Sunday 18 July 2010

White Shield is moving again

Battered old warhorse Worthington's White Shield is moving to a new brewery again. Once one of the few remaining bottled conditioned beers in Britain, Brewer and Distiller International reports that it fell from selling 25,000 barrels pa to just 400 when it was brewed under contract by King and Barnes (which is also where it went a bit rubbish). Current owners of the brand Coors have been investing in it and "it is now thriving to such an extent that it is being taken back to the 'big' brewery, where the staff are delighted". Let's hope the flavour improves with this move, it used to be good stuff.
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5 comments:

  1. Curmudgeon18 July 2010 at 14:33

    A couple of recent samples have actually shown a noticeable improvement - less sweet and with better condition.

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  2. Unknown18 July 2010 at 15:31

    I know you disagree with me on this one, but I think it's a great beer. I don't doubt it may well have gone through a bad phase, but I think it's good now.

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  3. ChrisM18 July 2010 at 15:49

    I tried the cask version recently at the Brewery Tap, and it was superb.

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  4. Ed19 July 2010 at 12:47

    It kind of ties in with your last post Dave but one thing I'm good at picking up on in changes in taste is sweetness. White Shield is definitely sweeter than it used to be and I haven't been keen since it went to King and Barnes. There a quite a few decent IPAs that are easily available at the moment and for example I find Young's Special London Ale far superior.

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  5. Tandleman19 July 2010 at 16:14

    Looking back on the old rfdb records I found this review from 26/12/1999. Not by me:

    Brewed and bottled under license by King & Barnes LTD, Horsham, England.

    This is a much sought after beer for me, though I'm not sure how the current
    KB version compares to the original. Bottle conditioned, the label proclaims
    White Shield "The real ale that matures in the bottle". Mine was bottled
    September 24, 1998 and was purchased warm from the store shelf. Pours to a
    murky ruby color, nice creamy head formation, slightly fruity malt nose.
    Smooth, rich mouthfeel, firm malt body, fruitiness hinting at fresh
    cantaloupe. Rich and sweet towards the finish, hop bitterness takes the beer
    from there and punctuates it nicely. A truly fantastic brew, and a steal at
    $3 for the 1/2 liter bottle.

    Make of it what you will.

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