Tuesday 7 June 2011

Full Bore: aka ROCKET FUEL

Full bore. I think the name speaks for itself.

Another brainchild from Hunters Brewery in Ipplepen, I have to say they have done another good job. Lets just start with outlining the most important aspect of this ale, and quickly mention in passing the fact that is has an 8% ABV! That my friends, results in a pint you have to be reasonably careful with.


The over-the-bar dialogue: white = customer, blue = me (bartender)

"Hey, can I get a pint of the full bore?"
"Watch out, its rocket fuel- 8% you know..."
"Woah what! (checks pump clip) So it is! er, ok, I'll just have a half."
"Ok, thats fine, come back if you want some more"
... minutes later customer returns....
"(sheepishly) Yeah, I'll have two pints please"

So there you have it. People are initially shocked by the ABV, but then it turns out they don't actually mind and come back for more anyway.

You have to wonder why, and so, I had a pint after work.

I was expecting to be overwhelmed by the alcohol, but in fact they seem to have got away with it. In itself, it is a very sweet beer with a deep rich fruity smell and a medium dark colour. I realised the reason for the sweetness was obvious. In order to get a draught real ale with that kind of percentage, you have to put vast amounts of sugar into it. I did a bit of research, and apparently they use a lot of Devon honey to achieve this. There you have it, thats how it gets so sweet.


I would say its a pretty slow drink. Not exactly a chugger or a session beer. I mean after all, too many would kill you and it is kind of heavy to drink. But I suppose that has to be expected. I personally think it makes a nice pint.

Interestingly, Hunters Brewery also do a pint called Half bore- which is the same as full bore but with half the stuff and half the alcohol. I would be curious to taste it and see how it turns out in terms of flavour and colour. Anyway, this led me to discover something...

If you buy half a pint of full bore, you are kind of paying half price for a pint of half bore. And inversely, if you buy a pint of half bore, you are paying double for half a pint of full bore, or half for a full pint. That is provided what Hunters say is true about the "exact half ingredients" thing. Get your head around that one.

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