Why We Picked It: One of the goals for 24 days of beer is to try things you would never otherwise try. This one fits perfectly in that description. This is also our only import with the brewery based in Bedford, United Kingdom.
What Eagle Says About It: Long ago, ale was known as 'liquid bread'. ... Fairtrade bananas to awaken the senses with a seriously fruity, rich, yet surprisingly versatile Banana Bread Beer.
Style: Fruit beer
ABV: 5.2%
IBU: 18
Website: https://eaglebrewery.co.uk/.uk/
To Better Know A Brewery: The eagle has been associated with the town of Bedford for centuries, but you will notice there’s a difference in the way the Eagle Brewery represents its bird, it looks to the left, we believe this represents the company’s unique point of view. To this day, Eagle Brewery embraces different perspectives. It means that while others may move cautiously, we soar fearlessly. Like the eagle that looks over our brewery, we take a different view.
Not going to lie to you. I was scared. We saw this during one of our past beer purchases and joked about buying it. Something about this time made us pull the trigger. I'd say we were drunk but that was later. Unless Scott and Jeremy were drunk and didn't tell me. Anyway, a beer from an English brewery named Eagle? Are they making fun of us? And by us I mean US? And then I noticed it was 11.2 ounces. You're telling me that you need to use 11.2 ounces to can a beer when the rest of the grit eating world can use a 12 ounce container? Are we to believe that boiling water soaks into a hop in a smaller quantity in your brewery than on any place on the face of the earth? But then I remembered that this is banana bread beer we're talking about so maybe that missing 0.8 ounces is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteNow on to the beer. Smells like beer. Only a faint whiff of banana. Tastes more like banana, but still majority beer. I kind of like it! And I'm not really a banana guy. I won't say the banana is "subtle" or "muted" but it's not punching me in the face like I expected. I was honestly expecting the banana version of the James and the Giant Peach from June 2012. (https://24daysofbeer.blogspot.com/2012/06/rj-rockers-son-of-peach.html)
I won't be buying more of this. But I'm glad I had it. And I kind of miss that last 0.8 ounces. 3.5 out of 5 Professor Wisemans.
Ro hates it. Says it tastes like a banana laffy taffy. She is drinking a Bell's Two Hearted.
Thats whatnot reminded me of, laffy taffy
Delete"Why make a banana flavored beer? Because you can" seems to be the only excuse for ever doing this. It doesn't mean it's right, neither fast creating frankenstein, but that's what humans do.
ReplyDeleteA quick search returned well over 3 dozen banana flavored beers, so I guess there is demand for it. Not a big fan.
My only other venture down this 7th realm of beer hell was with Jailbreak. So it's the only comparison for me. Jailbreak was better.
This one seems to have a metal ting to it in every sip that throws the whole experience off. Is it the can? Some other ingredient, rotten bananas, I can't decide but if it wasn't for that, maybe I'd be kinder to this one.
To echo the opening paragraph though, I do love the opportunity to experience beers I wouldn't even buy as a single at the store. So thank you guys.
Honestly better than I was expecting. Was prepared to say bread that tastes like beer > beer that tastes like bread, and bananas should stay in their own lane. But this is growing on me. I like this better than some Hefeweizens which aim at banana flavor but too often land on circus peanut flavor.
ReplyDeleteForgot to rate this: I give 3.25 hooting chimps.
DeleteI'll admit I had pretty low expectations for this but was pleasantly surprised. A bit sweet for my liking but not an abomination by any stretch. I am appreciating that it was a smaller can though...
ReplyDeleteBanana Bread beers (oddly) evoke alot of good memories for me. After college a friend and I moved into an apartment complex behind the Costco in Columbia (it was not built yet, but soon followed, the complex itself if the one between the school and the trailer park #Classy).
ReplyDeleteOne of the first stores to open in the new shopping complex was Perfect Pour which opened with a very extensive beer selection (I have not been there in years, but I assume they still do). The day they opened another friend was coming over to visit and he stopped by Perfect Pour. He text and said he was going to pick out some "different" beers and bring them over to taste. Sounded fun! Well turns out they had a little area of JUST bananna bread beers. He ended up bringing over 5 different bananna bread beers. I dont think I have ever had a style of beer that ranged from a nice warm/clover like flavor to such a sweet cheap candy like taste. It is still a type of beer I slightly intrigued yet scared by.
This one hit with a fake laffy taffy banana smell but somehow no banana taste. I got more "malt beverage with flavor added" then I did the "with lager" part of it...I wanted more of something, maybe a little heavier or more spice and less fake bandana?
2.5 out of 5 Hollaback girls.
Laffy taffy captures it perfectly. Too sweet for me.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea there were banana beers out there. I agree with the Laffy taffy comparison. I couldn't remember what it was called. Thanks! At first, I feel like that fake banana flavor came through very strongly, but by the end it just tasted like beer. Definitely enjoyed trying something different.
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm surprised I liked this one. Very enjoyable. I wouldn't want more than one or two at a sitting, but I really like what they did with it. The aroma is perfect, and the flavor is pretty well balanced for what they are doing with it. Banana is a natural flavor of some beers, so I appreciate that they took that note and amplified it. Really fun.
ReplyDeleteThat is what you call truth in advertising.
ReplyDeleteLike Bill, I have some horrid memories of fruit-based beers (my nightmares are watermelon, more than peach). However, I enjoyed this one and loved the aroma. The aftertaste was a little light and tinny, but not too bothersome. I am definitely glad I had it, but not so sure I'll have it again.
This earned a solid 2.843 banana fo fanas out of 5.
Is...not as bad as expected a compliment?
ReplyDeleteMaybe it would have gone better with the delicious banana bread we just finished off.
I don't know where I thought I had seen that this was a sour, but that's what I was expecting and that sounded pretty horrific, a banana sour, like an unripe banana turned into a beer. So this was actually OK! I think it even grew on me over the course of the apparent 11.2 oz (I did not notice that, just saw Bill's comment).
ReplyDeleteBecause this beer had a fruity component, I split this one with Carolyn, and we both (surprisingly) really liked it. First, we were both struck by how much it smelled like banana bread. And, we both really liked the taste. Carolyn remarked that when people run 5Ks or 10K races in the morning, and then they get to the end of the race where they get to have a beer at 9:00 AM, this might be a perfect breakfast beer. (Maybe pair this with one of our coffee beers?)
ReplyDeleteNever heard of the brewery, but hats off to the DOB curators for putting this on the list. I would have never tried this beer, and now I might be getting a few cans as stocking stuffers for people who like to chase their early morning run with a beer. 4.4/5.0 banana splitz for me.
Greg -- Color me surprised here, but I found that I liked this beer. I was worried up until the first sip, because even the aroma didn't portray an experience I might enjoy, but that first sip went down smoothly with a lovely beer taste sporting banana overtones. Some Belgians can have banana overtones, but this was definitely not like those. It was more, well, banana-bready. My wife and I agreed it was a delightful little experience, and we are now aiming to make actual banana bread this weekend. We would have never have guessed! Thanks for including it this year.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how good this was. I'd get it again, maybe? We saved half to bake into an actual batch of banana bread. Because why not go full meta when given the chance.
ReplyDeletenot had a banana beer before so thanks for giving us this experience.
ReplyDeleteI have to say despite the promising banana aroma I was surprised and disappointed by its shallowness and quick flavor drop off. I love bananas, and I daresay there are better examples out there. But I prefer beer with longer and balanced finish that is less fruit forward
Tastes like a lager with some banana essence added. Fake banana does not taste good and should not be out in beers. End of story.
ReplyDelete