The greatest reward lies in making the discovery (Fullers Discovery)

Member Name: tange

Product:	Fullers Discovery
Date:	27/10/05 (263 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty and light . Good summer beer .

Disadvantages: Not one of the best beers in the world.

It isn't often that an established brewery brings out a new regular beer into their portfolio. There are many occasional or seasonal brews out there, but generally once they get their list of core brands that is how it stays. This is why I was pleased to see that Fullers were brewing a new core beer. I was also happy to get a chance to sample it at this year's Barrow Hill Rail Ale Festival at the end of May. This brand spanking new ale is Fuller's Discovery.

~~~THE BREWERY.

Fullers claim to be the one of the oldest breweries in London. This notion isn't surprising when you consider that brewing has occurred on this same spot for over 350 years. In actual fact the company that we now know as Fullers was set up in 1845 under the name of Fuller, Smith and Turner. Surprisingly in an industry that seems plagued with takeovers, Fullers still has some of the founding family's member involved in the company today.

The brewery prides itself on producing excellent beers using traditional methods ~ and very successfully they do it too…there aren't many British breweries that have won Champion Beer of Britain on FIVE occasions. They brew a range of bottled and draught beers that are available from their own pubs and nearly 1,000 other outlets nationwide. These include seasonal beers like Honeydew (a blond, organic, honey flavoured beer at 4.3% ABV) and Jack Frost (a winter beer made with real blackberries at 4.5% ABV). Their regular beers include London Pride (a refreshing bitter at 4.1% ABV), ESB (a strong tasty beer at 5.5% ABV) and London Porter (a dark chocolaty beer at 5.4% ABV).

~~~THE BEER.

***A Bit of Background***

Discovery is the first new regular beer that Fuller's have brewed for 25 years. It was actually launched on the 9th May 2005 and is now the fourth of their permanent portfolio ales ~ it joins London Pride, Chiswick Bitter and ESB. The intention was to produce a beer that would appeal to people who would generally go for lager in preference to Cask beers. They have brewed it to look and appeal to the lager market but still retain the brewing process and taste of a blond bitter.

***Vital Stats***

Discovery weighs in at 3.9% ABV and is brewed using Liberty and Saaz hops and a blend of Carapils and Pale Ale malts. These light coloured malts and hops give a beer that is blonde and bitter.

***Look, Aroma & Texture***

As you have probably gathered already, Discovery is a pale golden coloured beer with a very slight head that leaves a faint lacing on the side of the glass. Aroma is crisp and fresh ~ it has a malty character, with a hoppy, citrus twist and a slightly floral scent too. Texture is light and has quite a soft mouth feel. It is a good, light and easy drinking beer.

***Tange's Taste Test***

For something of this relatively low alcohol content Discovery is a surprisingly tasty beer. It combines a range of flavours and is refreshing too. The base flavours are malt and hops ~ the Liberty hops give it a citrus flavour and the Saaz hops add a bitterness that continues throughout the pint. The malt (which gives it a biscuity taste) is stronger at the first taste. As you drink a pleasant lemon flavour begins to emerge, combined with a slight sweetness. This is balanced nicely by an increasing bitterness that develops in the finish. This bitterness lingers into the aftertaste ~ which although not overly long is refreshing a little fruity.

~~~WHAT TANGE THINKS.

Discovery is one of those beers that will appeal to a wide range of drinkers. It has a good balanced taste that will keep the beer drinkers happy. It also has the lightness and feel that will be a hit with the lager lovers. This is a versatile beer that is going to be very popular, especially as a refreshing drink during the summer months.

I have tried Discovery in a couple of different places. At the Beer festival (which was sponsored by Fuller's so stocked a range of their beers) we paid £1.00 for each of our half pints. I have subsequently had it for around £2.00 to £2.10 for a pint ~ so it seems to be a pretty standard price for a beer these days. For this we got a beer that was well brewed and in very good condition.

Although there are a lot of flavours present in Discovery it is still quite a subtle and light beer. We have drunk it at lunchtime and found that the flavours didn't over power our meal, but we could still taste it ~ a very good combination! Its low (ish) strength makes it an excellent Session Beer and also a nice drink for a lunchtime or afternoon in the sun. It has a pleasant taste and is light and golden like a sunny day!


I'm pretty glad I discovered it….and I hope you have fun finding it too!

~~~BREWERY INFORMATION:

FULLER, SMITH & TURNER P.L.C.,
Griffin Brewery,
Chiswick Lane South,
Chiswick,
London W4 2QB.

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8996 2000

http://www.fullers.co.uk/frames.phtml


***The title is a quotation by Franz Neumann....I thought it was very apt***

Summary: A light and tasty beer that is refreshing and golden.