Carlsberg Marstons Brewing - Bombardier

There are multiple variations of Bombardier including a 4.1% ABV cask version, a 4.7% bottled version, and this 5.2% version that’s bumped up a bit for export. This classic English brew pours an attractive reddish-amber color with nice clarity and a big head of fluffy khaki foam. Look for a wonderfully malty aroma with plenty of caramel and toasty bread undertones, decorated with a fruit ester tone evoking golden raisins and a mild hop character presenting earthy and lightly herbal notes. On the palate, everything gets amped up noticeably, with a big central core of toasty malt balanced by moderate hop bitterness that comes wrapped in a woody-earthy-herbal character. The fruity note from the aroma comes through nicely in the flavor too, and we picked up a bit of a classically English mineral edge to the whole experience thanks to the brewery’s English well water. It all comes together to make a super tasty example of British brewing that’s hard to put down. For pairings, we’d look to stick-to-your-ribs and/or breaded fare – especially British classics like Shepherd’s Pie. Grilled meats and veggies, roasted fowl and pork, or a snack of English pub cheeses like Gloucester, Cotswold, or Cheddar sound great, too. Cheers!

The story of Bombardier ale begins with Charles Wells Brewery – whose history dates to the 19th century. The brewery was founded by Charles Wells in 1876 after spending his adolescence and early adulthood as a sailor. After falling in love, his would-be father-in-law refused to let Wells marry his daughter if he was to continue spending most of his days at sea. So, with some help from his father, Wells bought a small plot of land with an existing brewhouse and 35 local Bedford area pubs; from here he set about growing his new brewing company into a nationwide brand. With the company still in Wells family hands, production was moved to a new location, the Eagle Brewery, in 1976, at which time they installed modern top-end brewing equipment.

Wells crafted and brewed Bombardier for the first time in 1980, in homage to William Thomas Wells who held the British and British Empire heavyweight boxing titles from 1911 to 1919. “Bombardier” Billy Wells, as he was known, was stationed in the Royal Artillery in Rawalpindi, Pakistan in 1906, quickly reaching the rank of Bombardier. During this time, he trained and competed in regional championships before buying his way out of the military to pursue his boxing career back in Britain. Wells’ Bombardier was, and still is, brewed with 100% British-sourced ingredients as a tribute to the best of traditional British brewing.

In 2006, Charles Wells Ltd merged with Young’s Brewery (perhaps most famous in the US for their purple-labeled Young’s Double Chocolate Stout), with production of Young’s brands shifting to Wells’ Eagle Brewery in Bedford. In 2017, this combined Wells & Young’s Brewery in turn merged with Marston’s Brewery (founded in 1834), and Marston’s just recently joined up with the UK branch of Carlsberg, with the company based in Wolverhampton.