Aldi Beer Festival 2018

Now I can only comment & inform about the duller, English side
over in Scotland it always seems to be more orientated to quality,
so if I get the chance to travel up there, the minimum alcohol prices won't put me off.

Here in England it has been set out with bottles priced £1.29 & marketed towards the world cup crowd,
though funnily enough I have the same low expectations of the the English Aldi beer festival as the English national football team.

In England out of the dozen bottled blonde, golden, bitter, pale ale, variations on a theme
I've not tried six, the others are mostly returns from last years dullfest

I will explore further in the comments...

 

Debut appearances
Holt's Humdinger (okay seen the bottles a lot, honey put me of price persuaded me)
Felinfoel's Dragon Heart
Jenning's Golden Host
Hambleton's Session
Holden's XB

 

returning bottles/looking to get a red card
here I'll contrast the aldi promotional bumph with my oinion
Marston's 61 Deep
Aldi~61 Deep Pale Ale is made up of five different American and Australian hops, all contributing to its fresh, zesty aroma.
Bevis~ Citrus vitamin supplement aroma
Veering towards us pale dull enough to be held in the Marson's UK pale area

Wychwood's Ripsaw
Aldi~Balanced out by syrup flavours, this is an exceptional beer packed full of character, and will be sure to surprise even the most seasoned beer drinker!
Bevis~Syrupy aroma
Base line rye taste
Thin, basically there are times when adjuncts are used to elevate great beers to world class or here where it is a last minute attempt to provide flavour to an insipid brew

Slater's Premium Best Bitter
Aldi~the Premium Best Bitter is a tawny copper coloured beer offering a distinct, robust taste accentuated by its nutty, toffee notes.
Bevis~
Aroma's of nuts, Salt and vinegar crisps and malt.
Huge overwhelming malt tastes mingle with biting peppery yeast flavours creating a very slightly sour beer with hints of balsamic vinegar and a metallic tint
light and slightly sparkling a slightly sour but decent bitter

JW Lee's The Governor (Marc Pierre White)
Aldi~A lighter offering with only a 4.1% ABV, this amber ale is defined by its toasted malt, biscuit and caramel flavours.
Bevis~
Much better than I remember the cask version being,
little but golden syrup & cream crackers in the aroma and flavour although still without any wow factor. Not much of the expected bitterness with a very light sweetness.

Robinson's Unicorn Golden
Aldi~A magnificent, thirst-quenching bitter, this full-bodied golden ale superbly balances rich malts and Golding Hop flavours with tart fruit.
Bevis~ tinny aroma, some maltiness in the flavour but mostly metallic , a very slight bitter finish but it is, I am afraid, just plain boring

Grimbergen's Blonde
Aldi~A smooth, blonde ale characterised by its ripe yellow fruit flavours and spicy notes of cloves, this ale is expertly finished with a dense, cream-coloured foam.
Bevis~ Three damning words, brewed at Carlsberg's

Black Sheep's Velo
Aldi~
this summery pale ale made with Cascade hops and an ever so subtle hint of orange and coriander is the perfect accompaniment to any summer activity.

An exciting and refreshing brew, pair with seafood dishes or a Thai curry.

Bevis~Lemon shortbread aroma
Tastes sadly like shandy naff really as also very thin

 

Oh, I missed out
Elgood's Warrior &
Darkstar's Hophead
two beers, originally sold bottle conditioned, former malty bitter, latter big hop pale, that due to
pastuerisation & force carbonation to mass market & bottle on a bigger scale are now so dull there is little diferrence between the two.

 

Even on well kept & perfectly served cask Robbie's now best avoided altogether,