Vedett.  It’s just one of those beer brands that I saw all over the place, but never really get around to trying, mainly because the label – while being a la mode and all that – is not exactly eye-catching on a shelf amongst a load of other beers.

I overlooked Vedett for years, only being forced to buy it from a small provincial Co-op when faced with a very dismal “brown beer” selection.

As it turns out, the standard Vedett version is a very acceptable Belgian Blonde beer indeed.

So when Eve and I went to The Unicorn in Deddington for lunch last week – only to find that it’s a Youngs/Wells outfit* I was happy to take the alternative Vedett IPA option.

(*it’s not that I don’t like the Youngs/wells beers, I just find them a bit uninspiring )

BTW: Lunch at The Unicorn was bloody excellent.  I mean really good.  We will be going there again.

But a Vedett IPA?  I mean a Belgian beer with a load of late hops?  How’s that going to work?

I’d had heavily-hopped Belgian beer before: Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch being one (https://yeastismybitch.com/2014/01/10/flying-dog-raging-bitch/) so I was hopeful that Vedett IPA would be an interesting variant on that theme…

Vedett IPA pours a golden colour and has the aroma of a typical blonde Belgian beer, you know: sweetly malty with a phenolic overtone and that slight spicy edge – only this time with a bouquet of floral hops festooning the top.

In the taste it’s a bit like Raging Bitch, but just not as mental; there’s all the usual Belgian taradiddle but a more of a fruity core plus a nice floral hop topping.  The finish is long and dry and worked well with food.