Beery Bananas (Wells Banana Bread Beer)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Wells Banana Bread Beer
Date:	22/05/09 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice taste, rich banana flavour

Disadvantages: Lack of banana in the aftertaste

"Have a sip of this, Auntie Joy"

Those were the words that met me as I opened the door to my lovely nephew yesterday evening, in fairness he doesn't usually walk the streets carrying a largish bottle of ale but he and a few friends were celebrating something that I didn't quite get to the bottom of during this fleeting visit and he did look suitably abashed when he realised just how tipsy he was after seeing me (and his mother (my sister), which surprised him!) sitting soberly watching The Bill.

"What is it? Why would I want to try your slobbered in half bottle of beer? Oh, banana flavoured you say? Go on then, get me a fresh bottle and I'll try some."

He knows me so well, you see. While I'm not overly enamoured with real bananas, I do tend to enjoy anything banana flavoured so apparently I was the topic of conversation in the student bar he and his friends frequent once they started drinking this. Once we'd spent a few minutes in one of those awkward drunk vs sober conversations he popped out to the car and bought me in a rather striking looking bottle of Banana Bread Ale, striking because the label shows a banana being peeled to reveal a perfect pint inside. This spurred more drunken silliness from my nephew and his friends as they contemplated a world where they could simply pluck a banana off a tree and peel it whenever they wanted a drink.

I poured a glass and was pleased to see it settled nicely leaving me with a small head of froth, the beer itself is a rich golden brown which is slightly lighter than many other beers and shines beautifully in the light to reveal delicate swirls of a coppery gold colour which is very attractive indeed. I was a little upset that there is no obvious smell of banana to the beer, there's an underlying fruity aroma to it which is presumably the banana trying to come through but in all honesty this simply smells like most other beers I've sampled - which isn't many, I'm by no means a beer connoisseur but my husband was so I sort of know what I'm talking about when it comes to all this ale-y!

The taste, well it's a strange one. I took a small sip and was expecting one of two things; either a strong banana milkshake flavoured beer or nothing at all. I thought it was going to be the latter as all I could really taste from the beer to begin with was the taste of, well, beer and I didn't think I was going to be impressed enough to drink the entire 500ml bottle I'd been given. But then something happened, as my taste buds became acquainted with Banana Bread Ale a full and rich taste came though - the authentic and very yummy taste of ripe bananas.

With each sip the flavour changed; sometimes it tasted like real fresh bananas, other times it had a synthetic tinge which gave it the flavour of banana milkshake and towards the end of the bottle the flavour seemed to turn extremely sweet like a well made banana pudding. One thing is for sure, whichever way your taste buds take it there is definitely a full flavour of banana of some description throughout the drink.

I must admit I found this beer rather sickly after I'd made my way, quicker than I would have liked, down the bottle. It's not overly sweet but is a much heavier drink than it appears, my nephew confided (in the loudest whisper I've ever heard, an attempt to duck under his mum's hearing range which failed miserably) that he and his friends had drunk four bottles each of this and the very thought was enough to turn my stomach. I really enjoyed the Banana Bread Ale, the taste is superb and I found it very easy indeed to drink despite the fact that months pass between drinks for me and I sometimes have problems getting used to the taste of alcohol. It's just too rich for my tastes and while I enjoyed this bottle very much I did struggle towards the end due to the sweetness of the drink and the almost overwhelming flavour of the banana, which to completely contradict myself isn't overwhelming in the slightest but just becomes very intense after a while.

I can envisage myself sipping a bottle of Banana Bread Ale in the garden on a warm summer day, it would be perfect as I found the drink to be rather more refreshing than other beers and the banana flavouring gives it a summery sensation that just makes me think it would be the ideal barbeque beer. One thing I found disappointing was the aftertaste, which is rather stale in my opinion and lost the banana flavouring within a minute of me finishing the drink. I would have much preferred the banana to have stuck around a little as I generally don't like the aftertaste that any beer leaves and have to brush my teeth to get rid of the taste of hops and yeast, Banana Bread Ale was no exception and within ten minutes I had the Colgate out to scrub away all traces of the beer.

Banana Bread Ale has an ABV of 5.2% and was brewed here in the UK. My nephew and his friends were drinking theirs in the student bar so probably paid around £3 a bottle, although Asda sell the single bottles for £1.56 and also have them on special offer at the moment where you can buy three bottles for £4 - which is a bit of a bargain if you enjoy this beer as much as I did!

Summary: A nice enough beer, but I still had to brush my teeth afterwards!