London Porter from Meantime Brewery exclusive to M&S

31/12/2020

Now this is a beer I'm looking forward to trying. Firstly it's a porter which is my favourite type of beer, and secondly it says it's smoky, and everything is better smoked. London Porter is brewed exclusively for M&S by Meantime Brewery in Greenwich, London, I don't usually shop at M&S but I won some vouchers so here we are trying a few of their beers. So far one has been good, and one has been awful so I'm very much just keeping my fingers crossed here.

London Porter comes in a pretty stylish 500ml bottle with a nice homage to Greenwich meantime and declares that the beer is 'brewed from a recipe from the 1700's using 7 malts', I do hope they blend together well. The beer boasts a potent enough 5.5% alcohol content, which should be enough to get your night started. I have to say London Porter pours beautifully. It's almost black, but near light you'll see a slight red tinge, there's a small tan head which holds reasonably well. There's just something about dark beers with decent heads which I always find attractive, maybe it's just the fond memories of drinking Guinness at university.

London Porter from Meantime Brewery exclusive to M&S

The aroma has plenty of chocolate and liquorice scents which combine nicely with the smoky malts in the background. The bottle says to expect caramel, but I'm really not getting that at all. On the bright side I think my love of smoky beers is pretty well known, and if you throw some chocolate in there too then this could be just about my perfect drink. I really do just hope that the taste matches the scent, if it does we could be in for something a bit special.

The texture is full bodied, creamy and smooth just like any good porter should be. The taste is certainly much more chocolate than caramel, which is a plus for me, and sure enough there's a reasonably smoky finish. I really do love smoked beers so I'm slightly disappointed that the smoke taste isn't as strong as in others I've had, but that may be best for most beer drinkers. This is a surprisingly sweet beer, but I really like it. I'm going to give London Porter 8.5 out of 10. With a bit more smoke it could have been a 9 or even a 9.5, but it feels like Meantime played it a little bit safe. Next time you're walking passed a Marks and Spencer's go in and grab yourself one of these they're really good.

0 Comments

Titanic Brewery White Star Beer Review

31/12/2020

0 Comments

I recently tasted one of the best beers I've ever tried, it was Plum Porter by Titanic, so I decided to buy a selection from the Stoke on Trent brewery. The pack of 12 came to £30 which isn't bad really, and included two White Star Golden Ales. I'm not really sure what made me try this beer first, maybe it was just because there were two of them so I thought I may as well get one out the way early before moving on through the selection. But anyway it really will take a lot for this to live up to the Plum Porter, and in all honesty I don't expect it too, but here's hoping.

White Star comes in the usual Titanic Brewery bottle style, which I quite like, although I'm not 100% sure invoking the memory of a sinking ship is the way for any business to go, still it's a nice 500ml bottle. The beer pours a very pale golden colour with virtually no head at all, which is unusual for a golden ale. For me the lack of head just doesn't look right, and the colour is just a bit too pale, something just doesn't feel quite right looking at this beer. The alcohol percentage is a fairly average 4.5% so you should be able to manage a couple without getting a bad head in the morning.

White Star has quite a faint aroma, it's quite hoppy though, with some citrus notes, and a bit of orange, which I guess compliments the look a bit. There's nothing about the smell which will put you off or entice you in, it's just fairly pleasant. So far this is a far cry from the Plum Porter which you can smell from two cities away. I'm starting to wonder if I maybe went a bit over the top buying so many Titanic beers at this point, but maybe the taste will put my mind at rest.

The texture is quite pleasant, this is certainly a very smooth beer that effortlessly slides down the throat. initially there's not much going on, there's a bit of fruit, a fair few hops, and an interesting, but pleasant sweetness. It's actually a little bland. However after a few sips something else starts coming through, an almost a creamy taste, which is really pleasant. The more of this I drink the more well balanced and tasty it seems to get, and that's not just because I'm getting more drunk. White Star seems to be a beer that takes it's time to impress you, but once it does you'll soon be wanting another, there's nothing flash or exciting in here, but it just tastes really nice.

I was hoping for something spectacular from Titanic's White Star, and it hasn't quite delivered that. However what it has delivered is an excellent, smooth beer, which you could drink pint after pint of on a night out. Despite the slow, uninspiring start I really like it. I'm going to give White Star by Titanic a very good 7.5 out of 10 genuinely if you see it available give it a go, and don't be put off my the first mouthful.

0 Comments

Titanic Brewery Steerage Beer Review

30/12/2020

0 Comments

It's time for another brew from Stoke on Trent's Titanic Brewery. In this case I'm going for their golden session ale Steerage. I've reviewed a few of their beers recently, some good, some bad, and a couple which have been excellent. Naturally I'm hoping this one will be one of their better offerings. I do have fairly high hopes as I love a good golden ale, it just reminds me of simpler times before craft beers started creating a whole plethora of weird and sometimes wonderful beers. Anyway me and some work friends always meet up between Christmas and New Year because they all just miss me so much when I'm off. So this beer was opened just before beginning a Skype call with them as due to covid this was the nearest thing we could get to having actual fun.

Steerage comes in the now very familiar standard 500ml Titanic Brewery bottle featuring a ship which will presumably sink in the near future, poor ship. At 3.8% this is certainly a session beer and most people should be able to manage a few before waking up the next day with a bad head and fuzzy memory. The beer pours a nice light gold/orange with a decent, but quickly vanishing head. I can't really complain about the looks of this beer, it just looks nice and drinkable. I'm sure we've all looked at a beer and thought this before only to be disappointed, but still it's not a bad start.

Steerage has a really nice floral aroma with hops and malts backing it up just about perfectly. It's also not too overpowering, which I guess is to be expected in a 3.8% beer. I don't know there's something about the look and smell of this beer which makes me think I'm probably going to like it more than the last couple of Titanic beers I've had. Maybe best I don't get my hopes up though, ever since been bowled over by their Plum Porter every other Titanic beer has been a bit of a let down, but that really is because that one raised the game so much.

Fortunately in the case of Steerage the taste is really nice. The texture is light and decidedly drinkable while the malts compliment the fruitiness really well. This is a quite a sweet beer with little or no bitter aftertaste, which makes a refreshing change. I don't think it'd be wrong to say this is just about the ideal session ale. Often these type of beers can be a bit bland, but there's just about enough going on with Steerage to really engage the pallet. This is one of those beers you can quite happily drink pint after pint of without getting bored, bloated, or excessively drunk. I really like Steerage from Titanic Brewery and am happy to award it 8 out of 10.

0 Comments

<<Previous