Sunday 10 March 2019

A real Home Bargain


Well if the previous post was a short one, then this one will be even shorter. But before I head off to continental Europe, possibly for the last time as a citizen of the European Union, I want to tell you briefly about a beer from a different continent, and one which I picked up at an incredibly low price.

I’ve written several previous posts about cut-price beer, but the one I came across this time was not only the cheapest I found so far, but it was on sale in the most unlikeliest of places.

The beer in question is an American Pale Ale from the well-known Californian brewery, Lagunitas, and the store where I found it on sale, at just 79p a bottle, was somewhere I called into with Mrs PBT’s in order to buy a bath mat.

The Tonbridge branch of  Home Bargains was the retail outlet which was selling the beer, and was not a place I would even have thought to look in; especially for something decent. At that price I bought a half dozen bottles, but looking back I now wish I’d bought more.

Lagunitas Day Time Ale,  is an “easy-drinking beer", which might well be where the day-time moniker comes from. Described as a “Fractional IPA”, whatever that might mean, this 4.6%  pale-coloured and well-hopped ale, is just the sort of beer to be expected from Lagunitas. 

However, if I might be just a little critical, I feel this offering is slightly too "hop-driven"  and, for me at least, a little more juicy malt just to balance things out, would have been a nice touch. However, for a beer which cost just 79p for a 355ml bottle, I can’t really complain, and I will certainly be paying a return visit to Home Bargains, the next time I’m in that part of Tonbridge.

8 comments:

Bradshaw's Ghost said...

There is no such thing as a "citizen of the European Union". Hope this helps.

Paul Bailey said...

Not directly there isn't, but if you want to be pedantic a citizen of a country which is currently a member of the European Union . 🇪🇺

Curmudgeon said...

I visit my local Home Bargains every week because they sell a wide range of items at prices well below those in the major supermarkets, and also often have unusual lines that the big boys don't.

There are often some attractive beer bargains - for example, they recently had short-dated bottles of Oakham Green Devil for a quid, and before Christmas they had 330ml bottles of some Belgian bottle-conditioned abbey-style beer for the same price.

Paul Bailey said...

Thanks Mudge, I'll check out our local branch when I get back.

The chain is a relative newcomer in Tonbridge.

Etu said...

Oh, well why does the EU have the European Citizens Initiative then, Drabwash?

It makes the UK's 100,000 signatures petition - but no binding vote - look pretty feeble nonsense by comparison:

http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/welcome

Hops said...

Home bargains, wow.

electricpics said...

I used to get Oakham Citra from B&M at a relative bargain price of £1.79. Until, that is, I happened to buy a couple of bottles from M&S and discovered that freshness in a hop-forward beer makes a big difference even in a pasteurised and carbonated version. I'd be interested in comparing the taste of Home Bargains Lagunitas with a fresher bottle.

Paul Bailey said...

I must admit I didn't check the BBE dates, but the beer tasted pretty good to me.