A Mean Time With Meantime

Up here in the Grim North there aren't many invitations to this or that beer-wise.  Very few in fact. It's all about London don't you know?  Thus, closely following on from my Budvar invite, through email came another, this time from London Brewer Meantime.  I quite like Meantime and E and I have been known to hop on the DLR down to Greenwich and sup some lager in the Old Brewery. In fact I've written about it here from time to time - quite often in fact - and I still think fondly of North Frisian Lager which I wrote about here. I don't know why they didn't make a bigger thing of that, but maybe it was just too bitter for most. This invitation (for "a beer or three") was to the launch of a new beer and, oddly a piece of furniture.  It also involved a tap takeover with a promise of several rarely seen Meantime beers.  Sounded like a good do, so on another lovely Manchester evening E and I went along. It was all kind of downhill from there sadly.

It is never that promising when you arrive at an event and are ignored by the PR people.  Thus it was, but after asking one or two of the T shirted lasses, we were checked off a list and given a couple of beer tickets. Worryingly and confusingly, the pub was still open to the public and an air of utter disorganisation filled the place. It soon became obvious that I was the only beer writer there. Everyone else seemed to be either Meantime Brewery,  random invitees, or friends of the furniture man who had designed a bar seat for two which no doubt cost a fortune. See attached photo but it looks a tad uncomfortable.  All types were mixed in with cash paying customers and only recognisable by presenting vouchers. We are arrived shortly after seven, but by nearly half past eight, there was no sign of any beer launch and my beer tickets had been supped.  I sought out our hostess with the mostess and enquired about the beer launch. She said not to worry that it would be "soon". My request for further beer tickets was declined. Hmm. So we bought a couple of pints - no big deal - but it isn't usual to be invited by PR and then pay yourself.

Behind us a whispered conversation took place. A guy in a Meantime T shirt was hissing loudly that he couldn't do the presentation as he knew nothing about the beer, but nonetheless, without warning to the audience, he was thrust to the front and talked us through from slides, the new beer, which as far as I could make out, none of the audience had. It was well after nine by then. So out of curiosity, I bought us a couple of halves of the new beer - after all, it, with the chair, was the main reason to be there. It was nothing special, so as the News of the World would have said, we made our excuses and left. Well no excuses really.  We just left before the promised grub was even laid out and went for a couple of pints elsewhere.

Now this may give morbid satisfaction for some, but actually if I want to spend my own money, I am unlikely to need or heed an invite from Meantime to do so on their beers.  There seemed to be no shortage of beer tickets for the Meantime types - well those wearing Meantime T Shirts - who were shall we say, enjoying the beers rather liberally.  If they were the target audience, then why invite me and a plus one and then not engage with us?

Now I thought long and hard about posting this, but hey ho - Good and bad. ("Freeloader gets Comeuppance" was my alternative title.)  There wasn't the usual PR follow up either. Hope Meantime thought the PR Co value for money.

I liked the Meantime Pilsner, Winter Sun and the Stout. I can't remember the name of the new beer though, but it was rather ordinary.

No Mean Time

London in the sun.  What could be nicer?  Well Manchester in the sun obviously - better beer to be had - but culture? That's a different issue and  London has it all.  After a (half) day out with Tyson and crew, we decided on a trip to an old haunt - Greenwich.  Two or three ideas.  A walk in the park, a look inside the old Royal Naval College, a quick shufti at the Cutty Sark - it was built in my home town of Dumbarton don't you know and there is still a pub on the High St with the same name - and a couple of restorative beers in Meantime's Old Brewery, a place, to which somewhat neglectfully, I hadn't been.

We enjoyed the walk, I thought the Naval College and whatnot delightful and unfussy. They even allowed you to sit on the banqueting seats to allow you to stare more comfortably at the impressive ceiling. The Cutty Sark was rather antiseptically impressive, though like a hammer where you have replaced both the head and the shaft, you have to wonder if it is indeed the original hammer at all.  All that sightseeing and walking about in the sun makes you thirsty, so our arrival at the Old Brewery was welcome.  Outside was a sea of bodies in the grass and in the beer garden.  I observed closely.  A mixture of plastic and glass gave me an inkling that likely you were meant to use plastic outside, so I wondered what would happen.  Inside we found a decent spot in a corner. It was going like a fair busy, but the staff were cheerful and kept good order.  I put my barman through his paces by asking for a couple of samples even though I knew what I would likely have. He was professional and friendly, offering decent advice despite the hordes.  Good stuff.  I settled on North Fresian Lager, a Jever-alike, but really rather magnificent, with good body, freshness, bitterness and a hopsmacking finish.  What's not to like? Well perhaps the £5.20 a pint price?  OK. Certainly the £5.20 price, but it was good. Very good. E was much less impressed with her Pilsner which did seem dull.  Or was that just dull in comparison. She rapidly switched to the same beer as me.

The place was heaving and we watched the dynamics of it all. It seemed that you randomly got glass or plastic and nobody was stopping anyone going outside with glass.  Service was friendly and efficient. My three rounds were all in glass without me asking.  Top marks.  I did have a couple more tasters, but nothing much impressed beer wise.  Perhaps I was spoiled by the North Fresian? Service was brisk and friendly, décor was comfortable to imposing, with the brewery conditioning tanks, clearly signed with exciting forthcoming beery attractions being a high point.

So overall?  I (we) had a good time, thought the North Fresian excellent but expensive, thought the service good all things considered and hopefully when I come back on a quieter day, I'll have more interesting beers to choose from.

It's nice. I liked it. Save up and go.

I didn't experience any of Tyson's bizarre occurrences on this occasion.

First and Second Chances

I had my first bottle of Brew Dog Zeitgiest yesterday and have to report that it was absolutely excellent, fully living up to the praise heaped on it by various bloggers. Like a hoppy version of Kostritzer Schwarzbier agreed my drinking companion, friend and commentator on this blog and others, Erlangernick.

We had earlier started the day with a brilliant 3.5% beer from Hawkshead Brewery, which shows what a skilful brewer can do with a relatively weak beer. Windermere Pale was straw coloured, crisply hoppy, and thirst quenching with a lasting hoppy finish. The aforementioned Nick and his wife Becky both loved it, as did I. Well done Hawkshead. I also had two excellent halves of Meantime London Pale Ale, which was smoothly hoppy and full bodied, with a bitter resinous finish. Much more like it, worlds apart from my previous experience, and well worth that second chance.

This was a flying visit from Nick who was heading off for a few days holiday in Lancaster and the Southern Lakes, but I'll see him again on Sunday and next week in Bamberg. Did I mention I'm going to Bamberg next week? Well I have now.

I had a couple of fly pints of Pint in the Marble Arch on the way home. This beer is in knock-out form and must be one of the best cask beers in the UK at the moment.

Photo is Nick and Becki in Micro Bar

Meantime Goes Cask

After nearly 10 years of focusing on brewery conditioned and bottled beers, London based Meantime Brewing have finally taken the plunge and entered the cask ale market. London Pale Ale, 4.3%, (rated one of the ‘World’s 50 Best Beers’ at the 2007 International Beer Challenge), is the first Meantime beer to be continuously available in cask fashion. Being Meantime, however, this is not a straightforward cask ale. The essence of the Meantime philosophy is the belief that maturation is the key to quality. Consequently, all Meantime beers are always subject to at least 28 days brewery conditioning. So, unlike most cask ales, which are young beers by historic brewing standards, London Pale Ale is fully matured before it is racked. It is then re-conditioned in cask.

Elaborating on Meantime’s decision to enter the cask market Alastair Hook the brewer said;
“A number of changes in the market have shown us that the time is now right for Meantime to add cask to its portfolio. Until recently there was very little free trade in London, this is changing. SIBA Direct Delivery Service, the changing attitudes of pub companies, plus the sale of pubs are all helping by bringing a broader range of beers to the consumer. In addition Youngs’ shameful abandonment of London and Londoners has created a space for beers with genuine London provenance.

I make no excuses for using large chunks of the press release here, but one or two interesting points emerge. One is the "go" at Youngs' which is pretty direct and the other is the point that some of us have been saying for years, that until recently there was very little free trade in London. I reckon Meantime could be on a winner here. Their beers have quality and they have judged that to appeal to Londoner's to support a local brewery is a winning marketing strategy.

In a capital city that is waking up slowly to the potential of quality and choice in beer, they are hopefully right. I look forward to seeing how it pans out.

Oh Mr Porter

In August I wrote here about Meantime Coffee Porter. It was bottled then, but tonight I had the misfortune to have it on draught, courtesy of our old friends JDW.

I wasn't keen on the bottled version, but I didn't know, dodgy though it was, just how lucky I was that time. It wasn't nearly as bad as the cask version which is overwhelmingly like filter coffee dregs. It is dreadful. I couldn't finish my half. Avoid at all costs.

Just my opinion of course and that's all I have to say about it.

Meantime Coffee Porter

On a whim yesterday, I bought a small bottle of Meantime Coffee Porter. Today I had the thought of having a couple of pints, but then wisely thought I'd better do my ironing and packing instead as I'm off to Germany tomorrow. My intended trip to Stonch's pub has gone by the board again. See it isn't all beer and skittles in this game. Or it wouldn't have been if I hadn't remembered the bottle of beer.

It's a lovely looking bottle which makes you immediately think "this is going to be classy". Wonder if that's intentional? Well it isn't classy, though it isn't bad. It isn't good either. It is 6% abv and best before November 2011.

Brown in colour, fairly dark brown, with a sourish malty nose. Surprisingly for what I assume to be a filtered beer, there are biggish gobbets of yeast in it. Taste is rather tart and sour. OK it is very tart and sour. The label alleges silky smoothness, but it is neither. Chocolate notes are meant to be there, but aren't either. Nor any vanilla. Oh and the coffee, maybe as it warms up a bit, but really with the tart sourness, you'd be hard pushed to be sure. It is very dry though. This beer can be identified by opposites. What it says on the label, you can safely assume isn't there! The finish is dry, sour, acidic and lingering.

If you shovel more brown malt in and leave out the coffee beans, what you probably have is an old fashioned porter of yore. That too should make you glad you didn't live then!

PS - My bottle has the word "porter" after "coffee" otherwise it is the same as illustrated.