BEER REVIEW: 468
BREWER: Fuller’s, West London, England
STYLE: Golden Ale
ABV: 5%
VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle
DATE OF POST: 25th September 2026
JYMI SAY’S…
‘Just off to the Swan for a pint’, I hollered up the stairs to my ever understanding and beautiful wife.
We had just moved into a house in the infamous and also, now famous, Staines (thanks to SBC).
A week later…
‘Popping for a Honey Dew or two, won’t be long’.
Another week on…
‘Off for an H-DOT’ (honey dew or two)
The point is this, the Swan was, and I’m sure still is, a glorious boozer. A Fuller’s Pub sat on the banks of the Thames just below Staines bridge. The Honey Dew was always kept well and without being out of this world, was a very pleasant, reliable pint indeed. So, when I embarked on the bottled version we have up for review today I was pretty excited, though that was mainly nostalgia driven.
And it is just a real shame that the Honey Dew here, just aint very good at all.
There are positives, the nose is good, hoppy with honey notes. The honey presence in the beer is nice actually, there but not sweet. But the body is awful, really lacking any presence whatsoever. And just when you think there is gonna be a hop bite to balance the honey based flavour (though it tries) it just does not arrive.
Do we blame Asahi for this?
Do we blame the fact I’m just a bit more of a beer snob nowadays?
Do we blame the fact it’s from a bottle in my beer testing garage rather than a homely pub by the river?
The answer is probably yes to all, but in my honest opinion, this is not a patch on what it used to be, regardless of any of the above.
Jymi’s Rating: 34%
SAMMY SAY’S…
It drifts in like a tired little bee that’s lost the enthusiasm for its own honey. Honey Dew sits in the glass pale and golden, almost weightless, as if even the colour couldn’t quite be bothered to deepen. The bottle itself has that familiar Fullers high‑shouldered charm and the label’s a pleasant enough yellow, though it never really commits to anything beyond “this will do.” The nose is lime and light floral, gentle and agreeable, but so faint you almost have to coax it out, like a bee half‑asleep on a windowsill.
The drinking follows the same pattern. There’s a meadowy zest at first, a soft sweetness that brushes the palate rather than landing with any conviction. The mouthfeel is feather‑light, almost too airy, and while it’s easy to drink, it never quite gathers itself into something memorable. As you drink down the glass, the sweetness starts to feel a touch overplayed, the flavours thinning out until they’re little more than a polite buzz in the background. I’m a golden ale fan, and there’s something likeable here, but it never musters the energy to become anything more than mildly pleasant. Drinkable, yes, but it never threatens to sting or surprise. A bee that hums along without ever taking flight.
Sammy’s Rating: 55%
MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 44.5%
MOB review next weekend: STIEGL GOLDBRÄU by STIEGLBRAUEREI
Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017
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M O B 2026
