BEER REVIEW: 326
BREWER: Ringwood Brewery, Hampshire, England
STYLE: Golden Ale
ABV: 4.9%
VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle
DATE OF POST: 6th January 2024
JYMI SAY’S…
Unfortunately I have to start this review and New Year on a sombre note. Ringwood, the brewers of our beer today have recently closed down. I should probably fact check this actually as have only heard on the grapevine…
Gimme a sec…
Yep,
Ringwood Brewery is to close after failing to find a buyer.
Ringwood Brewery, on the Hampshire-Dorset border, was put up for sale in June by owner Carlsberg Marston’s.
The firm said the site needed an upgrade to be competitive, but expansion and improvements would have been “challenging and extremely costly” given the limited space and location.
It said the land would be sold for another purpose.
Former head brewer Jeff Drew said the closure was foreseeable when Carlsberg merged with Marston’s in 2020.
He said: “Unfortunately, their focus is not really on regional breweries”
And there we have it. Owned by big boys and cast to one side like an old toy. These are sad times for the UK beer industry and even more proof that small and independent breweries need your support.
Anyway, to the beer we must go.
And I’m going to start on a positive, gaaaaaaaawd we need one!
What an outstanding name for a Golden Ale! Fortyniner! Just brilliant. (Fortyniners was the name given to the flock of folks landing in California in 1849 at the beginning of the Gold Rush.)
However, this is where the positivity ends. This is not a very good beer I’m afraid.
There seems to be no nose to this ale, which is always a worrying start. The taste and mouthfeel upfront is very thin bringing with it an incredibly one dimensional beer. There are hints of orange. There are hints of lemon. But there really isn’t very much going on here. Things do improve at the back end of the beer to be fair. Once swallowed the presence becomes fuller with a welcome bitterness in the aftertaste transporting the brew into the Golden Ale world at least.
But ultimately, not great and a pretty disappointing brew.
Jymi’s Rating: 35%
SAMMY SAY’S…
With a name like Fortyniner, I can’t help but think of American Football. More specifically, San Francisco. And even more specifically, the gold rush. But this beer has nothing to do with America whatsoever. And it certainly has no connection to gold.
To be more accurate, Fortyniner would be better aligned with a dull metal. It might not be an awful beer. It’s even quite drinkable. But the thing is, it has no character or personality and it’s as dull as beer can be without being awful.
If I were to describe Fortyniner in one word, it would be inoffensive. But being described as inoffensive could actually be quite offensive. An oxymoron I know. Anyway, you get the picture. This simply ain’t a great beer.
As an aside, I scored Fortyniner 49% – perhaps its name is a self-fulfilling prophecy…
Sammy’s Rating: 49%
MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 42%
MOB review next weekend: BUTTY BACH by WYE VALLEY BREWERY
Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017
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M O B 2024
MUSE ON BOOZE 