Cwrw Mel - Honey Fayre

I must apologise for the lack of posting lately. I have been on holidays and have been too lazy to post! Things are not likely to get better over the next three weeks as I head off to germany for Oktoberfest and Stuttgart for Volksfest, followed by a week in Brighton on work related activities.

Anyhow, this post is in regard to Cwrw Mel, 4.5% abv (or Honey Fayre in English), a braggot produced by the Conwy Brewry in North Wales. For those of you who are long term readers, you will probably be aware that I am a firm believer that honey and beer do not mix, and my beliefs are reinforced by this beer. The beer is insanely dry, its so dry I felt like i needed a glass of water after each sip. I also could not detect any honey flavour, it ferments right out and leaves the beer tasting bland exept for a weak malt taste and a poor level of bittering.

All in all, a very uninspiring beer! I'll stop now before I get too negative!

http://www.conwybrewery.co.uk/

Fullers Honeydew

Every now and then Mrs CB likes to pop into a cocktail bar for a sugar/spirit inspired swill. Being the nice husband I am, I always accommodate these requests as she more than puts up with - quote "old man pubs". One such establishment Vesbar is like an oasis of uber coolness in the desert of crap that is Goldhawk Road W12. After sorting out the Mrs with her drink I browsed down the taps looking for an at least half acceptable beer. The usual suspects are there, Carling, Fosters, Stella, Guinness, then there are some slightly more interesting options Fruli, Leffe and Fullers Organic HoneyDew. I opted to go for the Fullers as well basically Strawberries have no place in beer (really they don't) and Leffe sold draught in the UK tastes like sucking on a clove.

To be honest Honeydew (5% abv) is not really much better. The beer is served at lager temps and is sickly sweet. I am assuming that they make a nice pale coloured bitterless ale and then pasteurize the beer, add some honey and then send it out to the great unwashed. The beer is pretty bland besides its cloying sweetness, however I am glad that they don't ferment the honey as braggot (fermented wort and honey) is just a massive excuse for a hangover. Fullers have also adapted the additional marketing ploy of offering this beer with "Ice and a Slice" to compete with the success of Irish style ciders - a trend I was offered when ordering a pint of Discovery earlier in the year. Anyhow, you can read Fullers marketing material here.