Badger Ales are brewed by Hall and Woodhouse, an independent brewery based in Blandford St Mary in Dorset. I associate them mainly with beers such as Tanglefoot, which seem to be quite widely available. Researching further has led me to discover that it is owned and run by the fifth generation of the Woodhouse family and is a substantial business - turnover of £90 million and 1500 employees. It has an estate of 250 pubs, extending to the far northern outpost of Hemel Hempstead! More information is available about the company and its heritage at www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk.
As far as the beer is concerned, I should have been warned by the label which says "'An orchard on a warm, late summer's day' was how our brewer described the taste and aroma of this ale, so we named it Golden Glory". The initial reaction is that, from its appearance, it is a standard golden ale, but the first sensations of smell and taste suggest you have encountered a bunch of flowers rather than a beer! It was rather unsettling to start with, though I have to admit that it did grow on me a bit. It uses a floral blend of hops including extract of peach blossom apparently to achieve this effect and it certainly has novelty value but I prefer something more conventional and unadulterated I am afraid. Not everyone agrees with me clearly, as it has won some awards, but not any I notice from CAMRA.
As well as those hops, the label tells us that the ingredients include malted barley, wheat and sulphites. ABV is 4.5% and it is not bottle conditioned.
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