Category Archives: Beers

The beers

3. Shepherd Neame Bishop’s Finger

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This is the first of the 300 beers that I tend to drink from time to time even when I’m not obliged to by this ridiculous challenge.

Shepherd Neame Bishop’s Finger is a bit of a classic. It’s a Best Bitter and has been brewed in Kent since 1958, but only on Fridays, for some reason. I’m led to believe that it’s the only British beer to be granted a Protected Geographical Indication by the EU, meaning that only Bishop’s Finger may call itself a “Kentish Strong Ale”.

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It’s a distinctly dark and full-flavoured brew, which is no bad thing in my book. It packs in hefty malt, dried fruit and hop flavours along with an interesting wine-like finish. There’s a lot going on, but it really does combine into a balanced whole.

Bishop’s Finger would go particularly well with traditional food, such as a hearty beef casserole or game sausages and mash.

Highly recommended, and relatively easy to find these days too. I picked it up in my local corner shop along with a couple of other goodies that I’ll be sharing with you before long.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Shepherd Neame, Faversham, Kent, England
Style: Best Bitters
ABV: 5.4%
Found at: Jolly Good News, Rosendale Road, London SE24
Dispense: 500ml Bottle

2. Goose Island IPA

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Beer number two on our journey, and we’re already globetrotting. It’s straight across the Atlantic to Chicago to see if our American cousins can knock up a decent India Pale Ale.

I do like a good IPA, and am instinctively sceptical about the idea of this most British of beers being brewed abroad, but I know IPA is all the rage on the thriving US craft brewing scene, so let’s give it a try.

Goose Island IPA

There’s a huge white head straight out of the bottle, and this is certainly an aromatic beer, with plenty of floral, citrus and of course hop aromas. There’s no doubt that this is an IPA. There’s also something a bit soapy about the nose, but it isn’t overpowering.

This beer is apparently made with water from Lake Michigan, and is bottle conditioned, so there’s a tiny amount of yeast collecting at the bottom of the bottle. This is a very good sign indeed.

Goose Island IPA is a little fuller-bodied and much sweeter than the modern British IPAs, as exemplified by something like Thornbridge’s excellent Jaipur (which we’ll encounter in the fullness of time), but I think that’s quite typical of the American approach to the style.

There’s a pleasing, lingering bitterness, but for me the sweetness does mar the overall flavour. I just don’t want beer to make my teeth hurt.

Overall, a perfectly decent example of the style, but perhaps not one I’ll return to in a hurry.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, IL
Style: India Pale Ales
ABV: 5.9%
Found at: Sainsbury’s, Westow Street, London SE19
Dispense: 355ml Bottle-conditioned

1. Robinson’s Old Tom

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Where better to start then, than with the self-professed “World’s Best Ale”? At least, that’s what it says on the bottle, although it doesn’t elaborate on the basis for the claim. I think we’ll be the judge of that.

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Old Tom is a strong Old Ale weighing in at a daunting 8.5% ABV which, following on from Old Freddy Walker’s 7.3%, is enough to have me thinking this 300 beer challenge could be more than I bargained for.

The beer pours a very dark ruby colour, with a large off-white head that quickly dissipates to a faint lacing. There’s a toffee/caramel nose that suggests we can expect a lot of sweetness to help cover that hefty ABV.

So, is this the world’s best ale? Well, no. In fact it’s pretty unpleasant. That tooth-jangling sweetness is there in abundance, while the body is cloyingly sticky and thinner than Posh Spice’s left contact lens.

Aside from the sugar, the predominant flavours are of an inevitable hangover and £2.15 that I’ll never have back, though there’s a smoky, bonfire toffee note that just about saves this beer from being utterly repugnant.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Robinsons, Stockport, England
Style: Old Ales, Barley Wines and Vintage Ales
Strength: 8.5% ABV
Found at: Sainsbury’s, Westow Street, London SE19
Dispense: 330ml Bottle