BEER REVIEW: 372

BREWER: Greene King, Suffolk, England

STYLE: Best Bitter

ABV: 3.4%

VESSEL: 500ml clear bottle

DATE OF POST: 22nd November 2024

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Ruddles Best claims to be a “classic English ale,” promising notes of hoppy bitterness, citrus undertones, and a dash of sweetness. What it delivers, however, is an unholy trifecta of disappointment, regret, and an aftertaste that lingers like a bad decision.

The bottle design—a clear bottle that does nothing to hide the unappetising amber liquid within—somehow manages to be both cheap-looking and uninviting. It practically screams “avoid,” and if only I’d followed my gut…

Upon cracking it open, there’s a faint malty aroma, but “faint” is putting it kindly. More accurately, the nose is like someone whispered “malt” across the room and called it a day.

There’s no complexity here—just a weak, half-hearted attempt at smelling like beer.

Now, the taste. Oh, the taste. Imagine licking a rusty tin can that someone accidentally dropped in a weak malt extract. That’s Ruddles Best. The tinny flavour hits hard and fast, but thankfully it disappears just as quickly. Ordinarily, you might bemoan a flavour that fades so fast, but in this case, the rapid vanishing act is a blessing.

And mouthfeel? Let’s just say I’d sooner sip motor oil than subject myself to more than a single mouthful of this “Best.”

Ruddles Best’s tagline should really be “Ruddy Awful.” If it had an emoji, it would be the green-faced sick one, mid-vomit.

In summary, Ruddles Best is the kind of beer you’d give to someone you don’t like very much. My advice: leave this on the shelf, and maybe go wash out your mouth if you’ve already made the mistake.

Ruddles Best: A “Best” Left Behind

Sammy’s Rating: 11%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

During lockdown my downstairs toilet got a booze paraphernalia make over. What’s the point of having a beer mat collection if no one can see it, I said to myself. What’s the point in having a (empty) gin miniatures collection if no one can see it, I said to myself. What’s the point of having a bottle cap collection if no one can see it, I said to myself. What’s the point of having a collection of tap heads if no can see it, I said to myself.

So, for the first time in a long time I had time to spare and the make over began. The beer mats went up on the walls. The gin miniatures got lined up on a shelf. The bottle caps were arranged nicely on another shelf above the cistern. And the tap heads joined the mats on the walls.

Four years on, much has been added, mainly beer mat wise. We’re currently in the region of 300.

Anyway, there I was the other day stood taking a Jimmy Riddle in said toilet and my eyes caught the Ruddles mat. Ooooooh, I thought, that’s that beer we’re testing in a few weeks.

Once I’d taken care of business I took a closer look at the mat. Cask conditioned it says. 3.7% it says. Maybe it might just be alright (I wasn’t holding out much hope prior to this mat engagement though as it looks absolutely awful in its clear bottle, more of this later).

I went about the rest of my day / week and thought nothing more of it.

Then test day came along and these thoughts came flooding back… however, on our bottle there was no mention of any cask conditioning, nor it being 3.7%.

Oh dear, thought I, they must have cut some corners here to save some pennies and have crossed their fingers hoping no one would notice.

Right, on with how this brew actually was…

As mentioned, expectation was low due to just how poorly presented it is. Who on earth signed off on a label quite that bad going on a clear glass bottle containing a cider looking liquid that is supposed to be a Best Bitter is beyond me. I mean, what the actual F is that all about?? “Yep, that looks good, let’s go with that” literally can not have been uttered in any meeting ever over at Ruddles HQ, yet here we are. Unbelievable.

Right, on with how this brew actually was… again…

Shit. Basically. But not to the point of undrinkable as there were some positives. I lie. There was one positive.

But that one positive isn’t actually a positive, just not as awful as everything else.

It’s the taste in sip which is ok. It’s quite bright and citrusy. It’s passable, but not good by any means. However, the body and any flavour in swallow is non-existent. And the aftertaste is poor. There is a faint bitterness in the very last part of the aftertaste to be fair to RBB, but it is very very faint.

All in all, this is one to avoid. Which I’m sure you would anyway due to the state of the packaging.

Jymi’s Rating: 21%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 16%

MOB review next weekend: GOLD by WAINWRIGHT

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

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M O B 2024