The Ormskirk Baron: October 2009

Theakston Old Peculier

Theakston Old Peculier [baron rating 4/5] - this 5.6% dark ale has a malty smell, a malty taste with a smooth finish - a perfect sipper!

M&S (St. Austell) Cornish IPA restocked in B&M Bargains (Ormskirk)

After I cleared the shelf of it last Wednesday, B&M Bargains (Ormskirk) have restocked the M&S Cornish IPA[5/5] - 89p each (best before Nov)

Marston's Double Drop

Marston's Double Drop [baron rating 2/5] - this 5% golden ale has a sweet hoppy smell, hop bitter taste followed by a dry acidic bitterness

Thwaites Thoroughbred Gold for £1.19 in Home Bargains (Maghull)

Home Bargains in Maghull has 500ml bottles of Thwaites Thoroughbred Gold [baron rating coming soon] for £1.19

Thwaites Lancaster Bomber for £1.19 in Home Bargains (Maghull)

Home Bargains in Maghull has 500ml bottles of Thwaites Lancaster Bomber [baron rating coming soon] for £1.19

I received a wonderful parcel today from Adnams Brewery - two complimentary bottles of their Broadside ale for the baron to review!

If any other brewery wants a baron rating for their ale, simply send me some beer to review!

Greene King IPA for £1.09 in B&M Bargains (Ormskirk)

B&M Bargains in Ormskirk has 500ml bottles of Greene King IPA [baron rating coming soon] for £1.09 - this is the 3.6% one NOT 5% export

Jennings Bitter for 99p in B&M Bargains (Ormskirk)

B&M Bargains in Ormskirk has 500ml bottles of Jennings Bitter [baron rating coming soon] for just 99p

M&S (St. Austell) Cornish IPA

UPDATE 04/11/09: This IPA is simply delicious, have to promote it to 5/5 as once I've had one I really want another! Really, really nice!

M&S (St. Austell) Cornish IPA [baron rating 4/5] - this 5% BC ale has a nice citrus smell, light malty taste & dry bitter finish - delicious

Theakston XB for 1.19p in B&M Bargains (Southport)

B&M Bargains in Southport has bottles of Theakston XB [baron rating coming soon] for £1.19, has a nice long best before date as well!

Wychwood Hobgoblin for £1.17 in Sainsbury's (til 3rd Nov)

Sainsbury's has 500ml bottles of Wychwood Hobgoblin[4/5] on offer at £1.17 until 3rd Nov although the 8-pack in Morrisons is £1/bottle

Badger ales 4 for £5 in Tesco (until 10th Nov)

Tesco are offering 4 Badger ales for £5 until 10/11 England's Gold,Fursty Ferret[4/5],Golden Champion[3/5],Golden Glory[2/5],Tanglefoot[4/5]

M&S (St. Austell) Cornish IPA for 89p in B&M Bargains (Southport)

B&M Bargains in Southport has bottles of (bottled conditioned) M&S Cornish IPA (brewed by St. Austell) for just 89p

Corona Extra for 92p/bottle in Sainsbury's (til 25th Oct)

Sainsbury's have 12-bottle boxes of Corona Extra for £11 until 25th Oct working out at 92p a bottle not quite as good as Costco though

Brewdog's 77 Lager for £1 & Punk IPA for 99p in Tesco (til 10th Nov)

Tesco have 330ml bottles of Brewdog's 77 Lager & Punk IPA[1/5] for £1 & 99p respectively until 10th November

Marston's Victorious Bitter

Marston's Victorious Bitter [baron rating 1/5] - this 3.6% ale has a strange malty smell, a fizzy slightly tangy taste & very bitter finish

Marston's Burton Bitter for 99p/bottle in Netto (from Monday 26th Oct)

Starting on Monday (26th Oct) Netto are selling 500ml bottles of Burton Bitter [baron rating 2/5] for 99p

Badger Original Ale is now full price in Asda (Aintree)

On Monday I reported that Asda (Aintree) had Badger Original Ale[baron rating 3/5] for £1, well it's now back to normal price at £1.54 :(

Badger Original Ale

Badger Original Ale [baron rating 3/5] - this 3.8% amber ale has a subtle malty smell, a nice spicy taste & quite a bitter finish - nice!

Buy Badger ales here

50p off Badger coupons in Costco (Haydock)

Bought some Badger ale (on offer at £14.94 for 16 bottles til 01/11) in Costco (Haydock) & spotted that most had 50p off vouchers on them!

Corona Extra for 86p/bottle in Costco (Haydock)

Corona Extra in Costco (Haydock) is £20.53 for 24 bottles (86p each) - that's without any offers - supermarket offers are at least £1/bottle

Home Bargains latest ale offers (19th Oct) (Maghull)

Home Bargains (Maghull) has bottles of Courage Best[2/5] for 99p & bottles of Ruddles County[4/5] & Marston's Double Drop[4/5] for £1.09

Badger Original Ale for £1/bottle in Asda (Aintree)

Spotted Badger Original Ale for Asda (Aintree) at the weekend, just £1 a bottle (along with Brakspear Bitter[5/5]) - baron rating soon...

Brakspear Triple

Brakspear Triple [baron rating 2/5] - this 7.2% amber ale has a peachy smell, a sweet, smooth, peachy taste and no bitterness at all

Tesco have Pedigree and Innis & Gunn on offer until 18th Oct (Sunday)

Just spotted that Tesco have 500ml bottles of Pedigree[3/5] & 330ml bottles of Innis & Gunn[1/5] on offer at 99p until Sunday (18th Oct)

Jennings Sneck Lifter

Jennings Sneck Lifter [baron rating 3/5] - this 5.1% ruby ale has a sweet malty smell, a not too heavy malty taste and gentle bitter finish

Asda's latest ale offers ( 6th Oct - 16th Nov)

Looks like Asda have extended their '4 for £5' beer deal since the last time I reported. They now appear to have 26 different bottled ales - each bottle working out at £1.25 (this is an 'acceptable' baron price for beer - anything cheaper than £1.33 is candidate for the baron, although the aim is £1 or less).

The 26 beers are:

Badger Fursty Ferret [baron rating 4/5]

Badger Golden Champion [baron rating 3/5]

Badger Golden Glory [baron rating 2/5]

Badger Tanglefoot [baron rating 4/5]

Black Sheep Ale

Black Sheep Riggwelter

Brakspear Oxford Gold [baron rating 3/5]

Brakspear Triple [baron rating 2/5]

Caledonian Deuchars IPA [baron rating 2/5]

Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Ale [baron rating 1/5]

Jennings Sneck Lifter [baron rating 3/5]

Marston's Old Empire [baron rating 5/5]

Nethergate Old Growler

Robinsons Old Tom

Shepherd Neame Bishop's Finger [baron rating 2/5]

Shepherd Neame 1698 [baron rating 3/5]

Shepherd Neame Spitfire [baron rating 4/5]

St. Austell Tribute

St. Peters Organic Ale [baron rating 3/5]

Theakston Old Peculier [baron rating 4/5]

Wells Banana Bread Beer

Wells Bombardier [baron rating 3/5]

Wells Bombardier Satanic Mills

Wychwood Goliath [baron rating 3/5]

Wychwood Hobgoblin [baron rating 4/5]
currently cheaper in Morrisons - £8 for 8 bottles

Wychwood Wychcraft [baron rating 3/5]

Overall this is quite a good selection at not a bad price, with quite a few beers in the 3+ baron rating - check it out and report back!

Ocado's latest ale offers (until 3rd Nov)

Ocado have quite a range of beers reduced at the moment, the best reductions (as far as the baron is concerned) are:

Greene King's Abbot Ale [baron rating 5/5]
£1.09 instead of £1.46

Morland Old Speckled Hen[baron rating 4/5]
£1.18 instead of £1.58

Ridley's Old Bob [baron rating coming soon]
£1.12 instead of £1.50

Greene King's Ruddles County [baron rating 4/5]
£1.10 instead of £1.47

Fuller's Organic Honey Dew
£1.13 instead of £1.51

All these offers are available until 3rd November, so you have a couple of weeks to get you order placed. The problem with online ordering is that you can order so much as you don't have to carry it home - my 19 bottles should be arriving tonight...

Badger ale mix packs on offer at Costco (12th Oct - 1st Nov) (Haydock)

Costco has Badger packs on offer,£14.94 for 16 til 01/11,First Gold[3/5],Golden Champion[3/5],Golden Glory[2/5] & Tanglefoot[4/5] (94p each)

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Samuel Adams Boston Lager [baron rating 5/5] - 4.8% golden ale,floral hoppy smell,crisp tangy hops & caramel malt taste,fruity dry finishBaron Orm

Buy Sam Adams ales here

Netto has Newcastle Brown Ale for £1/bottle this weekend (17th-18th Oct)

This weekend (17th-18th Oct) Netto have 550ml bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale[3/5] for just £1 each - there's a 12 bottle limit per customer

Marston’s Victorious Bitter £1/bottle in some Morrisons

@chilliupnorth has tipped me off that at least the Redcar Morrisons has Marston's new Victorious Bitter for just £1/bottle but not Ormskirk!

Dent Brewery T'Owd Tup

Dent Brewery T'Owd Tup [baron rating 1/5] - this 6% heavy stout has a spiced fruit aroma, a burnt malty fruitcake taste & a bad aftertaste

Brewdog Punk IPA on offer in Tesco (7th Oct - 20th Oct)

Tesco have Brewdog Punk IPA[1/5] on offer from 7th Oct until 20th Oct, 99p instead of £1.31 per 300ml bottle - warning: very hoppy!

Adnams Gunhill

Adnams Gunhill [baron rating 3/5] - this 4% ruby coloured ale has a malty, spicy smell, a 'not too heavy' fruity, malty taste & a dry finish

Buy Adnams ale here

Adnams East Green

Adnams East Green [baron rating 2/5] - this 4.3% pale golden beer has a grainy smell, a slighly sweet dry taste & mild bitter finish - bland

Buy Adnams ale here

Morland Old Crafty Hen reduced in Tesco until 20th Oct

A tip-off from The Pub Curmudgeon pointed out that Tesco have reduced the price of Morland's 6.5% Old Crafty Hen from £2.52 down to £1.99

Adnams Lighhouse

Adnams Lighhouse [baron rating 2/5] - this 3.4% light beer has a slightly malty smell, a very soft 'brown ale' taste & almost no bitterness

Buy Adnams ale here

Having an Adnams (sic) Family night tomorrow!

Got three new Adnams beers to try out tomorrow night: East Green (4.3%), Gunhill (4%) & Lighthouse (3.4%) - the real Adnams Family! ;)

Brakspear Oxford Gold

Brakspear Oxford Gold [baron rating 3/5] - this 4.6% golden ale is fruity & hoppy in smell, has a pleasant taste & a bitter finish

Lidl's current ale offers for October (Maghull)

Lidl (Maghull) currently have Bishops Finger[2/5], Hobgoblin[4/5], Pedigree[3/5], Spitfire[4/5] all for £1.19 a 500ml bottle down from £1.48

Asda's latest ale offers (6th Oct - 19th Oct) (Aintree)

Apart from spotting a couple of ales still at £1 a bottle I also noticed that Asda have just started a new '4 for £5' ale offer (£1.25/bottle) which covers the following beers:

Badger Golden Champion [baron rating 3/5]

Badger Fursty Ferret [baron rating 4/5]

Badger Golden Glory [baron rating 2/5]

Brakspear Oxford Gold [baron rating 3/5]

Caledonian Deuchars IPA [baron rating 2/5]

Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Ale [baron rating 1/5]

Jennings Sneck Lifter [baron rating coming soon]

Marston's Old Empire [baron rating 5/5]

Shepherd Neame Bishop's Finger [baron rating 2/5]

Shepherd Neame Celebration 1698 [baron rating coming soon]

Theakston Old Peculiar [baron rating coming soon]

Wychwood Goliath [baron rating 3/5]

Wychwood Hobgoblin [baron rating 4/5]
(currently cheaper in Morrisons - £8 for 8 bottles)

Wychwood Wychcraft [baron rating 3/5]

I picked up some Celebration 1698 & Old Peculiar as these still require baron ratings, would have picked up some more Old Empire[5/5] too but I have enough beer in stock at the mo!

This offer appears to be on until the 19th Oct and only started this week. It reminds me of the old Morrisons offer of '4 for £5' which when it was increased in price to £5.50 caused the baron to start hunting out cheap quality ale, but that's a story for another day...

Asda (Aintree) still have Brakspear Bitter & Marston's Pedigree for £1/bottle

Popped down to Asda (Aintree) at lunchtime today, saw that they still have Brakspear Bitter[5/5] & Marston's Pedigree[3/5] for £1/bottle

Morrison's October ale & beer offers (5th Oct - 1st Nov) (Ormskirk)

It's new beer & ale offers time in Morrisons so I popped into the local Ormskirk branch today to check them out. Overall it's a pretty small selection of ales which are on offer, here are the details:

Adnams East Green [baron rating 2/5]
£1.29 instead of £1.79

Adnams Lighthouse [baron rating 2/5]
£1 instead of £1.67 (although at normal price this is part of the '4 for £5.50' deal)

Wychwood Hobgoblin [baron rating 4/5]
8 bottles for £8 instead of £9 (but I've not seen these boxes before)

Wychwood Hobgoblin [baron rating 4/5]
£1.25 instead of £1.67 (although at normal price this is part of the '4 for £5.50' deal)

Wychwood Hobgoblin [baron rating 4/5]
4 cans for £4 instead of £5.25 (but why buy these when you can have it out of a bottle for the same price?)

And here are the lagers (as requested):

Becks - 6x 275ml bottles : £4.49 instead of £5.99

Leffe Blonde - 750ml bottle : £2.99 instead of £3.49

Stella Artois - 15x 440ml cans : £13 instead of £15.99

Stella Artois - 18x 284ml bottles : £11 instead of £12.99

The best offer by a clear mile is the 8 bottle packs of Hobgoblin[4/5] for £8 - it's a lovely beer and at £1 a 500ml bottle it's worth stocking up with a few of these boxes.

All of these offers are valid until 1st November so I'll check back then to see what's next!