Well, the missus and I have just done a blind taste test against a bottle of Waggle Dance and a bottle of Bumble Bee with some interesting results.
The photo below shows a colour comparison between the three:
On the left we have the Waggle Dance, then we have the Bumble Bee and finally my brew. The colour is not bad but I think I prefer the Waggle Dance colour so perhaps a little more crystal malt next time. My brew is a little cloudier too...
The photos below show the head:
Obviously the Waggle Dance has no head, the Bumble Bee has a thin head that has lasted throughout the pint and my brew has only the remains of a head. Maybe some additional head retaining grist could be added?
Bearing in mind that the taste test was done with two bottled beers, it was actually quite obvious which my brew was even though it was done blindfolded as the two bottled beers were slightly carbonated (the Waggle Dance was a little over carbonated for my taste).
Having said that, both the missus and I got the Waggle Dance and the Bumble Bee the wrong way around and we both ended up saying that we were not keen on the Waggle Dance before we knew which was which.
Our taste results (unscientific as they are) are as follows:
____________WD___________BB____________My Brew
Sweatness____Quite Dry______Quite Sweet____Slightly Sweet
Aroma_______Almost none____Strong Honey___Slightly hoppy
Taste________Slightly Bitter___Strong Honey___Slight Honey
Overall, I would recommend the Bumble Bee (buy a bottle from your local Coop and see what you think) and I am happy to drink my own brew but I would not buy another bottle of the Waggle Dance. I am not sure if the character has changed since it was owned by Vaux but that was the last time I drank it and for that matter made this brew; perhaps it is my pallet that has changed...Alternatively, and to be fair to Youngs, perhaps the bottled version is significantly different to the draught version.
Anyway, hope this is useful feedback. I think I will try agin but next time I will double the amount of honey...
Better get on and finish these pints :stun
) straight into the fermenter to get that extra goodness. Don't do it with bittering hops unless you are looking to get extra bitterness