Another weekend is upon us, another MOB review is here, and by Jove we have another guest reviewer! A man that goes by the name of…. Panther.

Let’s go Wild Cat’s..

WATERCRESS WARRIOR TWO

BREWER: Cerne Abbas Brewery, Dorset

STYLE: English Bitter

ABV: 4.5%

VESSEL: 500ml bottle

MOB RATING: 59.5%

SAMMY SAY’S…

We all want the small guy (in business terms) to do well. We are all rooting for the underdog. We all want the small brewer to bring out a corker. And we all want to be the one to discover that corker and share it to the world.

So, here we have Watercress Warrior. From the small batch brewer that we are all rooting for. It has a clear USP. Cerne Abbas Brewery clearly know what they’re about. I like that. They know where they want to go and what they believe in. Does this mean they delivered that absolute corker of a beer?

Sadly not with Watercress Warrior. Once in the glass, this ale has a very unpleasant nose. The watercress does come through, but it’s not fresh and vibrant, as one might hope. In fact, it’s stale. The same with the taste. Watercress is all over it, but not pleasantly. Let me be clear, the taste isn’t horrendous, it would be unfair to say that; it’s just not stand-out, as it should be.

From bottle to pour to drinking, Watercress Warrior just isn’t that discovery we all hope it will be. It’s underwhelming. If you do ever happen across it – keep on walking.

Sammy’s Rating: 55%

JYMI SAY’S…

I have a dream! Actually, I HAD a dream! So we’re more along the lines of Bobby Ewing’s wife Pam here rather than Martin Luther King Jr.

Let me explain. I cracked open my Watercress Warrior to be met with the utterly overwhelming smell of WATERCRESS. Once drinking was met with a dark soupy beer that tasted massively of WATERCRESS. It was so thick that due to the viscosity alone it actually took several minutes to come out the glass even though I had turned it upside down and put my open eye underneath it….

I then I awoke. Pam style. The whole thing had been an awful, awful dream.

Now, there had to be something to this. All week I had been wondering what Watercress Warrior was going to be like, because to be frank, the name and look of it filled me with fear and trepidation.

Test day came along and I scored the packaging and name accordingly. I actually awarded five marks for the smiley face having been put on the famous Cerne Abbas giant and also the fact that he had a bunch of watercress in his hand (which, until I looked closer, had thought was a bunch of hops). No further marks were awarded however as for me the overall look of the bottle is awful.

Things then began to look up. The nose of this beer the second the lid was removed was fantastic but strangely faded to something quite odd once in the glass.

The taste is very bitter and almost quite harsh on the palate but I actually I think it’s a good ol’ drop! I really quite enjoyed it. And to be honest, after all the worry about how watercressy this ale was going to be, I found myself a little disappointed that there wasn’t more heat and punch to it in the end!

Jymi’s Rating: 64%

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 59.5%

PANTHER SAY’S…

The Watercress Warrior, where to start on this, It’s got me. You first look at the bottle and think “standard” then you look at the grafts in detail and they do not disappoint, who doesn’t want a cave man wielding a club, holding some watercress and his old Jonson standing to attention. Honestly who doesn’t’ want this?

I wasn’t sure having hops and watercress would ever work and I was not looking forward to tasting this. The initial sip filled my mouth with everything you want in an ale, light, hops and yeasty! But then you get this after taste that I’m not sure of. Swilling the second (much larger) gulp around my mouth trying to understand what that first lingering tang was and still not being able to think what it could be. After continuing on for the rest of the bottle it finally hit me, watercress warrior, It’s watercress. And now all I can think of is growing up eating egg and watercress sarnies walking to school. It totally side tracked me, now I’m back in the room.

I’m not totally convinced by Watercress Warrior the swill and gulp has a great first impression but I just can’t get over the after taste it leaves. I’m a lover of session ales and always keen to try new things but for me this is just a “one off”, for me the best part of this 4.5% 500ml drink is the artistry! I’m a massive fan of the watercress wielding caveman.

PWW