Beer Bloggers Unite

Making noise in the blogosphere with beer.

Competition Time!

Sainsbury's great british beer hunt 2011

Alloa! Alloa!

Now I have your attention and before you leave promptly swearing under your breath, it is a competition and there are prizes, but it's not my competition and I am after said prizes. You can be an accessory to this crime of passion by retweeting this review on Twitter and feel good about your deed in the knowledge that you have helped a fellow human in his quest to write about beer, and possibly get some free beer for his troubles. The competition I'm talking about is linked with the Sainsbury's Great British Beer Hunt 2011 and just one of its entrants. (I'd link you to the Sainsbury's competition site here, but try Googling it or searching the Sainsbury website and you will find nothing? hmmm a covert Beer Hunt?).

The Alloa based Williams Brothers Brewery Co has brewed two beers for this competition Williams Bros, Caesar Augustus and Profanity Stout, and they have a cunning plan. We buy their beer, review it and win in their spin-off comp. If I'm honest I feel a little bit used entering these competitions, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, unless of course I don't win anything and then I will feel a little bit used....not as used as I might feel if I was to buy a nominal amount of shares for a lousy certificate, but used like a paper drinking receptacle which is quickly drained, held for a short while before being forgotten. But cheer up I hear you say, drinking good beer and then writing a few word is hardly a kick-in-the-balls should you fail in the main event. So, I bought two bottles of each of the Caesar Augustus and Profanity Stout as I wanted to drink one of each without having to think about reviewing them. This didn't quite work with the Caesar Augustus as I drank both bottles whilst watching Match of the Day on Saturday night.

Empty glass shot

Caesar Augustus Lager/IPA Hybrid (4.1%)
I soon forgot why I had bought this beer as I became engrossed in the days footy action and greedily making my way through several bags of crisps. It wasn't until I had finished my snackathon that I realised I had done both bottles in. So what did I think of the beer? Well, for a Lager/IPA hybrid I'd say it was comfortably Lager first and maybe more hop forward than your average lager drinker would expect, hence the IPA disclaimer. I think this is a handy piece of information to be displayed on the bottle as it certainly entices you to want to find out what a hybrid beer is like. I found the beer refreshing and it certainly didn't distract me from the football or from chatting to the people with me as I didn't feel the need to scribble tasting notes and take pictures. To draw upon a clichéd football analogy, the Caesar Augustus was very much like lacing a penalty straight down the middle of the goal. It's straight forward and if you don't miss your mouth then you can reap the rewards this beer has to offer. No frills beer.

Profanity Stout (7.0%)
In contrast to the stage I set above, I opened this beer while I sat in the peace and quiet of post-children bed-time. A period of the day that I affectionately refer to as "what the f@ck just happened?". I retreated to my crisp covered chair with my book and my beer. As this was the first try of this beer and with no preconceptions of influence of other reviews, I have to say that I was impressed and that I didn't read much of my book. Well, I read the same few lines over and over, but that doesn't constitute reading. It was dark, rich and smooth with perfectly balanced roasted coffee notes a velvety mouth-feel and a nice hint of hops at the end. Again, I didn't reach for the notebook or the camera, I just sank into my chair, listened to some music (Kings of Convenience if you were wondering) and savoured every sip. A luxurious beer, don't miss out!

So, if you haven't done so yet, then drive around the Sainsbury's stores within 10 miles of your house, and somewhere in-store, most likely hidden in the corner behind some Stella Artois Cidre advertising, then you will find the two beers from the Williams Brothers Brewing Co. Oh and don't bother asking the staff as they won't have a clue what you are talking about....this really is the Great British Beer Hunt!