lager, with packaging for casks, kegs and bottled lager beers were seen to be the new trend, although no one then predicted how dominant they would become.
Charles Wells knew that they wanted to have their own brand of lager so in 1977 they secured the UK rights to brew the Jamaican lager, Red Stripe, which is still brewed today.
With great energy, new markets for the beers were explored in the expanding 'free trade' of licensed outlets not tied to a brewer, in export markets in Europe and America, and in the national sales to multiple pub chains in the UK.
With an established ale portfolio, Charles Wells' lager portfolio flourished in the 1990s following an agreement with the Kirin Brewery in Japan and Grupo Modelo in Mexico which brews Corona Extra. These world beers added to the brand portfolio and allowed a reputation for successful sales and marketing to be built.
The UK's Largest Family Owned Brewery
In 2006, Charles Wells and Young and Co of Wandsworth in London merged their brewing and brands divisions to create the UK's largest family owned brewery. Wells and Young's was formed in September 2006 and created a significant force in the brewing world. The merger also included the acquisition of Young's wine importing company -- Cockburn & Campbell.
Young's Double Chocolate Stout - The Spit or Swallow Beer Review
Shagdog & Jammer have gone to the Wells and got a Young's Double Chocolate Stout.
Brewed by: Wells & Young's Ltd United Kingdom (England)
Unsurprisingly for a beer from the Young's stable, Double Chocolate Stout has been recognized as an award-winning brew on several occasions, including: Brewing Industry International Awards Gold Medal Winner 2000, Silver Medal Winner 2002 and Bronze Medal Winner 1998 and 2004.
Luxurious and at the same time with a hint of decadence, Young's Double Chocolate Stout has it all, delivering a satisfying, indulgent taste without ever becoming overly sweet.
Pale Ale and Crystal malt, Chocolate Malt, a special blend of sugars, Fuggle and Golding hops, real dark chocolate and chocolate essence are combined to deliver a stout of with real credentials.
Available filtered and pasteurised in 500ml bottles and in nitrocans. Also Nitro Keg on Tap
Production moved from Youngs to Wells & Youngs in 2007.
Ingredients: Pale ale and crystal malt, chocolate malt, special blend of sugars, Fuggle and Goldings hops, real dark chocolate and chocolate essence.
Chocolate malt and real dark chocolate are combined with Young's award winning rich, full flavoured dark beer to craft a satisfyingly indulgent, but never overly sweet experience.
Beer Advocate
BA Score: 91
The Bros Score: 93
Style: Milk Sweet Stout
ABV: 5.2%
Availability: Availability: Year-round. bottle (1248), nitro-can (600), on-tap (119), nitro-tap (87), can (35), nitro-bottle (11), growler (4)
Rate Beer
Overall Score: 98
Style Score: 99
RATINGS: 3015 WEIGHTED AVG: 3.76 EST. CALORIES: 156 ABV: 5.2%
Wells and Young's Brewing Company is the epitome of all-round business excellence, demonstrating sustained growth for its beers and stockists whilst combining traditional family values with innovation and development.
Firmly placed as the UK's largest private brewing company, it is fiercely independent, and with an enviable portfolio of some of the UK's most loved cask beers and speciality lager brands.
The making of a brewery in Bedford
In 1875 Charles Wells arrived back in Bedford after 20 years in the Merchant Navy. He is the second son of George wells, who owns a furniture shop in the High Street. Charles was engaged to a girl called Josephine Grimbley but her father said that if Charles is to marry her, there will be no more sea journeys! So Charles settled down and bought a brewery and thirty two pubs at an auction for £16,700.
He was very industrious; he remodelled the brewery and got it working very smoothly. In the first year, Charles made a profit of £829. In the first four years, Charles had increased the number of barrels brewed from 3,229 to 5,632, and by 1880, he had bought six pubs. The brewery continued to expand rapidly and by 1890, Charles Wells owned 80 pubs and brewed 12,552 barrels of beer a year. By the 1900s, profits had increased to £15,000.
He had lots of children and so did they, so the Wells family was able to continue to be involved in each generation, looking after the beers and the brewery and investing in new equipment. Some local breweries were bought when they became available, in towns such as St Neots, Newport Pagnall and Northampton, which gave them extra pubs for the beers to go to.
Charles Wells enters the Twentieth century
In 1910, the brewery became a private limited company and was valued at £150,000 with a pub estate of 141. Its beers included XX Mild, Pale Ale, IPA, XXX Strong Ale and Single Stout. In those days, the greater number of Xs meant the stronger the beer was.
Water is one of the most important ingredients in beer accounting for 90% of the finished product so quality and consistency is vital and in the early 1900s, Charles Wells sunk a well which would provide the brewery with the highest quality supply of water The water from this well is still used today, and has now been accredited as natural mineral water. This means that the water could be bottled and sold, but we don't because then there wouldn't be enough for our beer!
The UK's Largest Family Owned Brewery
By 2000, the company's main cask beer brands were Wells Bombardier, which was steadily growing on a national basis, and Wells Eagle IPA, which is without doubt the official beer of Bedford, and an enviable portfolio of world lagers, Charles Wells was flourishing. But the biggest change was yet to come.
In 2006, Charles Wells and Young and Co of Wandsworth in London merged their brewing and brands divisions to create the UK's largest family owned brewery. Wells and Young's was formed in September 2006 and created a significant force in the brewing world. The merger also included the acquisition of Young's wine importing company -- Cockburn & Campbell.
However, the era of change didn't stop here. Just five months after the merger, in February 2007, Wells and Young's announced that it was acquiring the iconic Courage portfolio of beers which includes Courage Best and Directors.
Life in Israel #9 - Yahav goes to Midburn (BurningMan)
Life in Israel: Meet Yahav (hope in Arameic) an Israeli student from the city of Sderot, a few kilometers away from the Gaza border. Last week she was at Midburn 2016 )'( מידברן - the Israeli Burning Man festival.
After months of preparation and excitement, our regional Burning man event was magically manifested. So many special people, creating their own reality, creating culture instead of just consuming it, and inspiring each other one moment after another. These videos I took DO NOT do justice to this amazing community and event, but it's just a little taste of the special experience we all had in the dessert for 5 days.