On March 18^th in “Heinz Ceases HP Sauce Production in Birmingham“, I made mention of a man impassioned about supporting local British goods. For him, and many other like him who have taken the time to write me, the very idea of Heinz relocating production of their beloved HP Sauce to the Netherlands was the last straw with many swearing to never allow an Heinz product into their cupboard again.

Stephen is one such person, and our email conversations started off with that very sentiment; but Steve went one further by trying to convince me of available alternatives to the new Heinz HP regime. I was open to the idea but I was also at an impasse, for HP Sauce is THE only Brown Sauce sold in Canada and without others to compare it to, I had no point of reference to take up Steve’s challenge. Fortunately, Steve persisted and last week I received a parcel from Birmingham complete with Branston Brown Sauce, Branston Pickle (original chunky) and Branston Tomato Ketchup! Steve does like to make a point, for in the end he spent over £20 (on top of the cost of goods) to simply allow me to sample an alternative Brown Sauce! Why? Because Heinz has messed about with our HP Sauce and he wants you and I to know it…that’s why.

Stephen Godwin of Birmingham, England

About the same time that Steve sent me the Branston care package, Randall of New Hampshire, USA notified me of his ambitions to conduct a pub taste test trial between a bottle of genuine Birmingham HP Sauce, and the Heinz variety made in Fairlawn, NJ destined for the American market. He quickly noted that the ingredients on both bottles were very different from ea ch other, as was their taste. In his words “I tried a taste, and my initial reaction is, it is not offensive, and it certainly IS NOT HP Sauce.”

Indeed, the ingredient list on this odd Heinz branded American HP Sauce variety are different still than bottles sold in Canada or the UK. Ingredients: Water, Vinegar, Dates, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Molasses, Tomato Paste, Food Starch - Modified, Salt, Orange Juice Concentrate, Onions, Spices, Tamarind Concentrate, Apple Juice Concentrate, Garlic, Chili Peppers, Mustard Flour

This is this sites’ first ever sighting of HP Sauce branded for the American market. Even the bottle differs from the traditional squared off corners we all know so well. The label too, like the Canadian version, calls itself a “Steak Sauce”. Sigh

Back to the matter at hand - Randall’s questions prompted me to consider doing a taste test of my own where I would compare both Birmingham and Heinz (Canada) HP Sauce varieties along with Steve’s Branston Brown Sauce, the Canadian variety a being close match to Randall’s NJ variety. To round out the test, I dropped by the Raging Brit, a local British import shop, where I picked up a bottle of Daddies Favourite Brown Sauce (They also sell excellent curry puffs amongst the usual steak & kidney pies etc. If you’re in Winnipeg, check them out!). Daddies, which is also owned by Heinz, is another popular iconic British Brown Sauce sold in the UK.

A notable exception from the taste test is Sainsburys Brown Sauce. Unfortunately, it too is not sold locally and I may need to request the fine people at the Raging Brit to consider importing it in a future shipment.

The Contestants:

Please take note and compare how different the two HP Sauce varieties are from each other. Like Randall points out, the non Birmingham variety is certainly NOT HP Sauce.

Setting Up The Test

With the four available Brown Sauces, I set about organizing the taste test. Since I have no ‘local’ to which I could go to set things up, I reasoned that the best possible venue for conducting such a test would be from my desk at work thus guaranteeing at least a few participants. Rest assured that all taste test activities were conducted using available ’spare time’.

In order to make the test as scientifically valid as is possible as one can in such an environment, I secretly placed a dollop of each sauce on a plate in random order out of the field of view of the participant. The plate was then delivered to the participant where they were asked to rank each sauce from favourite to least favourite, and to provide feedback on what they liked and least liked about each of their selections. Each participant was also encouraged to rinse their palette in between each tasting.

I should note that although some participants were right to call me on serving Brown Sauce without bacon or some other meat dish while others were simply shocked to learn that I was even doing such a thing, let alone run a website devoted to Brown Sauce! While serving bacon with Brown Sauce would’ve guaranteed more participants, I was not about to bring a hot plate to work!

The Results Are In:

In the end I managed to convince 12 office workers to participate in the test. While this sample is hardly representative of the population at large, and as such does not qualify as statistically valid- it did nonetheless produce some interesting results.

Out of the 12 participants, 9 do not use HP Sauce, 2 rarely use it, and 1 admitted to using it regularly.

This reflects general usage of the Canadian HP Sauce variety only. No participants had ever tried HP Sauce (Birmingham), Daddies Favourite or Branston Brown Sauce prior to the test. This is significant in the sense that the sample group had ‘virgin palettes’ and were not statistically biased to any one particular Brown Sauce.

Of those who professed to using HP Sauce (regularly, or infrequently), 2 of them use it only on steak, with the 3^rd using it on sausages & burgers.

The Winner:

We have a decisive winner with 67% of those polled picking Branston Brown Sauce as their first choice! What’s equally surprising is that no one picked HP Sauce, Birmingham as their first choice! If only I had participated!

I asked participants to describe what they liked about the sauce they most preferred. Here are the answers given for Branston Brown Sauce:

The tangy taste.

Nice mix of sweet and tangy.

Least powerful.

Not overpowering, tasty but subtle.

Sweeter, not as bitter as the other three. Almost fruity.

Good mix of sweet & spicy.

Spicy taste, not as sour.

I like Bull’s Eye, this one seems closest, sweet & smokey.

Comments from those who preferred Daddies Favourite as their first choice:

Flavour was not too overwhelming

Sweet

Little vinegary aftertaste

Final comment from the single participant who preferred HP Sauce (Heinz, Canada) as their first choice:

Familiar tasting. And tasty.

The following chart shows an overall rank of each sauce and provides a clearer breakdown of how each ranked in terms of overall popularity. I assigned points for each ranked position, 4 for first, 3 for second, 2 for third and 1 for fourth.

Branston Brown Sauce clearly dominates in overall preference.

So what didn’t people like about the HP Sauce Birmingham variety?

Spicy after taste.

Little vinegary aftertaste.

It tastes strange - kind of pungent.

Weird aftertaste.

Too strong. Didn’t taste anything like Kraft Barbecue Sauce.

Too strong, spices not very tasteful.

Very bitter.

Too tangy, reminds me of a cleaner.

Those whose least favourite was the HP Sauce (Heinz, Canada) variety said:

Way too sharp/piquant.

‘Chemical’ aftertaste.

Very Bitter

Too spicy…a weird spicy

And finally, the one negative comment received for Daddies Favourite:

Too sour tasting, too bland.

Conclusions:

As the results came in during the survey, I was initially quite surprised to learn that Branston Brown Sauce was doing so well. To my palette, Branston tastes the most similar to HP Sauce (Birmingham) and yet the Birmingham sauce showed 3^rd or 4^th on every result but one where it came in 2^nd. Daddies Favourite on the other hand tastes most similar to HP Sauce (Heinz, Canada) with both sauces having a somewhat sharper rather than tangy or malty flavour - especially true of the HP Sauce (Heinz, Canada) variety.

There are two things that stand out for me in this test. The first thing that jumps to mind is the obvious differences between the Canadian and British palette. If one were to conduct an identical test in the UK, I have little doubt the HP Sauce (Birmingham) would fare the best. Why? People here have different expectations of what makes a Brown Sauce. In essence, they don’t know.

Prior to the test, I was repeatedly asked by a co-worker to include A1 sauce which I adamantly refused. This test was designed to evaluate Brown Sauces and was not intended to include steak or BBQ sauces as Brown Sauce has a decidedly different flavour. Those who participated chose the sauce which best fit their existing descriptions of a BBQ sauce as that is really their only point of reference. Perhaps I should have asked if they would put any of the 4 sauces on a plate of fish & chips thereby modifying expectations. Would I put BBQ sauce on fish & chips? Never! A tangy, malty Brown Sauce? Absolutely!

The second issue that really stands out for me is just how different Canadian (and now presumably American) Heinz HP Sauce is from its British cousin. THEY ARE NOTHING LIKE EACH OTHER! North American HP Sauce is NOT HP Sauce! Those who believe that they are buying the genuine article when they pick up a bottle of HP Sauce in any Canadian supermarket are buying it under false assumptions. HP Sauce is sold here as a steak sauce. Even the description on the label has HP sauce italicized, suggesting more ’slight of hand’ at work behind the scenes.

This little experiment marks a turning point for www.brownsauce.org. This site is no longer HP Sauce exclusive. I welcome any visitor contributions which advocate authentic Brown Sauces, regardless of brand.

It is clear that Heinz intends on marketing HP Sauce in North America as a Steak or Barbecue sauce. This is a great shame as the North American market is now completely devoid of any authentic Brown Sauce options. British consumers would do well to keep an eye on Dutch bottled HP Sauce, that is of course if they haven’t already lost their appetite for it since the Birmingham factory closure.

^*Correction - April 23^rd: - Randall’s location is New Hampshire, USA