Thursday, 7 February 2019

Grab it whilst you can


Not that I think the Asahi takeover of Fuller’s will make the slightest difference to the  taste of the beers (certainly not in the short term), but I have nevertheless taken the opportunity to stock up on what I regard as one of the best beers to come out of the Chiswick brewery.

Waitrose are currently running a promotion on selected Fuller’s brands, one of which is the delectable London Porter. At three bottles for just £5.00 I took full advantage, and whilst not quite filling my trolley, I now have sufficient porter to see me through what’s left of the winter months.

ESB and Honey Dew are also included in the promotion, but not 1845 or Bengal Lancer. Speaking of the latter, I haven’t seen it around recently. Nothing to do with the Ashai buy-out, as it’s been absent from both Waitrose and Sainsbury’s for quite some time.

Briefly, and whilst on the subject of discounts and supermarkets, you rarely see Sainsbury’s running a promotion on beer, except at Christmas, whereas both Asda and Waitrose often have some really good offers. I appreciate this doesn’t help the pub trade, but for the stay-at-home drinker, these deals are very attractive.

Well that first bottle of London Porter should be at just the right temperature for drinking. Lightly chilled but definitely not too cold, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to crack one open!

2 comments:

David said...

Perhaps it's just the couple of Sainsbury's in my vicinity but their beer offering nowadays always seems a bit boring compared to that of their peers.

Bengal Lancer does seem to have become scarce, which is a shame. Nice British style IPA. I first discovered it thanks to Sainsbury's, ironically enough.

Paul Bailey said...

David, Bengal Lancer was an excellent beer. There was no sign of it in Waitrose last week, and the same applied to Sainsbury's as well.

Its disappearance predates the Ashai buy-out, so perhaps sales were not as good as expected and Fuller's had quiet decided to drop it. A real pity as BL was a good, mid-strength IPA.