Category Archives: Beers

The beers

93. Meantime Coffee Porter

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There are no less than four Meantime beers in The Book, an honour shared only by Tadcaster’s Samuel Smith’s, and also the venerable Cantillon brewery, which you’ll remember I visited in Brussels.

Given that Meantime are based right here in South East London, it’s perhaps a little remiss that I’ve not managed to cover any of them yet. So to put things right, I headed over to Meantime’s neck of the woods, Greenwich, and to one of the two pubs that they own there, The Old Brewery.

The Old Brewery is a bar, restaurant and working microbrewery in the heart of Maritime Greenwich. Sited within the Old Naval College, right next to the Cutty Sark and the Thames, and with a spacious and attractive beer garden, I suspect I wouldn’t want to visit in the height of tourist season.

However, on a quiet Tuesday evening, it was a very pleasant place to sample a couple of different Meantime beers, including the Coffee Porter.

Meantime Coffee Porter

Strictly speaking, the Coffee Porter isn’t in The Book. However the “Coffee Beer”—which seems to have been based on a 4.0% ABV stout—no longer exists, and has been directly replaced within Meantime’s range by this somewhat stronger offering. I think this is as close as we’re likely to get.

This beer tends only to be available in bottles, and this being Meantime’s own pub, it’s presented here with a rather handsome branded glass.

For a porter, it appears surprisingly thin when poured, and it’s certainly quite rare to be able to see your own hand through a glass of porter. There’s a frothy tan head that dissipates fairly quickly.

And of course there’s a big, smoky aroma of coffee. Well, not actually of coffee, but of the sort of coffee flavouring you find in cakes, liqueurs and the like.

Thankfully, that thin appearance doesn’t translate into an unusually light body, and the coffee flavour tastes a lot more natural than it smells.

The Old Brewery, Greenwich

I don’t usually care for flavoured beers of any sort, but in this case the coffee flavour is subtle enough to work well, and does complement the underlying porter well. Having said that, there’s not a lot going on beyond the coffee.

This one was served chilled, which may not have helped, but as it warmed, more flavours did emerge, in particular quite a big, bitter finish that did make matters a little more satisfying.

If I’m struggling to sound enthusiastic, that’s probably more down to my tastes than anything specific about the quality of this beer, which it’s hard to fault. The Coffee Porter was pleasant enough as something a little bit different, but I’ll probably try something else next time I’m in Greenwich.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company, Blackwall Lane, London SE10
Style: Beers made with Fruit, Spices, Herbs and Seeds
Strength: 6.0% ABV
Found at: The Old Brewery, Greenwich, London SE10
Serving: 330ml bottle

92. Švyturys Ekstra

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This particular beer achieves several firsts for Threehundredbeers. For a start, it’s the first beer to be tackled from the Dortmunder Export chapter of The Book, and it’s also certainly the first Lithuanian beer I’ve ever tried.

Finally, this is the first bottle from an interesting case of beers ordered from Beers of Europe. We’ll be seeing a few more from that batch before long, and there are a couple of intriguing ones in there, so do stay tuned.

Let’s start with Švyturys Ekstra, a rather handsomely presented Lithuanian lager.

Švyturys Ekstra - lid

Dortmunder Export-style lagers originated in Germany, and tend to be made with darker malts than, say, Pilsners, while being slightly higher in alcohol. Not all of the sugar is fermented off, potentially making for a slightly sweeter-tasting end result.

Švyturys Ekstra seems, then, to be surprisingly pale in colour, being a very light straw colour with a frothy but quite thin white head. It tastes like a fairly standard lager, though it’s slightly fuller-bodied and smoother than expected. There is a sweetness there, but it’s thankfully more of a malty than a sugary one.

Švyturys Ekstra

I chilled this one, but as it warms a lot more flavour comes out, including some citrus notes, and a surprisingly big, bitter hoppy finish.

This isn’t a bad beer by any means, and it’s kind of refreshing and easy-drinking, but it’s not an easy one to get excited about. If you like lager you’ll certainly like it a lot, and if you don’t, then Švyturys Ekstra probably won’t change your mind.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: UAB „Švyturys – Utenos alus“, Klaipėda, Lithuania
Style: Dortmunder Export
Strength: 5.2% ABV
Found at: Beers of Europe
Serving: 500ml bottle

91. Ringwood Old Thumper

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Whoops. I must have bought this one at my corner shop quite some time ago, because I found it in the kitchen last night, and it’s almost five months out of date.

In a way, that may be no bad thing, because as those with a keen eye will recognise, this is the old Old Thumper, a beer which was last year watered down from 5.6% to 5.1% and rebranded.

This could then be one of the very last bottles of the older, stronger stuff. Whilst it would be unfair to review a beer that had gone off, let’s give this one a chance. It’s long overdue that we should crack it open, pour it into an inappropriately-branded glass, and see if it has survived.

Ringwood Old Thumper

Pouring a rich, burnished bronze colour with a smallish tan head, I’m a tiny bit concerned that this one looks a little cloudier than I remember Old Thumper being. That said, it’s a long old while since I’ve had one, so I could be imagining it.

It smells just fine, with a peppery yet sweet and malty waft that’s highly reminiscent of Fuller’s ESB, perhaps no great surprise as Old Thumper belongs firmly within the same style of beer, and indeed the same chapter of The Book.

I’d better taste it. Well, there’s certainly nothing wrong with this one. It’s a good, strong-tasting beer, again very similar to the ESB. It’s rich and dark and and full of chewy malts and dried fruit.

There are citrus notes too, particularly mandarin, tangerine, that sort of thing. It’s actually a really tasty beer, and I’m wondering how on earth it managed to avoid getting drunk for so long.

I’m even starting to wonder if the extra time in the bottle might even have improved it, as there’s a robustness and a rich caramel sweetness that remind me strongly of another Fuller’s beer, the Vintage Ale. It’s lovely stuff, and I could drink another one, if it were still possible to buy it.

I suppose at some point I should try a bottle of the newer, weaker Old Thumper, but I do worry that it could be quite a disappointment if it turns out they’ve compromised it at all.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Ringwood Brewery, Ringwood, Hampshire, England
Style: Extra Strong Beers and Bitters
Strength: 5.6% ABV
Found at: Jolly Good News, Rosendale Road, London SE24
Serving: 500ml bottle

90. St. Sylvestre 3 Monts

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Now then, here’s something a little bit exciting. This is the first French beer to be featured on 300 Beers, and moreover it’s the first Bière de Garde I’ve ever tried, as far as I can remember.

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The term “Bière de Garde” means “beer for keeping”, a name which harks back to times when beer was a seasonal product. This style of beer was brewed on farms during February and March, then stored in oak casks for drinking during the summer months.

St. Sylvestre 3 Monts is considered something of a classic of the style, though it has only been in existence since 1985. It can also be reasonably tricky to find, but once again, Utobeer came up with the goods this weekend.

Some beers really are meant for sharing, and weighing in at 8.5% ABV and coming in a generously sized 750ml bottle, this should probably be one of them.

Conveniently enough, Threehundredbeers had been invited out to deepest, darkest Essex for excellent food and company by good friends Ben & Sophie, which seemed as good an excuse as any to crack this one open.

As it turned out, I was glad to have some help with the actual cracking, because this is not the easiest of beers to get into. There’s a sort of Champagne-cork style arrangement held in place with a sturdy staple, all sealed under a plastic sleeve.

St. Sylvestre 3 Monts

Once actually opened, 3 Monts pours a deep golden colour, with a frothy white head of foam. It’s certainly an effervescent beer.

Despite this technically being an ale, since it is warm-fermented, the first taste is distinctly lagery. Perhaps that isn’t surprising, as 3 Monts is made with Pilsner malts. Beyond that, it’s mellow and subtle, and doesn’t shout. Sophie, the non-beer drinker of the three of us, hit the nail on the head by declaring “that’s actually quite nice”.

And it is too. It’s modest enough to complement food without upstaging it, yet robust enough to hold its own against spicier flavours.

While 3 Monts isn’t especially hoppy, the finish is bitter enough to keep things satisfying. The magic really happens as the beer warms slightly to about cellar temperature, when drier, more biscuity malt flavours come through, and there’s even a hint of sour appearing.

Although 3 Monts is filtered, I suspect that sour note would become more prominent with ageing, as is the case with Orval, for example. If I can find another bottle, I may attempt to find out.

Interestingly, we all agreed that the hefty 8.5% alcohol payload was remarkably well integrated: this is not a boozy beer by any means. Instead it’s a great beer for sharing, and is the perfect accompaniment to great food and great company.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: La Brasserie de St-Sylvestre, Saint-Sylvestre-Cappel, France
Style: Bières de Garde
Strength: 8.5% ABV
Found at: Utobeer, Borough Market, London SE1
Serving: 750ml bottle

89. Oakham JHB

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Here’s a beer that I’ve had my eye on for a while, being more than a little familiar with some of Oakham’s beers, including their classic Citra, a very highly-regarded hoppy Pale Ale.

This one, the relatively sober 3.8% Jeffrey Hudson Bitter, or JHB to its mates, had eluded me for some time. That is, until I discovered that Oakham themselves have a pub in London—just the one, mind—and it’s near enough to my house to make a nifty bank holiday afternoon excursion eminently achievable.

Let’s pay a visit to Oaka at The Mansion House: part Asian restaurant, part rather smart bar, and permanent home to a very well-kept pint of Oakham JHB.

Oakham JHB at Oaka, Kennington

JHB is served here in peak condition, and in a handsome Oakham-branded pint glass. For a beer that styles itself a Bitter, JHB is remarkably pale, and is in fact a very pleasing golden colour with a spotlessly white head.

One taste confirms that it’s a Bitter alright, albeit a very light, delicate example of the style. While the flavours are all quite subtle, you can make out butter, banana and vanilla notes, and there’s a lightly bitter, hoppy finish to keep things satisfying and thirst-quenching.

You can sort of see why JHB has won every CAMRA award going, in some cases several times. But while I can’t find a single thing actually wrong with JHB, I wouldn’t describe this as the most exciting beer I’ve ever drunk. Still, that probably isn’t the point: instead it’s a hopelessly drinkable, sessionable ale.

If you’re after a beer that you could drink several pints of without falling over, yet do actually care what it tastes like, I’m not sure you could do much better than Oakham JHB.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Oakham Ales, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England
Style: Golden Ales
Strength: 3.8% ABV
Found at: Oaka at The Mansion House, Kennington Park Road, London SE11
Serving: Cask, pint

88. Köstritzer Schwarzbier

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It’s long overdue that I should make my first visit to the Holborn Whippet, a craft-focused beer and food pub in Sicilian Avenue.

I’ve been a big fan of the Whippet’s sister pub, the Pelt Trader on Dowgate Hill, since it opened while I worked in the City, and who I know happen to keep this beer on tap continuously.

However, the Pelt Trader is closed on Saturdays and Threehundredbeers is thirsty, so to the Holborn Whippet it is, for a pint of this slightly rare, yet reasonably-priced Black Lager from somewhere deep in the German countryside.

Köstritzer Schwarzbier at the Holborn Whippet

Poured from a tap embedded in a brick wall behind the bar, Köstritzer Schwarzbier looks more like a stout than a lager, being such a deep red colour that it appears black until you hold it up to the sunlight, with a thick tan head.

And yet a lager it is, being cold-fermented, while it gets its colour from being made with roasted malts, just as a stout is.

The first taste is smooth, sweet and malty, with very little in the way of hop bitterness. The beer is full of big date and dried fruit flavours, with a noticeable burst of what I can only describe as lageriness at the end.

Finally there’s a slightly roasty, bitter finish courtesy of those dark malts. The result is broadly similar to a Vienna lager, such as Brooklyn Lager, but with all the flavours turned up a bit.

There’s a lot going on which, when combined with the unfamiliarity of the style, makes for a slightly odd beer experience. It’s very drinkable, but perhaps a little too rich for me to want to drink more than a pint or two.

I can’t see this one becoming a regular favourite of mine, but I’m glad I’ve had the chance to try it, and so big thanks to the Holborn Whippet for stocking a beer that very few other bars do.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei, Bad Köstritz, Germany
Style: Black and Dark Lagers
Strength: 4.8% ABV
Found at: The Holborn Whippet, Sicilian Avenue, London WC1A
Serving: Keg, pint

87. Rodenbach Grand Cru

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Since we’re in the West End, let’s pop into Lowlander, a super little specialist beer café on Drury Lane.

Threehundredbeers is a big fan of Lowlander: with friendly, efficient table service, a very impressive range of—typically, but not exclusively Belgian—beers, and a sophisticated yet relaxed atmosphere, it’s as close to being back in Brussels as one can get in London.

Of course, you’ll pay exactly twice as much for a given beer as you’d pay in, say, Poechenellekelder, but hey, this is London, and if you can find this range of beers cheaper elsewhere, well done you.

And this beer certainly is something a little out of the ordinary. Indeed, Rodenbach Grand Cru is in a chapter all of its own in The Book: it’s categorised as a Belgian Sour Red Beer, which describes it rather well—it is all four of those things—though the style is often known as Flanders Red.

Rodenbach Grand Cru

Rodenbach Grand Cru pours a lovely deep reddish brown colour, with a modest layer of tan foam sat nonchalantly on the top. The first sip is both sweet and sour in equal measure. Those flavours are followed by a smooth malty body full of tangy dried fruits, pepper and musty wild yeast.

If you concentrate, you can also detect the woody edge that results from the beer having spent the better part of two years ageing in oak barrels before bottling.

As someone whose experience of sour beers has been limited to things like Gueuzes from Cantillon, and The Kernel’s hugely refreshing London Sour, this one comes as quite a surprise. One doesn’t expect sourness from a beer of this colour, or as full-bodied as this.

And yet it works remarkably well: with a Gueuze it can sometimes be hard to taste anything beyond the sourness, but as a red beer, this is so well-balanced, with its malty sweetness complementing the sour beautifully.

Lowlander Grand Café

This is a deeply complex beer. There’s so much going on that the experience of drinking it is closer to enjoying a fine wine than to knocking back a pint or two of lager in your local. It’s even served in what appears to be an oversized wine glass.

Rodenbach Grand Cru really is special. It’s a fine beer, though as with other sours, I can’t imagine wanting to drink more than one or two in a session. That said, this is definitely one beer I’m glad that the blog has introduced me to, and one that I’ll be enjoying again as soon as I can.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Brouwerij Rodenbach, Roeselare, Belgium
Style: Belgian Sour Red Beer
Strength: 6.0% ABV
Found at: Lowlander Grand Café, Drury Lane, London WC2B
Serving: 330ml Bottle

86. Koningshoeven La Trappe Dubbel

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The next stop on our brief tour of London’s West End takes us to De Hems, a historically Dutch-run pub and former oyster bar, music industry meeting place and alternative comedy venue on the edge of Chinatown.

De Hems, London

De Hems is steeped in history, but has fairly recently become part of the Nicholson’s empire of chain pubs.

It’s to Nicholson’s credit, though, that they haven’t squeezed the life out of it. De Hems is thankfully more like a continental beer café than a London chain pub, and its array of Dutch and Belgian beers, its list of bewilderingly-named Dutch foodstuffs, and its friendly welcome mean it remains as popular with natives of the Netherlands as with London office workers.

Most usefully for 300 Beers, it also has this particular Trappist ale on tap.

Koningshoeven La Trappe Dubbel

The Dutch-based Koningshoeven abbey was until recently the only Trappist brewery outside Belgium. It can be reasonably tricky to find their beer in the UK even in bottles, and I’m not aware of it being available on tap anywhere else.

You could have a pint if you liked, but as this one weighs in at 7.0% ABV and it’s lunchtime, we’ll stick to a half and enjoy having it served in the correct glassware, as is typically the case at De Hems.

Served from keg it’s a little too cold, but as it warms in your hand it reveals itself to be the archetypal Trappist Dubbel: full of dates, sultanas and malt loaf. La Trappe Dubbel is smooth and very easy-drinking, and while the malty sweetness means it never quite tastes its full 7%, there’s a nice, warming booziness all the same.

While a little lighter-bodied than the Westmalle Dubbel, La Trappe is still less watery than the Chimay Rouge, both obvious points of reference for what is a very similar beer. The finish is satisfyingly peppery and perhaps a little moreish.

Moreish enough that I had a second one anyway, and have since been back to De Hems for more, drawing a knowing smile from the barman. There are two more La Trappe beers to be tracked down, and I wonder if we may have to travel further than Chinatown to find them.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Abdij Onze Lieve Vrouw van Koningshoeven, Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands
Style: Trappist Beers
Strength: 7.0% ABV
Found at: De Hems, Macclesfield Street, London W1D
Serving: Keg, half pint

85. Budweiser Budvar

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Allow me, dear reader, to take you on a brief stroll down Memory Lane, or a least down St. Martin’s Lane, to a magnificent little pub in the heart of London’s West End named The Salisbury.

The Salisbury is a bit of a stunner: a proper old Victorian pub, with a well preserved Gin Palace interior full of etched mirrors, brass statuary and wood panelling, and more history than you can shake a stick at.

This is a pub where Dylan Thomas, Michael Caine and Terence Stamp have drunk, where Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton held their second wedding reception, and where Gered Mankowitz famously photographed a beautiful 27-year-old Marianne Faithfull in the 1960s.

Now, bear with me when I tell you that we’re going to have a pint of lager.

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It’s a good, Czech lager all the same and—you may be surprised to learn—it’s what I used to drink of a far-too-regular lunch hour or evening in the Salisbury many years ago, when I used to work just around the corner. See, Memory Lane after all.

There isn’t much to say about Budvar itself, in all honesty, unless one wants to read all about their legal struggles with Anheuser Busch once again, in which case go here. It’s a fizzy, golden confection, quite drinkable as lagers go, with a malty, floral taste and a slightly sweet finish. But it’s served here in peak condition, and in the correct glassware, which is why I brought you back here.

Beer aside, it’s great to see that The Salisbury is still in good hands: manager Jas is still in charge, running a tight ship as always, keeping the pub resolutely sports-free, and effortlessly switching between languages as he guides tourists through a minefield of unfamiliar beers and British pub customs.

Easily one of the better pubs in the area, a bit of nostalgia for your correspondent, and that’s 85 beers ticked off. If that was a bit boring, I have number 100 sat in The Official 300 Beers Cellar (my kitchen) and I can almost taste it now.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Budějovický Budvar, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Style: Pale Lagers
Strength: 5.0% ABV
Found at: The Salisbury, St. Martin’s Lane, London WC2N
Serving: Keg, pint

84. Bush Ambrée

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Let’s continue on our mission to sample our way through the impressive Poechenellekelder beer menu, this time with a daunting 12.0% ABV Belgian amber beer, Bush Ambrée.

Bush Ambrée at Poechenellekelde, Brussels

The deep, rich golden beer certainly looks the part, and as with every single beer I tried at Poechenellekelder—and indeed anywhere in Brussels—it’s served in the correct glassware, in this case a rather nice looking Bush-branded chalice with a pleasing cracked glass effect.

The bottle claims this to be “The Strongest Belgian Beer”, which is a bit of a stretch since the same brewery makes at least two stronger ones, but still, as only the second beer of the evening, I’m already wondering if I’ve peaked too early.

One sip is enough to reassure me that this was a good choice. Sure, it’s boozy, but the warming alcohols are balanced out with a rich, spiced-honey sort of sweetness and a smooth, full body full of delicious sappy malts.

Bush Ambrée is reminiscent of a Barleywine, and while similar in style to Pauwel Kwak, it’s a little lighter and less sticky, making it even more easy-drinking. Which could get dangerous.

But having said that, I really enjoy the culture and civility around beer drinking in Begium. While many of the beers are hopelessly strong, the emphasis is always on quality over quantity. Table service and slow, measured enjoyment of the product are the norm, rather than a fight to the bar and necking as many pints of lager as you can before the bell rings, which is more the British approach.

I rounded off the visit to Poechenellekelder with a delicious, dark St. Bernardus Abt 12. That one isn’t The Book, but it’s probably a good job, since my notes start to become a little less legible at this point.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Brasserie Dubuisson, Chaussée de Mons, Pipaix, Belgium
Style: Old Ales, Barley Wines and Vintage Ales
Strength: 12.0% ABV
Found at: Poechenellekelder, Rue du Chêne, Brussels, Belgium
Serving: 330ml Bottle