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Boak and Bailey's Beer Blog

Here are our notes from the first of our 18 cans of John Smith’s Extra Smooth:

Surprisingly powerful aroma rising out of the glass. Not of hops but actually quite Guinness-like if we close our eyes – the black malt they use for colour? Very light body (watery) perhaps emphasises by the very thick head. Actually a decent amount of bitterness, but accompanied by something acrid – bile? (Eew.) Definitely more acid burn than we remember. A little hint of grassiness floating over the surface. Much nicer as the weird foamy head disappears.

Verdict: if we weren’t doing this experiment, we would pour this away. Not pleasant.

That first can was fridge cold (as per the serving instructions). Next we tried it at room temperature (better, less acrid); and, over the next few days, from a variety of different glasses, both cold and at room temperature.

It looked amazing served cold in a large brandy glass — like some gleaming amber pale ale ‘van ‘t vat’ in a Belgian bar. The attractive appearance didn’t fool our tastebuds, though, and, if anything, the shape of the glass emphasised that peculiar, burning, stomach-acid sensation.

Did we start to like it more? The honest answer is, no, we really didn’t: we found it less palatable with every can we consumed. Shame — if we had, it could save us a lot of time and money.

The thing that really puzzled us, though: who says this is easy-drinking, bland beer? It isn’t — it is a downright bizarre, odd-tasting product. It could probably be improved by replacing the dark malts used for colour with more-or-less flavourless, frowned-upon caramel for starters. (See the canned bitter Cain’s brew for Co-Op — not especially characterful, but not weird.)

We did not finish the slab.

There’s one more post on this subject to go, in which we discuss widgets, Extra Smoothness, and what we did with the leftover cans. (Though maybe we should have just done one really long epic to confound everyone who has heard rumours we write concisely…?)

 

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European Beer Bloggers Confrence 2012: Leeds

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Beer 1: Leeds Brewery Hellfire (bottle)- The nose is a bit heavy on British hops for me. Rather malty and a hint of a a little something I’m not crazy about. Easy drinking and a very clean flavour once again a bit heavy on those earthy/spicy hops. Nice lemon rind bitterness and a lingering perfumed bitterness. I think it is rather suitable for it’s intended Market of younger people, kinda lager-esque
Beer 2: Otley Brewing Co Oxymoron (cask) – Lovely example of a Black IPA, loads of lemon,resin/solvents (but in a good way) rich caramel and bitter chocolate. A beer a could smell all day. Very well balanced hoppy as hell and easy drinking considering it’s powerful flavours.
Beer 3: Brains Dark (bottle) – Smells like Rolos, liquorice and murray mints. Solid dark mild with rich dark caramel but of bitterness at the back end. A bit like a keg beer in a bottle.
Beer 4: Marble Early Grey IPA (bottle) – Smells great, like you’d expect from Marble, loads of soft tropical fruit. Some of that Earl Grey comes through in the aroma too. Blooming lovely, hitting the marks for me. I think the addition of the tea smooths it out nicely. Excellent stuff!
Beer 5: Roosters Brewery Baby Faced Assassin (cask) – Incredible nose of Citra hops loads of lemon juice, lime peel and unripe pineapple. Wonderful amount of body, zesty citrus flavours that dance on the tongue.
Beer 6: Great Heck Stormin’ Normin’ (cask) – Very much a European nose, spicy and dry hay. Tomahawk shines, but I’m not a big fan of that hop. Taste is much more appealing that the aroma, a hint of dandelion, buttercup syrup, lemon and loads. It grew on me and Denzil is a character.
Beer 7: Slater’s Top Totty (bottle) Ha! That notorious label! Aroma…hmmm? Not a fan. Taste is better than the nose. Citrus
Beer 8: Camden Town Brewery Hells (bottle) – I bloody love it! Lemongrass, lemon curd, clean, crisp. Carbonation is a bit of a stinger but that because of the bottling wasn’t ideal on the brewery’s confession. Perfect summer beer. Please make it available in those cool bottles too!
Beer 9: Adnams Ghost Ship (bottle) – One of the early beers of the Citra invasion of the UK brewing scene. The bottle is a bit bland in comparison of my memories of the cask. The nose is a bit bland and traditional considering the late hopping with Citra. It is a rather nice bottle of beer but a bit of an under-performer. A good addition to their permanent range as it stands out.
Beer 10: Innis & Gunn Scottish Pale Ale : Before I taste this beer I’ll admit I’m not a fan of this “brewery”…but I’ll give them a fair shake. Nose, strange… Like liquid Murray mints, antiseptic. Taste is Ok but I’d not really want another any time soon.

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