More Bangs For Your Buck?

Earlier today we were Christmas shopping in one of Sainsbury’s larger outlets. Pleased to find that although the store was busy, (media types are describing today as “Panic Saturday”), there was still room to move around without getting pushed and shoved, and virtually no queuing at the checkouts. I was even more pleased to pick up a bargain in the beer section.

For the past couple of weeks, Sainsbury’s have been running a promotion of Fuller’s, and other various other brewers’ beers, whereby on certain lines you can pick up three bottles for £5. I was very surprised to see the 8.5% ABV Golden Pride included in this offer, but of course had to take advantage of it.

Obviously a beer for sipping and savouring, rather than pouring down your neck, this barley-wine strength beer is a good choice for the Festive Season, and the colder months in general. The brewery describes it as a “Premium, superior-strength bottled ale, bursting with flavours of sweet orange oil and toasted grains. At 8.5% ABV, it’s to be savoured like a fine wine.” A very apt description which I wouldn’t disagree with and I look forward to sampling a bottle of this excellent beer over the Christmas period.

With a "Best Before Date" of May 2016, it’s well worth getting a few bottles in for laying down, but I wonder what the anti-drink brigade will make of a promotion for a beer which falls into the high duty band; a tax bracket which was originally introduced to discourage drinkers from high ABV beers such as Carlsberg Special and Tennent’s Super!