Tasting Notes: Meantime India Pale Ale
Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company
Location: Greenwich, London
ABV: 7.5%
Version: 750ml bottle
Source: Sainsburys
And so we come to the end of a week (or so) of Meantime coverage and we rather fitting end with what is has to be the pinnacle of the Meantime range, in terms of both strength and quality: Meantime India Pale Ale.
Weighing in at 7.5% abv and dished out in another generous, lip-smacking, liver-worrying 750ml serving, Meantime's take on the classic IPA has an awful lot to live up to, both in terms of the weight of its heritage (once again, the brewery has set up a micro-site packed with history and information on this classic brew-style - at www.india-pale-ale.com - which tells you every thing you need to know in order to become a proper IPA-snob) and the strength of it's recommendation to-date (uber pro beer-scribes Michael Jackson and Roger Protz have both rated this one very highly indeed).
Well, suffice to say, this strictly amateur beer-scribe was extremely impressed with what has to be one of the tastiest beers I've had in a long time. Meantime's brews all seem to be characterised by an incredibly strident, potent flavour, one that really whacks you in the taste-buds and doesn't stop until the bottle is empty. And their IPA is surely the undisputed champion of them all.
The beer pours a wonderful golden amber colour with a thick, frothy white head. A rich, almost gloopy mouth-feel carries that big, big flavour with it: a huge, alcoholic hit of syrupy, honey-shortbread with a citrus tang and a hint of almond. Quite delicious and dangerously drinkable, this is one I could happily sit through a session on, as long as I was comfortably parked at home for the evening and didn't have to remember how to walk at any point before bedtime.
Lovely, lovely stuff. And available at a Sainsbury's near you, if you're lucky...
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Ohhh, I'm going to have to have a look for that at the Sainsburys that opened up just along from my flat this year (very handy), sounds extremely fine. And the giant bottle size doesn't hurt either :-) Damned strong for an IPA though, hell strong for a pint of heavy...
Well, according to the info on that dedicated IPA website, a proper example of the style has to be up in the 'strong' bracket to qualify. The idea was to pack the beer with both alcohol and hops to act as a dual preservative on the long trip out to the sub-continent in the days of the Raj. So anything with a lower abv that claims to be an IPA (Greene King?) isn't really doing the job properly...