The Beer Critic Beer reviews for beer enthusiasts.
It’s been a while. Since I have written, not had a beer. So with some encouragement and some beer here we go.
Last week I was shopping and came across an India Pale Ale 750ml bottle, I was in such a rush I didn’t read the label in its entirety. I saw India Pale Ale and ran with it. Well, much to my surprise it was from London. And with the Olympics still fresh in my mind I was very happy to come across it.
Meantime Brewery India Pale Ale
The name of the brewery is “Meantime” and knowing nothing of this brewery I had to research. This is the fun part, learning about new breweries. The brewery is fairly young founded in 1999 by Alastair Hook and some friends in Greenwich. In 2000 they built the largest and most expensive start up brewery the UK hasn’t seen in 80 years. In 2004 Meantime was the only British Brewery to win medals at the World Beer Cup. They won for their Munich Fest Beer and the original Union. More beer more awards and BOOM! Alastair Hook named 2008 Brewer of the Year by the British Guild of Beer Writers. Many other accolades and awards check out MeantimeBrewing.com to learn more about this Olympic sized brewery.
Now lets get to the beer. The bottle is pretty attractive with its long skinny neck, very different from other bottles. Dig the cork top. POP! Nice aroma, inviting amber copper color and terrific lacing. First sip… WHAO this is not what I expected. It was bitter with a smoke or toasted malt flavor and than mellows out with a slight fruit and caramel flavor and finishes dry with a slight taste of the alcohol. Did I mention the ABV was 7.5%.
This was a nice change from the usual IPA’s and very enjoyable. Was it an Olympic moment? You’ll have to judge that for yourself. I highly recommend giving Meantime India Pale Ale a try.
Cheers
`~bs
