Perfect pairings for autumn and winter with Badger Brewery’s bottled ales

As the nights draw in, it’s time to think about swapping lighter lagers and hoppy pale ales for the comforting appeal of darker, full-flavoured beers.

Matching perfectly with the robust flavour of autumnal dishes, the bottled ales from Dorset-based independent family brewer Badger Brewery come with nearly 250 years of brewing heritage. The wide range of beers, each with its own distinctive flavour, offer exciting opportunities for culinary combinations.

And, while fruit beers have been getting a lot of attention recently, Badger was one of the first UK brewers to create beers with fruit and spice notes, giving many of their beers extra food pairing potential, particularly with the richer fare of autumn, winter and the festive season.

The team at Badger, led by head brewer Toby Heasman, have created a handful of beer and food pairing suggestions, taking four of their most popular bottled ales and matching them with a range of seasonal foods, from autumnal pies to festive desserts.

• Cranborne Poacher Ruby Ale (5.7% ABV): With damson and liquorice notes, Cranborne Poacher is enigmatic, rich and full-bodied, offering complex flavours with notes of wild fruits, liquorice and chocolate malt. As the name suggests, the Poacher’s fruit character pairs perfectly with a rich game pie, a spicy spaghetti Bolognese, or the caramelised sweetness of a roasted vegetable bake. For a festive match, the full flavour of the beer ideally complements smoked salmon.

• Fursty Ferret (4.4% ABV): Fursty Ferret is a classic British amber ale, with crisp hop notes, and a moreish-ly malty backbone. Matched with a pub classic such as steak & ale pie or sausage & mash, the malt’s sweetness complements the rich flavours of the dish, while the bitter notes clear the palate ready for another mouthful. For the festive season, this traditional bitter is an ideal match with a British cheeseboard offering a mature cheddar and tangy stilton.

• Red Rascal Cherry Mild (4% ABV): One of the newest additions to the Badger sett, Red Rascal is a classic mild with added notes of vibrant cherry. Roasted malt and rich caramel notes unite with balanced bitterness for a satisfying mouthfeel that forms the perfect backdrop for the juicy, fresh cherry notes. The cherry tang makes Red Rascal is an ideal match with roast venison, fragrant Indian food flavours, or a rich chocolate fondant. On a festive menu, the combination of the cherry character and refreshing beer character make Red Rascal a great pair with a traditional roast duck or goose.

• Master Stoat Coffee Stoat: (5% ABV): Dark and satisfying, Master Stoat has a rich coffee flavour, which combines with a malty, toffee note to deliver a stout that is definitely a cut above the usual. Match the richness of Master Stoat with a braised short rib or roasted stuffed peppers, or if you’re tempted by dessert, the coffee notes pair perfectly with tiramisu or Christmas pudding.

Badger Brewery’s bottled ales are widely distributed in supermarkets and specialist stores across the country, and on the Badger Beers online store. A 500ml bottle retails at around £2.15. The beers are also available in bottle and on draught in many of the 150 Hall & Woodhouse pubs stretching across southern England. The Badger Brewery in Blandford, Dorset, started in 1777, and remains independent today, run by the seventh and eighth generations of the Woodhouse family.

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Note about the Badger Brewery

The Badger Brewery, in the historic town of Blandford in Dorset, welcomes visitors year round. For photographers/filmmakers, a number of locations are available for photo shoots or filming:

• Brewery Tap: sited in the maltings of the original brewery, the Tap is an airy space with a bar serving a wide selection of Badger’s draught and bottled beers.

• Development kitchen: a state-of-the-art kitchen where the chef team create dishes for Hall & Woodhouse pubs.

• Pubs: the Hall & Woodhouse estate includes 150 pubs from traditional country inns to modern new-build pubs. Beyond our home county of Dorset, our pubs stretch west to Devon and east to Eastbourne, and as far north as Hertfordshire: https://www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk/our-pubs/

Notes to editor

• Badger Beers have been brewed in Blandford, Dorset since 1777 by independent regional family brewer, Hall & Woodhouse, which also owns around 180 pubs across the south of England. The business is now under the stewardship of the seventh and eighth generations of the Woodhouse family.

• The Badger range of characterful, award-winning premium bottled ales (PBAs) have widespread, national distribution, with listings in all major supermarkets and in thousands of independent grocery and specialist drinks stores, as well as with leading wholesalers and cash & carry outlets.  

• The PBA range includes well-known names such as Golden Champion, Fursty Ferret and Tangle Foot. In September 2023, Badger launched vibrant new designs, with each beer featuring an illustration of a Dorset wildlife character – including a mouse, ferret and hare - above a clear, brief taste description.

• In April 2023, Badger launched a range of craft beers under the new Outland brand. The range now includes nine variants, packaged in 440ml cans. Outland was developed to offer the interesting, innovative flavours associated with craft beers, presented in a way that also appeals to more mainstream beer drinkers.

• Badger Beers have won an impressive number of awards in UK and international beer competitions over the years. In 2024, Outland was a finalist in the Grocer Gold Awards, and in 2023 was named Supreme Champion, Pack Design, in the International Beer Challenge. Badger took eight medals in the World Beer Awards 2024 across its PBA and Outland ranges, including a Country Winner medal for Outland Ginger Pale Ale.

For more information see www.badgerbeers.com/our-beers/

Images:

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Issued on behalf of: Badger Brewery

By: ShielPorter Communications

For further information:

Ros Shiel: ros@shielporter.com / 07841 694137

John Porter: john@shielporter.com / 07734 054389

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