Is Boon Doggle Blonde Ale A Decent Beer?

Boon Doggle Blonde Ale comes from Ringwood Brewery located on the edge of Ringwood town in Hampshire, England. It is described as a deliciously fruity craft blonde ale, so is it a decent beer?

Boon Doggle Blonde Ale is okay, a nice beer, but nothing special. It pours a light gold with a modest white head. On the nose it is slightly hoppy with notes of citrus fruits. The taste reflects the nose being a little hoppy with fruity citrus flavours. It’s a middle of the road beer and scores 4.0 out of 5.0.

If you like blonde ale, then it won’t disappoint, but it won’t set your world a light either.

Table Of Contents

Boon Doggle Blonde Ale Review

Boon Doggle is an old American term meaning work of little value, which Ringwood Brewery interpreted as laid back and an excuse for a pint.

The beer stands in a brown 500ml bottle with a pale yellow label and the words Boon Doggle. The famous Ringwood boar, the breweries logo is laid down and chilling on this occasion.

Brewed with four hops varieties, Goldings, Cascade, Herkules and Styrian Bobek, as well as English pale malts.

The beer is described as a delicious fruity craft blonde ale, and comes in at a sessionable 4.2% ABV.

It all sounds great, but is Boon Doggle a decent beer?

Drinking Boon Doggle

The beer has a pretty unusual funky name, so I am expected something a little funky in the glass, a beer with a bit of oomph. So time to crack it open and get it into a glass.

It pours a light gold with a moderate white head, which quickly fades to a thin cover. On the nose it is simply hoppy with notes of fruity citrus.

The taste reflects the nose exactly, except for a little malt up front, otherwise it literally is a hoppy taste with fruity citrus flavours.

That is pretty much it, a nice enough beer, a little hoppy and a little citrus kick. Has it got the oomph I was hoping for? No, but I guess going by the meaning of Boon Doggle and the laid back boar on the label, it’s a laid back beer.

So not much oomph, more of a laid back chill out beer, which is fine. So for me it is a nice beer, but nothing special and gets a rate my beer score of 4.0 out of 5.0.

M’Lady is of the same mind, saying “Not a bad beer, but nothing much exciting about it, just a standard beer.” Incredibly Lou scores it an identical 4.0 out of 5.0.

If you like a pretty standard blonde beer, the Boon Doggle will fit the brief.

Ringwood Brewery

Ringwood Brewery was founded in 1978 by Peter Austin who had retired from head brewer at Hull Brewery to Hampshire.

He obviously got bored in retirement and came out to start his own brewery. The brewery started life at an old bakery in Ringwood.

In 1986 the brewery moved to their current site on the edge of town. Later in 1990 Peter sold his shares to business partner David Welsh.

2007 saw Ringwood Brewery sold to Marston’s PLC, which later merged with Carlsberg UK. At least they kept the Ringwood Brewery site and carried on brewing the Ringwood Beers.

That is until now, Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company put Ringwood Brewery up for sale in June 2023. However unable to secure a buyer they closed the brewery in January 2024 and have moved the brewing of the beers to other Carlberg Marston’s sites.

So the brewery is gone, who knows what the future of the beers are, and whether they will decline in quality.

Ringwood Beer Range

The Ringwood Brewery beer range is not a vast one, there are around five beers to choose from. They include a India pale ale, golden ale, blonde ale, a amber ale and a full flavoured craft ale.

The trouble is the future of these beers is not clear, and will they continue to be authentic? We just have to wait and see, but here are a few to look out for.

Old Thumper

Old Thumper is a deep brown real craft ale first brewed in 1979. I have had this beer on many occasions when I once lived in Dorset. Back then it was 5.6% ABV, but it is now a slightly less 5.1% ABV.

It is hoppy with a light spicy pepper on the nose with a malty bitter taste and a few light fruit notes. From memory it is a decent beer, but it was a little stronger back then.

Razor Back

Razor Back is an amber craft ale and is the first beer from Ringwood brewery back in 1978. However then it was known as just Best Bitter until its rebranding.

On the nose it is toffee malt with a hoppy kick, while the taste is sweet toffee malt up front with a nice hoppy bitterness on the finish.

At just 3.6% ABV in the bottle and 3.8% ABV in cask it is an easy drinking session beer.

Circadian

Circadian is an everyday IPA with a full rich flavour and plenty of hop bite. Brewed with 5 hops kicks out a hoppy citrus nose and has a full on hop taste with a bitter grapefruit finish.

All this nose and flavour comes in at just 4.5% ABV which makes it an everyday session IPA. Sounds like a great beer, but has it really got all that nose and flavour, I guess I will have to find out.

Final Thoughts

So it is very sad that Ringwood Brewery has been closed, and as I said although the beer production has been moved to other Carlsberg Marston sites, what will its future be? I guess we will have to wait and see.

Maybe the brewery will be revived by someone else, even if it produces different beer. I just hope t doesn’t end up as another property development site.

As for Boon Doggle, it’s an okay beer, it won’t blow your socks off, but it is pleasant enough. It’s a laid back beer, even the boar is chilled out.

If you have tried Boon Doggle, then do share your thoughts below, let me know what you think of this craft blonde ale.