Hello and welcome back to the Eternal Hoptimists,
Today Mark is checking out an ALDI special, a Toffee Ale for the sweet tooth, i am of course referring to Harpers Brewing Co’s Toffee Ale.
Name : Toffee Ale
2. Brewery: Harper’s Brewing Co (Contract brewed for Aldi stores)
3. Hops : Not specified
4. Grain : Barley & Wheat
5. Aroma : Sweet toffee aroma although if inhaled long enough has that familiar metallic nose that is evident on many standard budget beers.
6. Appearance : Pours amber/bordering on ruby with a dissipating one finger white head
7. Body : Quite thin body for a 4.8% abv beer
8. Taste : Initial hit of sweet toffee that as it moves around the palate becomes an almost burnt toffee taste. Despite this you can still detect that this is a pretty standard base beer with the slight metallic edge evident as it is consumed.
I wasn’t expecting much from this contract brewed beer for Aldi stores and more picked this one up out of curiosity and in all honesty that is probably the best way to approach this one. Yes, it has the toffee flavours as promised but it just seems to be lacking in many aspects to say that it is a must seek out beer.
For a budget pick up I guess it is not too bad but the synthetic toffee notes with the metallic edge that is evident in many budget beers make this one of those beers that will not live long in the memory. I am sure that there are many that will enjoy this, but beer aficionados will definitely detect the overall cheapness in the brew.
To sum up, don’t go out of your way to seek this one out, if you happen to stumble across it grab a bottle as it won’t break the bank. You never know, you might be one of those that enjoys it, however for me it is pretty underwhelming.
Our overall rating: 2.7/ 5.0
The|Eternal|Hoptimitsts 