Aldi, Aldi, Domino Dancing.

As most of you are aware, Aldi, the German based discount supermarket which has a foothold in many countries worldwide, has always been quite competitive along the beers, wines and spirits aisle. The recent sea of change across the food retailers in this sector has shifted somewhat of late. All the major supermarket chains have been adding to their beer lines with a more tailored style of wares. The cheap, nasty shop brand beers, (and I can remember, usually at someone's barbecue or house party, having some truly awful cans of pish wrapped up as bitter, best bitter and the like, usually 4 units for a giveaway price), are now being nudged to one side of the shelves, to be superseded by the new kids on the block. Craft ales. At the discount priced end of the market, Lidl released a very good selection of “Hatherwood” beers in 2015 (Reviewed Here) and have received many plaudits, so would rivals Aldi, with a range of beers grouped under two umbrellas, “The Great British Brewing Company” and “Harper's Brewing Co” all fall down like dominoes, or would they be dancing down over my taste-buds ? I will review each group separately as they really need that respect.

The Harper's range with a stray
German lager also  lurking.

Harper's Brewing Co. Beers

These are a collection of 5 different 500ml bottled beers brewed by the Marston's Brewery, and the variety is quite reasonable, with Amber, Brown, Golden, Red and India Pale Ales all represented, although a Stout or Porter would have been nice to see alongside these. So, what did I make of them?

Golden Crown 4.1%

This is the beer with the least ABV of the range. It pours with a straw coloured golden hue and a finger of white froth on top, but the head soon dissipated. The mouthfeel is quite carbonated, and fresh. The initial flavours are of biscuit and slight caramel, with fruit slowly coming through. The finish is also reasonably fruity, but well balanced as a nice tang of bitterness. This is not a bad beer, to be fair, and went down very well.

Amber Stone 4.4%

This is a fruity Amber Ale, with a caramel backbone. There is a fair raisin hint to it but the malt drives it. This is not an overly sweet brew though, in fact it is quite reasonably balanced. The carbonation is evident at the pour, but the froth soon subsides. This would be a nice beer for those lazy days in the garden, rather than a session beer in the winter, huddled round the fire.

New Bridge Brown Ale. 4.7%

This beer bears quite a striking resemblance to another World famous Brown Ale, which comes from the North East, Northumberland to be more exact, ….oh, sod it, This beer is just like Newcastle Brown Ale in its looks. The clear bottle and simplistic labelling could easily lead to it to be mistaken for the other more well known Ale. There is less ABV, but only marginal. What of the taste? Well, I preferred the North Bridge brew. It is sweet, with good strains of chocolate coming through with that lovely nutty caramel taste. I don't like too much sweetness in my beers, and I found that it was well balanced in this one.

Medusa Ruby Red Ale. 5%

Malt drives this ale. The backbone is nice and sweet, but not cloyingly so, with dark fruits easing themselves through, pleasingly, to give a nice roundedness. There is a well balanced bitter-sweet finish which all goes to make a very good brew, especially at this level of the market. I tasted this one, initially, with a friend of mine, and, as his was a blind tasting, there was a certain amount of persuading that this was NOT Wychwood Hobgoblin. I can understand that close comparison.

Wild Bill's IPA American IPA 5%

Dry, bitter and sharp are three words that spring to mind when tasting this brew. There is biscuit and fruit at the fore, with a good lacing of toffee notes ready to come through. It is an easy drinking brew, which has most of the characteristics of a Craft A/IPA, but just holds back a touch and is not quite as full flavoured and “in your face” as some. It is still one to enjoy, maybe whilst just chilling in front of the TV, or on a lazy afternoon.

The Great British Collection.

The Great British Brewing Co.

This is a selection of 5 craft ales, brewed by Brains', Sadler's, Twickenham Fine Ales, along with 2 from Hog's Back Brewery, are presented in 330ml bottles and also cover most bases for the discerning drinker. They are simplistically labelled, and bear the Great British Brewing Co tag around the neck. The origin is not disguised in the least, and is prominent on the front. Each carries a description of its merited tastes, and, to be fair, you do get what it says on the label.

Sunny Dayz Golden Ale (Hog's Back) 3.8%

Hoppy, with citrus fruit lingering on the palate. The dry finish sparkles with floral notes. A very pleasant, light and refreshing ale.

Spill The Beans Coffee Porter (Brains) 4.4%

Not a heavy Porter, but quite reasonable. The sweetness and choco-coffee back taste does stay until the last and, overall, not too bad at all. It is a porter aimed more towards the session drinker, I would assume, and not a one-off explosive dark beer, like many Imperial strength stouts and porters out there at the moment.

All For One 4 Hop Lager (Hog's Back) 4.5%

Quite a fresh tasting brew. A nice depth of flavour hides beneath the straw colour. The initial malt tingles on the tongue, then slight honey and biscuit tones lead you through to a well balanced bitterness at the finish.

Red Rye IPA (Twickenham Fine Ales) 4.7%

This is a beer that seems to build slowly. First fruity raisin like hints, then caramel takes over, followed by the bitterness. I found it an OK beer, but a bit unbalanced.

Land of Liberty American IPA (Sadler's) 5%

There is quite a sweet taste to this one, which masks the tropical fruit and citrus from coming through. When it does appear, it is quite reasonably balanced, and has a nice bitterness at the finish. It's just that opening sweetness that lets this one down.

Well, that is the Aldi line-up. Two separate  beer lines for the same ,supermarket. One for the more traditionalists, and the other bending more heavily towards the craft market. Both are quite solid, and, apart from a couple of questions about the interpretation of the styles, they do come across quite well. If you want beers for a lazy afternoon watching the sport on TV, or to stock up with a few bottles for those long awaited barbecues at a smart price, then you can't go wrong with either collection.