Meantime London Pale Ale

There is something about a 500ml bottle which i find so attractive..... i guess its the fact that there is a lot of beer in it..... These English 'pub style' beers always come in the big bottles (like Ruddles county ale, anyone know where i can get one?) I think the reason for the big bottle is the fact that it always takes i while for you to get used to the taste. 

This London Pale from Meantime (best modern brewery in the world) starts off pretty aggressively.  It's 5.4%. Its an ugly brown amber colour and it tastes very carbonic. It takes a while for the thing to settle down, and release some wonderful flavours. Its got some stewy fruit, but not in a creamy Belgian sort of way, more a thin, burnt yeasty kind of way, tasty but a bit serious for me.

It really took me a while to get into this beer and it wasn't until i had the last sip that i got the hang of it.

Meantime don't have any tasting notes on their web site for this beer.

Dan

Guinness Draught

Guinness Draught
alc - 4.2% alc/vol
price - $4 can, $15 4pk

I thought I'd review Guinness seeing as it's St Patrick's Day.
And really what more can be said about Guinness other than it's a big pint of liquid food. Many times I remember when I was younger putting off buying food and instead buying a few cans of Guinness.

It's blacker than night with a off white head. Smells of dark coffee with slightly peaty dirty hints. On the palate it's much the same with coffee and roasted malt being the driving force. It seems a lot lighter than I remember, maybe that's just the canned version but it's still an enjoyable drink. Not sure if I'd be able to put away as many as I used to but I sure would try.

Just on a side note there are a few countries around the world that are allowed to brew Guinness under licence, Australia is one of them and so is Nigeria. When I worked in Scotland I was fortunate enough to come across the Nigerian version which was an absolute ball buster rating in at around 7.9% alcohol, if you ever get the chance to try one you would be doing yourself a favour.

Graham

Meantime Union

alc - 4.9% abv

origin - Greenwich, London

cost - $5 approx

Now I am a big fan of meantime and those crazy lads know how to brew a beer. I have to say the label is a shocker, it puts customers off buying it so much that I had to buy the last two bottles of this beer even though I think it's really really good.

The label says it is a unique fusion of lager and dark beer, on the nose I get lots of roasted coffee, malty notes that suggest dark beer. Good. But where is the lager part...on the palate it has very light choco-coffee notes, but absolutely no lager-esque qualities.

The more I taste this the more I really like it, it could be the cooler weather of late that is swaying me but it's really enjoyable. I haven't seen this balance of maltiness and drinkability in an Aussie dark beer, I guess now it's cooling down, winter may have to be a time to drink more so I can support more Australian brewers. 

And yet again....well done Meantime!!

Graham

I agree with Graham. Its a funny beer. The lack of bitterness and 'full on' blackness of this beer left me a bit confused at first, but by the time i finished the bottle it had really grown on me. It would be great for winter...... if Graham had not bought the last of it, i could have one!

The boys (and possibly girls) at Meantime keep giving. I just tried their 'London Pale Ale' which i will blog in a couple of days.

Dan

Grolsch

Grolsch is everywhere at the moment. I got a case for $38 from one of those generic, whatever, boring bottle shops we are so blessed to have on every street corner in Brisbane... 

The packaging has changed a bit and i thought to my self ' i wonder if those clever people at Fosters are brewing it under licence in Australia?' They have ruined so many other beers why stop now. Thankfully these are fully imported and cheep!

The first sip reminded me of a Peroni. Fresh and crisp, a really refreshing style beer which can quench a thirst (i could drink about 30 of these). But its got a bit more rounded flavour. It reminds me of what Stella used to taste like before Fosters screwed it up (did i just make another dig at Fosters??).

There is a bit of citrus and the hop flavour is very soft with a wonderful dry finish. This really is a good easy drinking beer.

Hitting the spot right now.

Cheers

Dan