One woman's ale journey

A beery boozy journey with delightful snacks along the way and a book in my hand.

Saturday, 23 April 2016

Meantime Yakima Red


I have to give a special mention to the unusual shaped bottle of Meantime's Yakima Red; it is the most unusual shaped beer bottle I have come across.  It perhaps gives some hint as to the unusual taste that you are about to experience.  It is a lovely red/amber coloured ale with a lovely 'thick as Guinness' cream frothy head.

It has a lovely fruity aroma, more towards red fruits than citrus, and a slightly hoppy smell. It has a definite hint of citrus flavour with a bitter aftertaste.  The consistency is a bit more watery than I expected from the thick creamy head.  The carbonation has a lazy feel to it as the bubbles approach the surface as if they were in a lava lamp.

Throughout drinking, the head remains with thick lacing on the glass.  This beer really messes with your head; if I closed my eyes I would think I was drinking a citrussy pale ale, but my eyes tell me I'm drinking a ruby bitter.  It has the best of both worlds; the lightness of a pale ale and a bitter aftertaste, leaving nutty/toffee notes on my tongue.

Ale be Seeing You Again, Meantime Yakima Red.

Brewed by Meantime, London
4.1% ABV

Sunday, 17 April 2016

Beeston Worth the Wait


No, I haven't already had a big mouthful before taking the photo!  There is a good amount of live yeast sediment in the bottle so I poured very slowly and carefully and, from the clarity of the resulting ale, I think I didn't do a bad job.

This is a lovely golden ale, a slightly deeper gold than the picture appears.  It has a lovely hoppy smell with a hint of citrus so I was expecting a very lemony taste, but thankfully I was wrong!  The citrus bitterness has been balanced perfectly with the hops leaving a refreshing taste with just a hint of a bitter aftertaste.  Due to the live yeast, there is so much fizz in this ale; it's like having bitter beery sherbet fizzing on your tongue.  Why has nobody invented that...

It only has a little head due to the slow careful pour, but what is there remains for as long as the beer stays in the glass.  Which in my case, was not long at all.  This is one of the best golden ales I have had in a long time; with not a hint of lemon squeezy, Ale be Seeing You again and it was definitely Worth the Wait.

With a portfolio of delicious mouthwatering ales, I will certainly be looking out for more Beeston Brewery ales - Find out more at Beeston Brewery

Brewed by Beeston Brewery, Norfolk
4.2% ABV