Sunday and still sunny and – I know a lot of people aren’t – but I am loving the lack of aeroplanes in the sky. I can listen to music and garden without comstant background noise.

Today’s first bottle is Fullers 1845. 1845 headlines as ‘… matured to perfection for 100 days’.

1845 is pretty strong at 6.5% and has won many awards as a strong ale.

Bottle notes say ‘… being bottle conditioned and matured for at least 100 days before being released for sale, helps bring out the delicious fruit cake aroma from the amber malt and Goldings hops’.

And that ‘… this time allows wonderfully complex, yet smooth and mellow flavours to develop’.

1845 is recommended with rich foods like game. I’ve got a very rich Bolognaise on the go right now courtesy of a Valentina Harris recipe but it will be gone by the time it is ready !

This is the first of the Fullers bottles that I is too gassy out of the bottle for me – and even after I’ve knocked the gas out I had to leave it for a while before it was ready for me to enjoy. I wonder if it is as gassy on the pump. I’ll have to find out.

I don’t mind this ale but it isn’t as good as the previous two Fullers I’ve reviewed this week. You can tell it is strong and it is a bit too bitter for me. I can certainly pick up the fruity taste and aromas but it just ranks lower than the Old Winter Ale for me. I obviously can’t compare it to the Honeydew as they are totally different ales.

It’s nice – but not nice enough to score more than a 3 out of 5 for me. Sorry Fullers.