Eagle Bombardier

 

          I sometimes talk to people about the importance of who owns the breweries making craft beer. I tend not to care if some big, multinational corporation owns a craft brewery. The only thing I really care about is if the brewery in question makes good beer. As far as I’m concerned, the big guys can own all the craft breweries they want, as long as they don’t meddle with the quality of the product. To that end, I was intrigued to learn England’s Marston Brewing had recently acquired Wells Brewing.

Wells & Young was responsible for many familiar beers like Wells IPA and Wells Bombardier, now labelled as Eagle Bombardier Amber Ale. If I’m being honest, I’m a little concerned with the rebranding. Wells Bombardier branded itself as an English beer, including a St. George’s flag on the label. Wells Bombardier looked British, practically screamed its English identity to all who saw its labelling. Seeing the change in branding, I’m curious to try the beer with its new identity. Bombardier pours into my glass medium brown in color, leaning somewhat more towards amber than nut brown. The head is dense and the color of cream.

          Taking a sniff, I smell aromas of malt that are subdued, bordering on timid. What maltiness I smell is very much what you would expect of an English ale. Toasted caramel and nuttiness combine with hints of toasted bread to give a very English profile. In the center, nuttiness combines with hints of granny smith apples. Those esters move quickly and quietly into a finish of peppercorn hops.

          On the tongue, Bombardier feels like it has a little more presence than what I found in the beer’s aroma. Smooth mouthfeel allows sweet flavors of caramel to shine before the beer’s carbonation moves us into the center where I taste nuttiness and hints of leather. As with the nose, I find that hint of granny smith apple. All of these flavors combine smoothly and seamlessly before leading into a crisp, assertive bitter finish.

          Bombardier earns a solid 7.25 out of 10. It’s a very solid English bitter. Its mouthfeel is smooth, carrying the beer’s flavors easily across the tongue. The flavors remind me very much of a decent brown ale before leading into a decent bitter finish. That finish is assertive in its bitterness without being too overpowering. My only real complaint with this ale is that its aromas aren’t as present as they could be. Apart from that, this is a perfectly enjoyable English bitter.