I’ve been a fan of Worthington White Shield for some time now, even more so after a visit to the brewery and meeting Steve Wellington during Twissup does Burton Upon Trent.
White Shield is one of those iconic beers that just about every beer drinker has heard of if not tried. It’s one of, if no the oldest beer in Britain, It’s gone through many changes over the years and is now part of the Molson Coors portfolio, say what you will about Molson Coors but without them it is quite possible we would no longer be able to drink White Shield. You can read more about the history of White Shield here.
The iconic White Shield
White Shield comes in two forms, bottle conditioned 500ml bottles and traditional cask ale, Until the recent trip to Burton I had never tasted it on cask and had to make do with bottles.
The labelling on the bottles is great, as soon as you see the big bold white shield wih the red sword it immediately catches your eye and makes you want to pick the bottle up.
It pours a lovely light copper colour with a nice medium to thick head, although if you don’t let the beer rest before opening or don’t chill it you might well end up with more head than you bargained for.
The aromas are floral and hoppy, light dry and grassy with just a hint of malty and sweetness.
The body is velvety smooth and lightly carbonated, the taste is first malty with sweet caramel and toffee hints followed by a classic bitter taste from the hops, this is followed by a lasting bitter finish that has hints of spice.
During the Burton Twissup we got to try White Shield on cask, with and without the infamous sparkler and to be completely honest, without the sparkler the head was still full, the beer still lightly carbonated and still tasted absolutely fantastic. I know sparklers take a lot of stick and I can see why, when the beer is in this sort of condition there really is no need for it.
You can visit the White Shield website here or buy bottles from most Sainsbury and Waitrose shops (unless you live near me where the beer selections are really poor)
I STILL love White Shield – SO well balanced. One of the UK’s truly great beers.
I hope they put it in the new home draught system as i can see tha working quite well.
It would be nice if the White Shield website could be updated and inform users where they can actually buy it from. On the website and in ‘Beer’, published by CAMRA mention is made of Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. I have checked the Sainsbury’s stores in Hereford, Cheltenham and Watford, all of which are listed and it is not available. Also Waitrose in Cheltenham and Malvern do not stock it. Has anyone out there got any information where White Shield can be obtained apart from in the imagination. I live in Herefordshire but do travel about the country so if it is available I could get some if I knew where to go.
I also attempted to ‘become a friend of Wiliam Worthington’s White Shield and sent up the form a year ago. The result is nothing – I am beginning to wonder if it still exists!
I know what you mean John, if you have a morrisons it might be worth checking them out as our local one has just started to sell it
I agree White Shield is difficult to find.Neither Waitrose or Sainsburys in my part of West London stock it.It used to be sold in every pub in England practically in smaller bottles.I have been a fan for over 35 years.King and Barnes brewery,now defunct ,kept it alive for a while, and now Coors.However I am sad to say its current reincarnation has become a pale shadow.Whilst its still a “nice” bottle-conditioned beer it aint got the loads of character it once had.Also ignore the blurb about pouring carefully:it no longer has heaps of mouth-feel yeast floating in the bottle which gave it such silky viscosity.It is becoming a legend rather than a reality sadly.
You can get it delivered to your house via Ocado (basically Waitrose online). Currently retailing for £2.03 each!
Please respond! Friends in pub today arguing over the size of White Shield bottles. Are they 1/2 pint or third of a pint? Please answer and then I might get some peace in the pub tomorrow.
Thank you so much, Lisa
Hi Lisa
Hopefully I can help you enjoy a Worthington’s White Shield in peace! It’s actually in 500ml bottles so just 68ml short of a pint.