It's that time of year again when Wetherspoons commission some interesting beers and like moths around flames the beer-curious flutter in.
I tried Firestone Walkers California Pale Ale (4.5%) - fresh, (too) cold and indifferent. Somehow there seemed to be a hole in the flavour even after the beer had warmed up. The bitterness seemed not to be integrated. This is a style I have a lot of experience of: I've even judged the category at the GABF.
On the other hand:
Mikkel's Viking's Return (4.5%), a smoky, malty dark ale was a work genius. It was excellent. Danish brewer Mikkel Borg Bjergso brewed it for the festival at Jennings in Cumbria. A message to Jennings: don't let him leave with the recipe, steal it off him.
6 comments:
Having had a whale of a time in Copenhagen at the European Beer Festival, it doesn't surprise me that you enjoyed a Danish inspired beer. Those guys are doing a fabulous job over there with craft beer.
I've said it before and will say it again. There are good and bad JDW. To despise them all is short sighted.
I almost started writing a "why I don't like Wetherspoons" diatribe but I stopped myself just in time.
A simile will suffice - I dislike W'Spoons like I dislike nylon sheets.
Perhaps you are just spoiled with the choice you have. I come from a land with no cask ale and the site of a Wetherspoons wherever I might be in Britain excites me. The atmosphere isn't great but I know I'll get a pint of real ale.
I moved from England when I was a child, but got a similar reaction to liking Wetherspoons from my brother who lives over there. Perhaps my attitude would change if I had a wider choice of cask ale.
I'm loving the continual change of colours and stylesheets - it's like a new website every day.
The best Spoons I frequent are nowhere near as good as the best free houses I visit. The worst Spoons that I have endured were much better than the worst free houses.
In Nottingham there are two Spoons about a minute's walk apart; one is a tacky chrome & glass city bar with the vague hint of random violence amongst the lagerboys. The other is a clean, multi-roomed city pub with a good range of cask (including LocAle).
Tandleman's spot on. I'm more than happy to drink in a JDW - if I ended up in a town where I had no gen about the pubs, I'd rather visit the Spoons that pick any other pub at random.
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