It pours a deep red that looks like fake blood watered down and froths a lively head that sticks around long past the opening ceremonies. On the nose it smells slightly or redcurrants but that only goes as far as to lull you into a false sense of security because, at the moment, there's nothing massively out of the ordinary. The first sip will literally make you do a double take, it'll make ladies swoon and it'll make men have partially unwanted erections, whatever happens to you when you take that first sip will be dramatic. I personally went for the cheesy double take and audible swearing, but that's just me.
The first taste, for the first half a second is the most refreshing and drinkable thing you've ever had in your life, that first half a second is bliss! It's like a sweet, crisp, lightly fruity, frosted glass of German Helles on a sweltering summers day, it is a pleasure to behold for that first half a second. Then BAM! SUPER BITTERNESS! Super duper bitterness in fact, with a tinge of sourness, the likes of which I have only ever experienced with VERY dry ciders, and I'm not a cider drinker so it'll be the very cheap dry ciders. It really takes you aback and it somewhat scares you away from taking a second sip, but I didn't become a beer critic from just giving up straight away when something tasted odd (a lesson that shouldn't be transferred into the food world,) I kept at it, marched right up to the glass like a freakin' trooper, stared it square in the eye and... Timidly took a second sip. Well I'll be damned if my taste buds hadn't reorganised themselves into a slightly smarter shape to deal with the onslaught. All the flavours had moulded together as if the beer itself had seen me react negatively, shouted something along the lines of, "of course you don't like me, I wasn't bloody ready yet, was I ya big knob?!" Before promptly reshaping and shifting itself into something more palatable. This is a good thing because when it settles what you get is a dark red, frothy, slightly fruity, heavily bitter, easily drinkable, 6%, monster that's big on bitterness and subtle in all the wrong places. It shouldn't work, it doesn't really work, but it sure is an enjoyable ride. Near the end there's even a hint of fresh mint! It's not a drink to get drunk to because the idea of having a second one of these tonight is somewhat frightening to me but a drink to be admired by people with learned palates. It works better as a test of the beer critic as it does as a tool for intoxication. That is not to say you shouldn't buy this, I'm not saying it's a bad beer, I know what bad beer tastes like and this isn't it. All I would say is that if you do buy this, don't expect to like it at first, don't expect to ever like, but depending on your personal tastes, expect there to be a chance for you to love it.
Again this was supplied to me by the good people at The Bottle Shop at the Goods Shed in Canterbury, the big shed-like building next to Canterbury West station with the pebbled car park and puddles you could go fishing in. Those guys know their stuff.
Food Suggestion: Some sort of salad with cucumber and feta and spiced mayonnaise. This beer needs something light to go with it, hearty food would smother it and it needs something it can accentuate that it doesn't have itself.
Drink this if you like: Traditional London Stouts... Well... Some of them at least, have the bitterness to match this. Think of this as a light London Stout for the summer months when you don't want stodge and would prefer something more playful.
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