I was astounded to find out, after a little research, that Hatherwood isn’t actually a brewery. In fact, this range of beers which also includes the Ruby Rooster, is Lidl beer, brewed by the folks in the enchanted Wychwood.

Now I love Lidl, I think it’s blinding. I do the majority of my grocery shopping there and generally they have a fair selection of ales in, yes it doesn’t move around much one month to the next, but occasionally you can find a proper diamond. I wouldn’t go as far to say the Golden Goose is a diamond, nor is it golden, more of a dark amber if we’re being pernickity. But for a Lidl beer, it’s not bad – and at 99p for a solid 500ml you can’t really ask for too much more.

The smell is a little malty with some faint yeast hits, almost bready but not quite. Taste-wise, it’s quite pleasant. Not groundbreaking, but I’ve tasted far worse, a little watery but not completely devoid of flavour or texture, a little light on malt so the body isn’t quite there but it’s very easy to drink. Quite a decent dry finish to it, not a huge aftertaste but definitely some subtle bitterness.

Lidl style review there…