Thursday 20 August 2009

First and Second Chances


I had my first bottle of Brew Dog Zeitgiest yesterday and have to report that it was absolutely excellent, fully living up to the praise heaped on it by various bloggers. Like a hoppy version of Kostritzer Schwarzbier agreed my drinking companion, friend and commentator on this blog and others, Erlangernick.

We had earlier started the day with a brilliant 3.5% beer from Hawkshead Brewery, which shows what a skilful brewer can do with a relatively weak beer. Windermere Pale was straw coloured, crisply hoppy, and thirst quenching with a lasting hoppy finish. The aforementioned Nick and his wife Becky both loved it, as did I. Well done Hawkshead. I also had two excellent halves of Meantime London Pale Ale, which was smoothly hoppy and full bodied, with a bitter resinous finish. Much more like it, worlds apart from my previous experience, and well worth that second chance.

This was a flying visit from Nick who was heading off for a few days holiday in Lancaster and the Southern Lakes, but I'll see him again on Sunday and next week in Bamberg. Did I mention I'm going to Bamberg next week? Well I have now.

I had a couple of fly pints of Pint in the Marble Arch on the way home. This beer is in knock-out form and must be one of the best cask beers in the UK at the moment.

Photo is Nick and Becki in Micro Bar

12 comments:

Mark Dredge said...

Marble Pint is, without doubt, my favourite cask UK beer right now. It's glorious stuff.

And yes, Zeitgeist is excellent and if you manage to find it in the cask then it's even better.

Jeff Pickthall said...

I thought Hawkshead Windermere Pale Ale very disappointing. Very earthen, undergrowthy flavour. In fact, it reminded of Robinsons (and I don't want reminding of Robbies, possibly ever)

Tandleman said...

Well, we can only speak as we find. Our experience of it was excellent. Maybe we hit it on top form and you didn't?

Sat In A Pub said...

Windermere Pale is superb and full of zesty hops. I can't even begin to imagine what condition Jeff's pint must have been in to remind him of Robbies!

John Clarke said...

Not that there is anything wrong with a well kept pint of Robbies.

Sat In A Pub said...

JC

Of course not-I am a Robbies fan after all. But I can't see the two being mistaken for each other.

John Clarke said...

Agreed - I have tried the Hawkshead beer and like you thought it was:

a) very good and
b) not at all like Robinsons

Whorst said...

"I had a couple of fly pints of Pint in the Marble Arch on the way home."

What the &^%$ does this mean? I'm guessing you had a couple of pints on the fly? Yes? If so, I've got it up to there. So, you had a couple of pints of Pint on the fly. What the *&^% is Pint??!! There is no link to a brewery, nada! Are you purposely trying to alienate your international readers? Please advise....

Tandleman said...

Fly pints - pints on the fly. It doesn't take a genius to work out the differences in idiom come to the same meaning.

Marble is a brewery, Marble Arch is the brewpub. "Pint" - daft name I know - is one of the (most excellent) beers. It's all been written in the blog before and a search would show that.

Most readers (who in my case are British) know that. International readers are welcome, as you have done, to seek clarification.

Whorst said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Whorst said...

Herr 'man, do read anything I write before you respond? Yes, I got it, pints on the fly, as indicated in my original post.

Tandleman said...

Of course Sausage. I was just agreeing with you that you'd got it.