Woodforde’s Real Ale Kits
Woodforde’s is an award winning brewery based in in the heart of the Norfolk broads, quite close to Norwich. They are among a number of adventurous breweries who are providing some of their popular ale recipes in kit form for the home brew market.
The Woodforde’s homebrew range comprises six beers, Wherry, Admiral’s Reserve, Nelson’s Revenge, Headcracker, Nog and Sundew. The first four are traditional bitters with varying characters and strengths, the Nog is a dark porter style ale and the Sundew a “golden” style ale brewed from pale lager style malts.
I started up my current foray into home brewing with a Woodforde’s Wherry kit that I bought in a branch of Wilkinsons, here in Kingston Upon Thames where I live. The kit was the most expensive on sale in the shop but required no extra sugars or malts so I guess the price evened out.
I chose the Woodforde’s kit because I was seduced by the superior packaging which suggested I would eventually be drinking a superior pint. At the time I did not know anything about the product, although today I can recommend it as a truly great one. However my point is this, Woodforde’s make a huge effort to project high quality through their packaging and branding. I am surprised so many of their competitors have been so slow to get in step with them. There has been a tired old fashioned feel to the way homebrew is marketed which thankfully is now beginning to change.