

Boddingtons Pub Ale - Boddingtons

Boddingtons Pub AleBoddingtons Pub Ale

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1,944 Ratings

(view ratings)
Ratings: 1944
Reviews: 1025
rAvg: 3.2
pDev: 20.63%

Brewed by:
Boddingtons visit their website
United Kingdom (England)

Style | ABV
English Pale Ale |  4.70% ABV

Availability: Year-round

Notes/Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.

(Beer added by: Todd on 10-20-2001)
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Beer: Ratings & Reviews
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Ratings: 1,944 | Reviews: 1,025 | Show All Ratings:
Photo of dnichols


2.03/5  rDev -36.6%

I poured a pint from a nitro-can into a challis.

A: This is a very, very light straw yellow with a pure white head. The head lingered deep into the experience and reminded me of whipped cream.

S: Hardly any aroma was discernable. There was a whiff of alcohol and otherwise the only order was of yeast.

T: Bland. Nothing spectacular or even notable. There is a hint of malt and a bitter aftertaste that fades quickly after each swallow.

M: Silky smooth with a bit of bitter edge that leaves a sour residual in my mouth.

D: I had a difficult time finishing even half a pint. I could drink this beer all night longbut why do it.

Comment: Another unremarkable product from our friends across the pond. Despite my love of ales I guess when consuming products from the empire the sun never set on I will stick with fish and chips.

Serving type: nitro-can

09-17-2007 02:20:17 | More by dnichols
Photo of francisweizen


2/5  rDev -37.5%

I had a bad pint of this at the Goose in Brixton. The lines were obviously not cared for at that establishment and you can tell as this murky beer with no head arrived. The aroma was sour and bad, as was the taste. The mouthfeel was still creamy, but that did not save the drinkability at all on this one!

Serving type: cask

11-04-2003 05:33:24 | More by francisweizen
Photo of thehooksman

North Carolina

2/5  rDev -37.5%

Pouring this out into a glass is an exciting experience. It pours a cloudy beige color that cascades down in the glass and settles to a clear weak tea color with a thick white creamy head. It smells of sweet honey and mild hops. You'd think this beer was going to be awesome. It looks like a million bucks... but no. Based on the aroma the flavor is extremely disappointing. It tastes like stale water with a touch of bitter. The body is water thin with no carbonation or cream. Poured it out.

On a second tasting, I tried it warm (never in fridge) and it was an improvement... barely. So if you like warm, flat beer, this is for you.

Serving type: nitro-can

10-07-2011 01:55:18 | More by thehooksman
Photo of skillerified


1.98/5  rDev -38.1%

Brought to the table looking a little paler than most English Pales I've sampled, but not a bad color. A little orange and tan. Decent one finger head with equally decent retention.

Scent was weak. A slight favoring of malt, but little else.

Taste was also weak. Again, a slight malt flavor, but little else. Thoroughly lacking that mineral quality that I've come to expect of these hard water British beers. No complexity, no depth. Just a slight sweet malt.

Mouthfeel was particularly bad in my opinion. The body has only a slightly higher consistancy than water. Just not appealing at all.

Goes down easy doesn't necessarily taste bad, but there's nothing to make me want another either.

Serving type: on-tap

05-29-2006 20:21:29 | More by skillerified
Photo of adamette


1.98/5  rDev -38.1%

Poured into a 16 oz. clear glass at Winking Lizard in Mentor, Ohio

A Creamy, thin bubbled head remained for at least 60 seconds, interesting at least.

S Mild, Barley. Not much smell really

T Creamy, acidic, then taste of lake water (echhh!) followed by a fairly pleasant after taste. All tastes (except for the mid taste of lake water) are subtle. This is not a tasty beer.

M fine

D poor. I will not seek this one out again.

Serving type: on-tap

04-09-2008 03:18:15 | More by adamette
Photo of KeefD


1.98/5  rDev -38.1%

The appearance score is high on this one only because the "nitro-can" effect is entertaining to watch for a few seconds. When it's over, it's all downhill from there.

I just don't enjoy these nitro-can beers. They're flat. That's all there is too it. You gotta have at least some carbonation in a beer or just tastes like old, lifeless skunk beer.

The taste on this beer isn't bad. I actually like the hints of maltiness and decent fruity-hop background. Just wish there was some carbonation here.

Full-bodied to be sure, but just missing too much.

Probably would not drink this again.

Serving type: nitro-can

04-15-2008 05:36:27 | More by KeefD
Photo of biglite351


1.98/5  rDev -38.1%

A - clear golden with an amazing stout lasting foam.

S - smelt Luke cheap domestic.

T - super lite. Almost watery. The bar maid was wrong on this one. She must like very lite brews.

M - almost unnoticed. Bland.

D - like glasses of water, why bother? This is easily drinkable, but not worth paying for.

Serving type: on-tap

03-15-2010 22:21:32 | More by biglite351
Photo of jmich24


1.98/5  rDev -38.1%

A: Poured from a nitro can. Obviously huge head, dense off white two fingers once setelled. Great lacing. Light amber color very clear.
S: Sweet carmel malt and yeast.
T: Very bland. some yeast and sweet malts again. Very earthy hopiness.
M: Not as think as expected. Somewhat thin and wet.
D: This was not drinkable because the taste is unpleasant to me.

Drain Pour. Never Again.

Serving type: nitro-can

09-14-2010 03:16:24 | More by jmich24
Photo of mwilbur


1.98/5  rDev -38.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 1.75

Poured from can into pint glass.
A: Pours a clear gold with 1 inch creamy/foamy head. Good retention.
S: Mild malt and even milder hops. A bit off here.
T: Wow...horrible. Like water, but only worse. Absolutely bad.
M: Light body. Watery. Creamy feel from the nitro is the only saving grace here.
D: Very, very bad. Don't waste your time. So many better beers to enjoy...

Serving type: nitro-can

12-30-2013 05:44:51 | More by mwilbur
Photo of stumac


1.95/5  rDev -39.1%

This can exploded when i opened it. Not much to say about this beer. Gold in color. nice white head though. smell has very faint hops. taste is ugly bitter. Too watery for me. All in all, i would rather hump the hell out of a yak's sweet ass and then lap up the hot sweat dripping off of its scrodum.

Serving type: nitro-can

03-10-2008 21:16:07 | More by stumac
Photo of rudolphjacksonm


1.9/5  rDev -40.6%

A - Golden color with a few bubbles here and there. Very thick, creamy white head. 3.0

S - Strong sour apple/fruit notes. Not too impressive otherwise. 2.0

T - The taste is very light and brief. It's disappointing; considering the creamy texture of this beer you'd think it'd be full of flavor, but instead it's only a flash in the pan. Has a mild, sweet malt flavor mixed with a sour, metallic taste in the beginning which dissolves into a bready, grain alcohol taste. Barely any aftertaste at all except maybe more bread or yeast. 1.5

M - Really creamy and buttery, especially if you sip just the head at the beginning. The texture is really nice. It's light and easy to drink, but also creamy and filling. 3.5

O - I think Boddington's has its place as a beer to drink at the pub on a warm summer day. It's cheap, easy to drink and tastes...good enough. But I think compared to other cheaper brews, it falls far short on flavor. This may be due to the fact that it's been imported and didn't survive the trip, though I won't be able to say until I make another trip over to the UK and try it on-tap. 2.0

Serving type: can

02-10-2012 19:49:50 | More by rudolphjacksonm
Photo of granite

New Hampshire

1.88/5  rDev -41.3%

Nitro-can into a pint glass

A--- Poured a pale straw with a typical nitro head.

S--- Acetaldehyde and solvent-like aromas.

T--- Metallic tasting with mild bitterness. A little malt emerged after it warmed up a little.

M--- Thin to medium bodied. It would be watery if it was not for the beer gas.

D--- To much cane sugar in the grist most likely caused the cider aroma and thinned out the body. The metallic taste could only come from the can so I'm not sure if the aluminum was exposed or just a poorly crafted can. Honestly, it was just awful

Serving type: nitro-can

01-23-2007 14:32:14 | More by granite
Photo of kjyost

Manitoba (Canada)

1.88/5  rDev -41.3%

Poured into a pilsner glass

Pours clear and a little darker than straw yellow with the thick foam head you have come to expect from a widget, and therefore laces heavily. I know some people hate nitro, but the cascade is beautiful...

Aroma is hard to detect at first (I always find nitro head does that), but comes through as much more vegetal than I expect, disgustingly so.

Taste is cooked vegetal and canned corn along with a hint of honey, apple and a bit of earthy bitterness.

Finishes clean and smooth, but is almost bland as there isn't enough carbonation left in the beer.

Overall: Why did I go and try this beer again? Why? I thought that I had enjoyed it before, but now that I have tried so many that are so good I know better... Sigh. Why must I no longer like a crap beer?

Serving type: nitro-can

03-28-2011 02:47:35 | More by kjyost
Photo of chumba526


1.85/5  rDev -42.2%

Appears an orange like golden color with a thick full bodied white head.

It smells metallic, of oats, sugary, and mildly of toffee. Does not smell bad but I don't like the metallic smell.

It really does not taste like much. There is a metallic taste, a sweet mild biscuit tasting malt flavor and that is it. It is unforgettable and bland. It's the kind of beer that could put you to sleep in the middle of a sip.

There is a slight creamy texture and a low carbonation.

It drinks like water as there is not very much flavor to the beer. I however don't want to drink another one of these because it is so boring.

Serving type: nitro-can

11-13-2010 01:00:40 | More by chumba526
Photo of SigEp


1.8/5  rDev -43.8%

Nice to look at, I guess, pours a very see-through gold color with the nitro-head. Smooth mouthfeel due to the nitro and no real carbonation, which works for guiness because of the richness of the brew, but here just points out the places where this one truly lacks. Slightly sweet flavor, very little hops, in the nose or on the palate. The after-feel in the mouth is slightly chalky, like drinking dust. Tastes like a flat, bad, near-macro. Not impressed.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2003 19:19:05 | More by SigEp
Photo of rousee


1.78/5  rDev -44.4%

This beer has a cascading settle to it very similar to that of Guinness or Caffreys but the color here is very very gold-yellow. Crayola used to have a crayon color called maize which might describe the color better. There was a time when I used to like a Boddingtons-Guinness black and tan and I am sure glad those days are over.
I tried this beer yesterday (8/21/04) in some taste tournaments of the various beers that were available on tap at a downtown Boston pub. The others we compared and tested (there were 3 of us) were Pilsner Urquel, Harpoon IPA, Smithwicks, Sam Adams blue label, Sam Adams Summer Ale, and Bass. I really thought this was the worst beer of all. Each other beer had something going for it except this one. My friends felt the same way. Bitter and a woody finish but woody in a dirty piece of wood way. Nothing to like about the mouthfeel or drinkability either.

Serving type: on-tap

08-22-2004 17:18:36 | More by rousee
Photo of ggroller


1.78/5  rDev -44.4%

You better be standing outside or near a sink when you crack this one. The un-tapped can is an explosion waiting to happen. I drank this beer several times over the course of a couple of years because I am trying to see what my buddy sees in this crap. In my opinion, it's no different than any of the light beers I have ever tasted. Miller, Keystone, Coors, etc.,etc. This stuff is awful. The only enjoyment I get out of this beer is watching the cascade after I pour it into a glass. The color is clear straw, the smell is faintly fruity, the taste and mouthfeel are lacking, and the finish is clear and clean to the point of it being water.

Boddingtons. I just don't get it.

Serving type: nitro-can

01-11-2005 23:25:14 | More by ggroller
Photo of satchmo91


1.78/5  rDev -44.4%

First off, the can exploded. I found this beer at my local supermarket in a four-pack of tall cans. My friend opened one before the rest of us and warned us that his exploded all over him, so we were cautious, but the damn thing blew up on us too! The next day, we let our other friend have the last one...explode.

This beer is dangerous.

A - Crystal clear orange-brown with creamy, very white head.

S - Very wheaty. Smelled to me like a typical American adjunct lager with a slight sweetness character.

T - Very watery and thin tasting. Very similar to a BMC. Some of my friends who reviewed with me said that it was actually tasteless.

M - Light-bodied, thin and watery.

D - The finish brought out a wheaty flavour with time, but never really improved the taste. This beer is decently drinkable if you aren't looking to have a ton of flavour, just something cold. Overall, not very impressed.

Serving type: can

09-13-2010 23:20:15 | More by satchmo91
Photo of MusicmanSD


1.75/5  rDev -45.3%

Boddingtons, when you get down to it, is just downright nasty. It looks good. Pours an awesome crème' head with a sort of horse piss looking body. The smell is interesting, a little buttery, but not much else. Taste is just $#@%#^T awkward! Its creamy, offensive, and bitter at the same time. I keep giving it chances to win me over, but every time I try before I finish a pint it hits my yacking mechanism. Its much better to start out drinking this, because if you have any other beer before this, it reminds you of milk. The mouthfeel is typical nitro flat fluff. The drinkability is just gross, I still can't get used to it. Don't know how the Brit's drink it, but I gotta hand it to them blokes for staying with it!

Serving type: nitro-can

08-14-2006 03:55:27 | More by MusicmanSD
Photo of kegger22


1.75/5  rDev -45.3%

I first tasted Boddingtons Pub Ale about 5 months ago. I held off reviewing this beer in order to try to gain some perspective. I believe that I have.

My overwhelming impression is that this is one weak-ass beer. Water has considerably more flavor. Wait, there is a taste, but it is like dissolving a gram of sugar into a five gallon jug of water. It pours a cascade of foam out of the nitro can and quickly resolves itself into a clear, dark yellow with a very respectable head. There is no appreciable aroma to the common man. Mouthfeel falls right into line with taste. The highlight of this beer is it's drinkability; I could detect no alcohol and could drink this all day...but why would I want to? Boddingtons Pub Ale is not so much a "drain pour" as a "why bother." It is not, however, the worst beer I have ever tasted.

Serving type: nitro-can

09-25-2009 20:03:12 | More by kegger22
Photo of AltBock


1.73/5  rDev -45.9%

1 pint nitro can. The can itself is a bright yellow color with a black bottom. The word Boddingtons is in a horseshoe aorund their symbol, a barrel with gold rims and around those rims are honey bees. I guess their queen or honey is in that barrel, I don't know. The back of the can had some info about the brewery, info about the beer, info about their DraughtFlow system, correct serving temperature, and correct pouring procedure.

When I first popped the tab, it sounded like a snake hissing. HISSSS!! After I gained control of the flow, I poured it into my Brooklyn Brewery pint glass. The beer was this clear amber color with a massive head of white and creamy head of foam. The head of foam still remained during the duration of the beer. Every time it receded, it left plenty of lace in its tracks. Very Nice!

The aroma only had the slightest faint smell of bitter spicy hops and some fruit in the background. Not much going on in the aroma department!

The taste was EXTREMELY watery! That was the initial taste and after that there was only a slightest bit of flavor of just very little malt and very little hops. Sometimes it felt that I was drinking hops flavored water. It wasn't too awful, except for the fact there was nothing going on in the taste.

The mouthfeel is just what I guessed after the taste, very light and very watery. Granted there was a slight bitter aftertaste in there, but only very slight. It's not that noticeable.

Drinkability: Since there was little flavor in this, You can probably chug a couple down if you wanted to. Everything except for the appearance, was just bad. I won't spend another $2 for this beer again.

Serving type: nitro-can

04-05-2006 19:12:03 | More by AltBock
Photo of randyw41


1.73/5  rDev -45.9%

Paid out way too much for this stuff. Bland, almost flat tasting. Came in a four pack, was charged Bud Beer case prices. Would not purchase again, even if on sale.

Pale in appearance.
Not much carbonation too speak of.
Very flat tasting, not pleasant on the palate.

Serving type: can

01-16-2010 15:26:27 | More by randyw41
Photo of SchmoTerp


1.7/5  rDev -46.9%

A - Poured from a nitro-can into a pint glass creating a dense foam from bottom to top. Once settle, a nice thick head of foam that lingered for a few minutes. Looks really interesting.

S - ??? Can you review something that isn't there? I gave it a 2.0 simply because the beer did cause one to gag.

T - Bland. Flat. I can't even pretend to pick a flavor out.

M - Horrible. I'm not gagging, but my mouth is much closer to a frown than a smile.

O - I suppose this is what you get when you hear a beer name on a rerun of Friends. This beer will not be permitted in my fridge, even for temporary storage. Rarely does a beer get poured out....but this one isn't even worth finishing.

Serving type: nitro-can

04-14-2011 04:44:09 | More by SchmoTerp


1.68/5  rDev -47.5%

The beer looked great. The formation and retention of the head was nice to look at. Unfortunately the liquid was seriously devoid of any recognizable flavor. No hops, no malt, not even a bad flavor, just very,very bland. I have never been a big fan of nitro cans. These were a freebie from a friend so I am not out anything. I am going to try the other two 16oz cans later, if the taste changes I will revise my review. If not I will just look forward to trying something new!

Serving type: nitro-can

05-07-2005 04:15:55 | More by MUSHROOMCLOUD
Photo of erz316


1.68/5  rDev -47.5%

A - poured from the token black and yellow can a perfect head, as per usual, and has a lighter amber colour. not relevant to the style, however.

S - aromas...hmm. Well, I might say that I could blame smelling nothing on my sinuses, but I remedied that problem. I guess then I would say it has, if much of anything, a slight metallic ambiance from the can.

T - very smooth, the head is thick, and I have to agitate the beer in my mouth to effect a stronger bitterness from the hops.

MF - the lack of taste and carbonation leave me wanting to chug the whole glass, as I am thirsty. However, the wateriness is off putting to me, and should not be a characteristic of a beer of this sort, though, their tm 'smooth and creamy' does ring loud, but not to any good effect.

D - very drinkable as mentioned above, but again, too drinkable. It is very much chug-able like a similar nitro-can stout I know and disdain.

Serving type: nitro-can

01-04-2009 22:54:08 | More by erz316
Boddingtons Pub Ale from Boddingtons
74 out of 100 based on 1,944 ratings.