So far have focused a lot...ok I lie... exclusively on beer from Belgium in these passages. It wasn't something I intended to do always but something that I thought I'd start with because a) I feel I know most about the region and b) I think it's the best. Or thought. It's not that I have now wholeheartedly changed my mind, it's that I have a much higher regard for beer brewed on my doorstep.
It's hard to ignore the impressive heritage of England (or more specifically London and Burton) as a brewing powerhouse and pioneer and I have drunk many a pint of English ale. I'd even say that I'm very familiar with London's foremost independent brew house (in my opinion), Meantime. I mention Meantime because on Friday I was at their 'Beer Masterclass' and was given, basically, the 101 of brewing and beer history. This is by the by; I know a lot about how beer is made already and a fair bit about its history. That it was well presented by the staff and my knowledge improved by some practical examples and well-rehearsed anecdotes is great, but not ground-shaking and certainly not enough for me to start tapping on the way home. What gets me really tapping is one thing: beer. More specifically, excellent beer.
I'm sure many of you will have tried Meantime's Pale Ale or London Porter at your local well-stocked pub or supermarket. But have you been to the 'Old Brewery' bar and restaurant on the site of the Naval College? Me neither until Friday. I've never been knocked out by Meantime's wares. Sure, they know how to package and present a beer. Their Chocolate Stout is very good but I've always found their Pale and Wheat ales more of a solid choice, a benchmark for an establishment deciding to expand their choice of drinks rather than really swinging the fist of choice right at your chops. Until I visited the Old Brewery.
There's a chap there called Rod who runs a Micro Brewery of pretty small proportions in association with Meantime. I say in association because he doesn't brew any of the beers the main house brew and you can't buy any if his beers anywhere other than that pub. Meantime's bottled and cask stuff is brewed down the road in a Micro Brewery which is fairly on the large side and expanding. I'm not cynical of the union but in the cold light of day I'm struggling to see the link between the two.
But down to business. What does he brew? Well, I can't tell you in great detail as a lot of the day was (perfectly enjoyable) chat about aforementioned stuff and even over lunch, with beer/food matching, we drank their standard stuff. But in the afternoon, over some history, we sampled two of his beers.
The first was 'Saaz Gold', made with Saaz hops, something I (incorrectly) associate with thin, pale pilsners devoid of strong flavours. How very wrong I was. The appearance of the beer was a thick gold brew with a nice cloudiness to it, not dissimilar to their standard wheat beer, with a fairly quickly fading head. No dramas yet. Until you smelled it. Now it's fair to say that the smell of a beer is something very important to me and I'm not shy about saying that I think that this is probably the best smelling beer I've ever encountered. It smelled of mango yoghurt, but in a really, really good way. And of excellent beer, of course! I really couldn't stop smelling it. I felt like a bit of a wally in that room, just snorting away, trying to listen to historical anecdotes as we went along. Mango, of all things! But not like the usual tropical fruit aromas. In a way that if I shut my eyes and you gave me a spoon I'd scoop away and be in for a real surprise when I didn't find yoghurt.
Taste-wise, the fruitiness is present, but in a much more subtle way. The main event here is light biscuit malt and a nice body to the beer. Unfortunately I can't really remember the aftertaste because I was too busy trying to be polite and listening to the class I was in. I accept full responsibility but hope that it will just encourage you to go and visit and complete the taste notes yourself.
The next beer we drank, which was once again presented without much context (but still very welcome) was their October beer, or Märzen (beer brewed in March to drink in October). You all know the October tradition in Germany. Once again there was prodigious aroma. Earlier on in the day we had a good whiff of some malted barley and in its raw state it's pretty pungent. Not many beers retain that smell but Rod's Märzen had bags of it and it continued in the flavour in the mouth. Once again, I'm afraid I don't have extensive notes but I think I've taken away something better than that: inspiration.
So much so that I'll be travelling to Greenwich again at the weekend to sample more of Rod's smashing beer. If you can, I strongly advise you do too.
Meantime Saaz Gold - 10
Meantime October Beer - 9
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