I picked up a can of Blood Orange Wheat Beer in a Marks & Spencer some time ago, although have only just got around to drinking it. It’s one of a selection of beers that Adnams Southwold brew exclusively for M&S (although some are seasonal, and some are only available in certain stores – so you’re unlikely to ever see a full line up in one go).

We reviewed Adnams Mosaic Pale Ale last year, which didn’t blow us away. You can read a bit about the brewery on that page.

I’ve seen a few references on Twitter lately that some M&S stores are selling this beer off cheap (really cheap!), which does make me wonder if this is a beer that’s being retired, or if it simply hasn’t sold as well as their buyers expected. Regardless, it’s still available to buy on the M&S site, so I assume it’s around for at least a while longer.

This can poured a clear golden, slightly orange, colour, with a white head and a light fizz. The head stayed around for a while, which was pleasing.

As well as the usual suspect ingredients (all of the hops are European), this beer contains blood orange juice; so I was expecting a decent hit of orange on the nose. There’s a little bit there, but less than I’d hoped for. The flavour is similar – there’s a hint of the orange there, but I never would have guessed it was real orange juice, the beer has a slightly metallic taste to it that made me assume the orange flavouring was chemical rather than natural.

It’s a medium bodied beer, but lacks the advertised zest. Overall, at only 4.5% it’s a beer you could have a session on; but that’s mostly because it’s such an innocuous drink.