Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale, Charles Wells

If you don’t know Charles Wells, the family owned, Bedford based brewery has been brewing traditional beers since the mid 1870s. Now some snobby fucker will come in and say “Wells are now just a big brewery buying up pubs and other breweries, they’re not a real brewer, they can’t make good beer!”. I don’t care. They make beer, and that’s what we are all here to drink. Ideally it will be a good beer, so lets take on one of their ales and find out what’s what.

Brewery: Charles Wells

Brew: Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale

Type: Ale (Traditional)

ABV: 5.0%

Wells have been experimenting again. The renowned British brewer has taken a proper British pudding and crafted an ale after it. This is Wells’ attempt to bottle a Sticky Toffee Pudding! Thats right. I’m doing another desert based beer.

I love sticky toffee pudding. It’s warm, sweet, rich, comforting. There’s nothing I dislike about it. I’m sure Wells have aspired to recreate exactly that (maybe not the warm bit), but can it be done? The very short description on the bottle matches my expectations of a sticky toffee pud, but I’m still a little sceptical.

It pours nice and smooth, thankfully not as thick as the sauce on the traditional pud, coloured light copper out of the bottle, then settles dark bronze, toffee coloured, with a thin white head, that vanished quite quick, but left a little misting remnant on the surface.

It smells great, a malty toffee with a slightly caramel edge, very reminiscent of the original. We’re off to a good start, however it’s still weird that its cold.

The first mouthful is a little under whelming. The taste of a sticky toffee pudding is quite heavy, bold almost to the point of been a little sickly if you have a bit much. This was more fragrant than bold. What you do get is a toffee taste, but sweeter than expected. It's a little bitter, as an ale should be, and the malts are balanced with the rest of the brew. It’s quite light in the mouth, easy to take sips, but I’m not sure this suits what there were trying to achieve.

The flavours are well rounded and are definitely inspired, and not far from sticky toffee pud, but the lightness of them at the start paired with the fact that, while they build on your buds, it’s a long flavour build means that by the time you have finished the taste it is just about at the point you’d want it to start.

That said. I enjoyed it. Wells have created a nice, slightly sweet, easy to drink Traditional English Ale, with a twist. While the flavours don’t bowl you over and smack distantly of the traditional pud I know and love, they are there. I’m just let down as I believe the flavours could be closer to the mark. It misses the richness, the real depth of bold flavours. It’s a good ale, it’s a different ale, I’d probably have it again but there will aways be a but or a however that follows any recommendation.

If you aren’t familiar with sticky toffee pud and haven’t tried it, this is not a substitute. Try this by all means, but then go and pig out on that famed British dessert.

Wells, sorry, you haven't brought me a new finally to my Sunday lunch, but I enjoyed the exploration.

2.25/5