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In 5: Cakey, Fruity, Full-bodied, Strong, Drinkable
Ringwood, the maker of probably our favourite summer beer, Boondoggle, launched their Old Thumper way back in 1979 and it’s gone from strength to strength since then, winning the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain in 1988. It’s pretty easy to find nowadays in most supermarkets and in little multi packs of real ale you get in your Christmas stocking from Aunties and Uncles. If only everyone would just get us beer we’d be guaranteed an excellent Crimbo every year. I’ve tried drinking a sock; it’s not nice and you end up with a mouth full of fluff.
So how did they manage to bottle up their ‘beast of a beer’? Well I reckon it wasn’t quite as difficult, or anywhere near as much fun to watch as Old Thumper the wild boar on the label makes you dream up it might have been. They probably just used the same big machine that they use on most of their other beers… Yawn.
The first thing that struck us after pouring into a glass was the smell of brioche this beer seems to emanate. You certainly won’t get Boared as its taste changes and grows mouthful after mouthful. You discover new aspects of its flavour with a different fruit coming through with every sip. Its all round body is definitely strong enough to handle a BBQ (or a curry for that matter), which makes me think… If Old Thumper were to accidently end up on a spit, and then someone were to say, place a little bit of fire underneath him that happened to roast him up, a pint of Old Thumper would certainly make a wonderful companion to the any hog that were roasted as a consequence. Just don’t forget the apple sauce, a hog roast needs apple sauce; that is a fact that cannot be changed.
So is it a ‘beast of a beer’? Well in a ‘I’m stronger than you’ contest, it would probably thump most beers straight out of the Ring-wood.
This article is copyright © 2012
