Dandelion Organic Ale
Badger Brewery, Hall and Woodhouse

500ml brown bottle B.B.E June 2011 poured into a standard English pint pot.

A. First off, I was surprised at how light in colour this beer is, I was expecting something a little deeper. It is pale straw coloured with absolutely NO head whatsoever.

S. The faintest hint, and I mean faintest notes of Taraxacum Officinale accompanied by some citrus fruit.

T. Some Taraxacum is in there along with some biscuity malt and a nice hop tang.

M. Thin bodied.

D. Come on Hall and Woodhouse you can do better than this surely. One to avoid I'm afraid. This is the worst beer I have reviewed to date and if I am being honest, I cannot see it losing its crown. The appearance of the beer is putting it bluntly... Bloody awful hence the the maximum of 1 out of five.

500 mL brown bottle poured into a pint glass.

A: deep amber beer with very thin head, almost no lacing. Beer itself has great clarity with minimal carbonation--looks thick.

S: grassy, herbal, earthy, faintly hoppy

T: for all its dandelion hype, this didn't taste much different from some of the other typical English pale ales, although there is a slight grassiness to it.

M: moderate body and carbonation, relatively smooth.

D: definitely drinkable, but nothing to write home about. Would try again just to give it another go.

To begin, I should note that I actually have little to no idea what dandelions actually smell and/or taste like, as I am not often in the habit of chewing on weeds.

Appearance: Pours a pale but rich gold colour with an abundance of bubbles and a decent white head which eventually subsided but never fully disappeared (until the beer had all gone that is).

Smell: A definite aroma of flowers and the English Countryside. Only a light aroma but fitted with my expectations of a beer made with flowers.

Taste: Rather sweet, floral taste. Also the malt comes through noticeably. The aftertaste is rather sweet and lingers longer than expected for such a sweet, light beer.

Mouthfeel: At first the carbonation is noticeable but very quickly subsides. Very slight spicy warmth as it goes down the throat.

Drinkability: A light beer, perfectly enjoyable for sitting out in the garden on a summer afternoon... So long as you enjoy sweet beers.

Yet another bottled beer by Badger, Hall and Woodhouse. This one is supposed to be Dandelion flavoured (the name gives it away somewhat).

My brown 500ml bottle had plenty of life left in it according to its Best By Date. I poured it into a straight sided UK pint glass.

Light orange in colour, well carbonated, with a white head (at first). A slight haze to the body, but not clouldy or murky.

Floral aroma, sweet peas and cut grass, no hop or malt nose I could detect.

More fizz than flavour, maybe some malt in the taste, but I couldn't find any Danelion. Sweeter than most UK ales, but not over the top, just a suggestion of ripe honey melons.

Not unpleasant, but not a world beater for me, just an average beer. Organic beers are fine, but I am sure it restricts the brewer sometimes and I think the overal result in this beer is to lessen its depth and character.