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Are You Tasting the Pith? - 29th September 07
This week, a couple of beers from the local supermarket. Well, we can't be jetting off to New York or writing 2500 word essays on breweries every week, can we?
I'd seen Try'd & Tested (4.1% abv) (tagline: A Beer With Balls) a couple of times before I hauled some in. I don't know why I paused, perhaps the tagline put me off a bit, both the lame pun, and the association with the Rugby World cup. As it turns out, the Harviestoun brewery triumphs again. Although this beer is a bit of a diversion for them, they being better known for their pale bitters, this really hits the spot. It has an immediately recognisable Harviestoun aroma, as I guess they use a common strain of hops in all their beers (Hallertau, as far as I can tell). But this dark beer has a supporting toasty chocolate malt note, giving it a bit more body without sacrificing Harviestouns eminient quaffability. The complex floral citrus hop character combined with toasty chocolate malt might sound odd, but it works a treat.
Springhead Roaring Meg (5.5% abv) is a beer that I've tried loads of times - in fact, I've not just tried and tasted it, I've drunk it with relish, repeatedly. It's a lovely, pale golden ale, with a mouthwatering citrus hop nose, a full but clean palate, and a lingering lemony note in the finish. It's relatively strong, and perilously drinkable. I don't know what else to say. It's one of those beers that's so well made as to be deceptively simple. Err, it went nicely with roast guinea fowl and roast veg. Actually, there's a funny story attached to that; we ran out of cat food, and we had to feed the cat on bits of left over guinea fowl for a night and ....[fade to silence]
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