Meantime Brewery : the beer with a gourmet attitude
It is very rare when stepping in a pub and ordering one’s pint to look at it from a connoisseur’s point of view. No, you cheer, gulp it down, kind of forget about. chatting with friends, each new sip is due to a mechanical gesture, flavour just a background idea.
The Meantime Brewery are bringing the focus back on its colour, the kind of hop or maturation used, the story behind your drink. If you have one of theirs in hand, they want to remind you this is not a generic Heineken but a beer cared for, balanced with passion. Their website even indicates the ideal dish to enjou it with.
If like me, you are a lover of wines but no nothing of ales and stouts, this approach can only seduce you. Your palate already is used to nuances, from sweet to bitter, it is just about taking the time to savour it…
They recently were at the Real Food Festival on Southbank. We completely fell for their limited edition, the Yakima Red, a red hop. Beautiful velvety colour, fruity taste, a touch of lemon, eaxtrordinarily refreshing.
Special award to their London Stout - the first taste reminded of freshly roasted coffee. Amazing. Nice head that subsided a few minutes, slight bitterness typical of stouts. Why the name? By chatting with the team, I learm that the first beers were stout, dark, less sugary than today. England was widely recognised for their brewing talents and of course, London was the best place to import and export. Nice historical parallel.
I am a little less convinced by their chocolate version. Already fan of Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, I just couldn’t miss this. The alliance is there, filling the mouth lovingly. But to me this is more British chocolate and I am too hooked on the French one. Question of taste – do try it and let me know what you think!
Verdict? Although not so much of a beet person, I am very intrigued and just want to know more. About the fabrication, but also understand fully the different levels of flavour. A visit to their Greenwich brewery definitely will be going on my to-do list… Let alone discovering the rest of their range!
Where to drink it? Try:
- The Water Poet (Spitafields)
- The Old Brewery (Greenwich)
And keep an eye on their Facebook / Twitter pages!
5 Responses to “Meantime Brewery : the beer with a gourmet attitude ”
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Young’s double chocolate stout….mmm what is not to like?
Must give it a try sometime! -
Chocoralie says:
Nath: je suis assez curieuse des differentes editions limitées qu’ils proposent selon les moments de l’année…
MeLikeyUK – sure you’ll fall in love with it!
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J’ai eu le même élan de curiosité que toi après avoir passé l’an dernier trois jours à Bruxelles … Peu amatrice de bière, ou en tout cas tout à fait incompétente dans le domaine, j’ai découvert un monde à part … UN très agréable monde … À peine rentrée, j’ai acheté des livres, des livres et encore des livres sur le sujet .. et je commence à apprécier vraiment … Tu as raison, c’est un peu comme pour le vin. Le palais doit de former, c’est tout …
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