KRONENBOURG BLANC
Scottish & Newcastle
France, 5% ABV
An imported, fruity wheat beer from France which caused quite a splash when it landed in the UK a few years ago (possibly because of the astronomical costs associated with buying the stuff), Kronenbourg Blanc is a love it or hate it job, make no mistake. It’s certainly fruity and quite refreshing, but it’s sweet to the point of sickly, and you wouldn’t want to drink more than a couple of pints of the stuff – although those couple of pints might be very enjoyable indeed. It’s easily found on the high street and in the off-licence, and in my opinion that’s no bad thing for UK drinkers who have suffered through years of nothing more than the mildest of mild ales and the blandest of bland lagers. The fact that many UK drinkers may very well turn their noses up at the acquired taste of Blanc is another matter entirely. It’s also worth mentioning Kronenbourg Premier Cru here. Cru is a straightforward lager, albeit a 6% ABV one. The luxuriant bottle may be the most notable thing about it, as, for all its promises of quality, it doesn’t really taste all that exceptional. The fact that it’s advertised as an accompaniment to ‘lobe de foie gras en consommé‘ (something I must admit to rarely having knocking around at the back of the fridge), shows exactly what type of market Kronenbourg are pitching Cru at. Good luck to the marketing team, hard luck to the consumers, and of course, their shrinking wallets. DA
