I was speaking in relative terms, of course. The price will be considerably increased by transportation costs, custom duties, etc, etc.

Now that I can compare it with the price of the Barley Wine, I think £4.50 for a 660ml bottle is rather reasonable.

Hello, Matt and Kelly. Thanks to both of you for chipping in. We’d much rather have had a bottle of Liberty, with hindsight. What it reminded us of most was Badger’s low alcohol bottled ale.

Really? Why? Even though it’s made from second (or third, or whatever) runnings, it still takes time to lauter & boil, hops, fermenter space to ferment, time to filter and package, etc.

Really, all you’re saving is the cost of the grist, which is significant but probably outweighed by the cost of hops, labor and packaging. And shipping to England. I doubt that’s particularly cheap.

Sorry, not trying to be a jerk. I think you just hit a nerve.

As for the beer? I’ve only had it from a keg, and then it’s only traveled 800 miles instead of 8000, but yes it’s on the thin side, but I don’t think I’d describe it as astringent, more dry and slightly chalky, with a definite hop bitterness.

Of course, the 18th-century way of mashing was very different to the modern approach. They would mash 3 or 4 times and not sparge.

Apologies for getting all technical.

Oh yes, and small beer was essentially a safe substitute for water, not a drink to savour.