97. Meantime Raspberry Wheat Beer

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Now, cards on the table, I’m not sure I’m going to like this one. Not that Meantime would ever make a bad beer, but if there are two styles I don’t tend to care much for, it’s wheat beers, and beers with any kind of fruit in them.

And here we are then, a Raspberry Wheat Beer. Still, it’s a good excuse for another trip back to The Old Brewery in Greenwich, where we sampled the Coffee Porter a week or so ago.

Meantime Raspberry Wheat Beer

Much like the Coffee Porter, the Raspberry Wheat Beer is an ever-so-slight substitution for the original beer in The Book. The “Red Beer” covered in there no longer exists, but a touch of research suggests this one to be almost identical in all but name and ABV, being a fraction stronger at 5%. If anyone can confirm or deny this, do let me know in the comments.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Raspberry Wheat Beer pours a pleasingly cloudy, frothy orangey-pink colour, and there’s an immediate waft of raspberry filling the air. Upon seeing a grown man drink a pink beer, one nearby American tourist did look a bit puzzled, but I can live with that.

To taste, it’s certainly fruity, but thankfully not over-sweet, which really wouldn’t be to my taste. Instead, the fruit is tart, perhaps slightly bitter, and perfectly balanced, with the tiniest hint of sourness. In fact the effect is more reminiscent of a Kriek, such as the Cantillon one, than any raspberry beer I can remember.

I think I detect Belgian yeast in there too, and all in all it quickly becomes apparent that these Meantime chaps really do know what they’re doing. It’s an extremely high-quality beer, and almost despite myself, I find myself enjoying it greatly.

Served chilled, the Raspberry Wheat Beer is hugely refreshing, and this would be a great summer afternoon beer. That said, even on a rainy evening in South East London, it’s no hardship to drink it. It was a very pleasant change from the usual, even though next time I’m in Greenwich I’d probably still opt for the IPA or the very tasty new Black Pale.

In conclusion, I’d say that this beer is a great example of why I persist with this ridiculous blog project. I simply wouldn’t have tried this beer otherwise, and I really would have been missing out.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company, Blackwall Lane, London SE10
Style: Beers made with Fruit, Spices, Herbs and Seeds
Strength: 5.0% ABV
Found at: The Old Brewery, Greenwich, London SE10
Serving: 330ml bottle

96. Koningshoeven La Trappe Tripel

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I very much enjoy my all-too-infrequent visits to the splendid Lowlander on Drury Lane. To while away an afternoon being waited on by their charming and tirelessly efficient young staff, who unhesitatingly fetch you round after round of hopelessly strong beers at the slightest invocation, is one of London’s great pleasures.

You’ll remember that we previously enjoyed that rather special Rodenbach Grand Cru there a little while ago, but we haven’t exhausted the intersection between Lowlander’s extensive beer menu and the 300 Beers Todo List by any means. Let’s beckon our serveuse over and order a bottle of La Trappe Tripel.

Koningshoeven La Trappe Tripel

As I mentioned when I covered La Trappe Dubbel a little while ago, the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Koningshoeven brewery is the only Trappist brewery in the Netherlands, and as such brews what may be regarded as quite typically Belgian beer styles.

The Tripel is no exception. Blonder, hoppier and a little stronger than the Dubbel at 8.0%, the La Trappe Tripel is absolutely typical of its style, the archetype for which is of course the Westmalle Tripel.

This is a remarkably similar beer. One whiff and I’m back in Brussels, as the Belgian yeast, subtle hops and that distinctive dried banana aroma flow freely forth. To taste, it’s fresh, zesty and astonishingly light for an eight percenter.

As it warms, peppery, spicy notes come through, and while I wouldn’t have identified it myself, it’s not entirely surprisingly to learn that the monks brew this one with a touch of coriander. It contributes a spicy heat and adds complexity, though the beer isn’t lacking in that already.

I’m becoming quite fond of this brewery, though I’d tend to lean towards their 10% ABV Quadrupel, a couple of which are quietly ageing in the Official 300 Beers Cellar (a cardboard box in the spare room). That one isn’t in The Book, but there is one more La Trappe beer to track down. Stay tuned.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Abdij Onze Lieve Vrouw van Koningshoeven, Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands
Style: Trappist Beers
Strength: 8.0% ABV
Found at: Lowlander Grand Café, Drury Lane, London WC2B
Serving: 330ml bottle

95. McMullen’s AK

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I had wondered if I was going to have to make a trip up to Hertfordshire for this one. McMullen’s appear to have countless pubs up that way, but happily I found this pint of AK a little closer to home, or at least to work.

The Spice of Life in Soho is quite familiar to me, having worked just across the road a few years ago. It’s a famous place, apparently a cornerstone of both the folk and later punk movements. It’s now a fairly traditional and very pleasant London boozer with charmingly friendly staff, but it still hosts regular live music, and the fish and chips I used to enjoy there is among the best I’ve ever had.

Yet I hadn’t twigged it was a McMullen’s pub, and so would perhaps be able to help 300 Beers out, until I started work in the area again recently. It’s time for a brief jaunt up to the far end of Soho.

McMullen's AK

McMullen’s AK is listed in The Book under Brown and Mild Ales, which I find hard to understand. I can’t believe it has changed much in the intervening years, but it’s absolutely, unquestionably an English bitter these days.

As such it pours a typical copper colour with a thinnish cream-coloured head that fades quickly. The aroma is all floral English hops, with a hint of pepperiness that carries through to the flavour.

It’s in impeccable condition here, as you’d hope from the brewery’s own pub, but even so I’m finding it hard to conjure up much to say about it. It’s your standard session bitter—refreshing, tasty and, well, bitter, but it isn’t deeply exciting.

Again, as with the Oakham JHB, that probably isn’t the point. I personally prefer a beer that packs a bit more of a wallop, but if you like a decent cask bitter, you won’t find much to complain about with this one.

Indeed, if you like “Real Ale” but are looking for something with a bit more flavour, I’m pleased to note that the McMullen’s IPA and also the Country Bitter at the Spice of Life are very enjoyable beers indeed.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: McMullen & Sons, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England
Style: Brown and Mild Ales
Strength: 3.7% ABV
Found at: The Spice of Life, Moor Street, London W1D
Serving: Cask, pint

94. Diebels Alt

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This bottle of Diebels Alt is the second beer from that Beers of Europe case I mentioned when we met Švyturys Ekstra. It’s also the first beer to be covered here from the Alt and Amber Beers chapter of The Book.

Diebel Alt - cap

Which is terribly exciting, not least because I don’t really know a great deal about the style at all. I know that Alt is a German style, and a little light reading tells me that it’s predominantly brewed in and around Düsseldorf, just as this one is.

Interestingly, it turns out that the Alt style predates the widespread proliferation of lager in Germany. That’s intriguing, because one tends to associate Germany strongly and almost exclusively with lagers such as Kölsch, perhaps with a few strange wheat beers thrown in for variety.

Which has me wondering what we’re in for. We’d better give this a try, then.

Diebels Alt

Diebels Alt immediately surprises me by coming out of the bottle remarkably dark. Held up to the light, it’s a really deep copper colour with a creamy white head.

In fact, it looks more like an English bitter than anything I had expected from Germany. Perhaps I shouldn’t have chilled this one overnight.

The beer smells deep and malty, a little like an ESB, but with a faint hoppy aroma that becomes distinctly peppery when you get your nose right in there.

And it tastes pretty blooming good, to be fair, especially after a long day at work. It’s dark and slightly sinister, with those peppery flavours coming through strongly and complementing the plentiful rich dried fruit notes. There’s a tiny hint of orange too, again reminding me of an ESB, in particular Fuller’s.

There’s a big old bitter finish, and a very modest degree of fizz, so despite being full of flavour, Diebels Alt is hopelessly easy-drinking. You never seem to see beers like this on tap in the UK, but it could be a great session pint, particularly served from a keg.

Well I never. That was all a bit of a pleasant surprise, and I wouldn’t mind another just now. Still, there was another Alt in that case, so I imagine we’ll be seeing that one in these pages before long.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Brauerei Diebels, Issum, Germany
Style: Alt and Amber Beers
Strength: 4.9% ABV
Found at: Beers of Europe
Serving: 500ml bottle

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.

image

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