It Didn't Slay Me! (Dragonslayer)

Member Name: tange

Product:	Dragonslayer
Date:	17/03/03 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Refreshing, Tastes ok, Cheap at wetherspoons

Disadvantages: Nothing special, Looks like cat's pee!

Wetherspoons is a wonderful place ~ it gives me the chance to try new ales at reduced prices. We were in there on Wednesday night and tried one or two different beers ~ purely in the interests of research of course. To be fair there wasn’t as big a choice as normal, so we ended up trying a beer that we had tasted before. I had been meaning to write about this one when I first had it, so this gave me a push in the right direction. The beer we sampled was B & T Dragonslayer.

B & T brewery was formed in 1981 under the name of Banks & Taylor, but was renamed to its present title in 1994. The brewery is based in Shefford, which is in Bedfordshire, and they continue to produce a selection of cask ales and bottle conditioned beers. They own three pubs and supply over sixty outlets direct, along with other pubs nationwide (often as a Guest Beer).

Some of their beers include Black Bat (6% ABV), Shefford Dark Mild (3.8% ABV) and Edwin Taylor’s Extra Stout (4.5% ABV). B & T use traditional brewing methods and use Challenger, Cascade and Goldings hops, together with a combination of pale, wheat, roast and crystal malts (depending on beer style).

Dragonslayer was originally brewed for St. George’s Day and it weighs in at 4.5% ABV. Looks wise, it is a pale yellowy colour ~ a little like the colour of straw or, a little more unkindly, the colour of cat’s pee (and, yes, I have seen a glass of cat's pee so I do know what I'm talking about! LOL)! It doesn’t have very much of a head on it, but the texture is a little on the syrupy side (surprisingly rich for something that resembles a lager on first viewing). It is definitely a Pale Ale in looks, texture and style...although it didn't clear too well and still looked a bit like cloudy pee a while after pouring.

The aroma is pretty hoppy, but there is a strong smell of the malt too. I wasn’t too blown away by the smell to be honest ~ it didn’t gi
ve me much to work with!

Taste wise, I am also not so over impressed with Dragonslayer. It was pleasant enough, but I just didn’t get any thrills from it. It is quite dry, lightly malty and quite refreshing; but I am finding it a little hard to come up with any firm flavours or comparisons. I liked it, don’t get me wrong but, as Paul Daniels would say “not a lot”! It would be really refreshing on a hot summer’s day (if we ever had one), but on a February evening it was simply ok ~ nothing special and not the “extremely flavoursome” Pale Ale that it was described to me as. I did get a slight citrusy sharpness in the finish and the aftertaste was pleasantly refreshing, but the pint as a whole was a bit of a non-event.

I can’t say it was nasty (it was actually fine), but I didn’t get that “full” feeling I generally get after a pint of bitter. Often a good beer can make you feel like you have actually had something to eat, rather than just drunk a beverage ~ Dragonslayer was merely a drink NOT a banquet! We paid £1.39 for our pints of Dragonslayer ~ the standard price for Guest Ales at Wetherspoons at the moment, so we didn’t feel like we’d paid the Earth for it. If we had paid £2.00 plus for the privilege I might not be quite so happy about the experience! So, I’m in two minds about recommending this beer. It really depends on what you want from a bitter.

If you want a simple, non-threatening and reasonably refreshing summer drink then, yes, I would tell you to try it. If you are after something a bit different, unique and special, then you will probably not want to drink it on a regular basis. I’m glad I tried it, but won’t be going out of MY way to try it again. I will drink it if there are no other beers that tempt me, because it will refresh me and tastes ok. Give it a try though; I’d be interested to know what you think.

~~~Br
ewery details.

B&T brewery
The Brewery
Shefford
Bedfordshire
SG17 5DZ
Telephone 01462 815080/816789
http://www.banksandtaylor.com/index.html


***I wavered for a while over the "star" rating below. I eventually settled on three stars, but it really is somewhere between average AND good.***

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