Gold is the new Best for Badger

Dorset brewer Hall & Woodhouse (H&W) has lined up a new flagship ale to take over from Badger Best.

Badger First Gold represents a radical makeover and a new recipe for the company's main session beer, based on two years of research and development.

According to marketing manager Rick Payne "no final decision has been made - but it is our intention that Badger First Gold replaces Badger Best".

H&W would not want to rush into ousting a brand that has a loyal following among its pub customers. But the brewer also needs to sharpen up the branding of a beer that hasn't quite got the profile of a London Pride or a Spitfire in the cask beer market.

"Best is a pretty good beer, but we want to develop an exceptional beer," explained Mr Payne.

"We have always believed that the key to ensuring a strong and vibrant cask ale market is to create exciting new products that the market wants."

H&W has a good track record in developing its ales. Last year's reformulation and relaunch of its premium ale Tanglefoot has seen its sales jump by 10 per cent, contributing to a doubling of the brewer's total sales in the last eight years.

Surprisingly perhaps, in view of the beer's name, Badger First Gold is not following the trend towards lighter coloured ales and is aimed at the mainstream cask beer drinker rather than attempting to recruit lager drinkers.

It will be launched to the cask community at the Great British Beer Festival in London, running from August 2nd, where the H&W bar will be a new-build thatched cob-stone cottage.

Badger First Gold will also be promoted in pubs during Cask Beer Week in September, when customers will be offered a free half pint.