Imbibe was absolutely jam packed with alcohol (who knew?), so I thought it best to concentrate on the beer side of things (with a couple of drams thrown in).
My first stop was at 1936 Biere, made in Switzerland with pure, natural water from the Swiss Alps. Fresh. The bottles you can see in the photo below all contain exactly the same product, but you know how “premium” beer lovers enjoy a flippy top. Now, the guy there told me that this was the first Swiss beer to be distributed in the UK, but I’m not sure I believe that. Someone prove one of us wrong, please.
Next up: a little bit of Krusovice. To be honest, I knew I liked Krusovice, I just wanted a little sample. Look at that label, too! Lovely. Unfortunately, this also meant I got the chance to try the Monteith’s. I don’t like using emoticons, but the only way to describe my feelings is by using this face 😦 This quickly turned to X(
I mean, it’s not the end of the world that their Summer Ale is just an alcoholic ginger beer; it just so happens that I’m not keen on ginger beer. The pilsner and the pale ale though….no, just no. Now, I’m always willing to be proven wrong and their website certainly has a much bigger range on it (the doppelbock and black beer sound particularly exciting) so I might seek out some more.
Next up and bringing a little bit of sunshine into our lives was Alhambra! I’m a fan of Alhambra. It’s not life changing, but it’s good enough and better than a lot of other “premium” lagers on the market.
But the real show stopper here was Mezquita. Described as a strong lager, this is no Tennent’s Super. Rich and malty, with hints of toffee and dark fruits, I could have supped a LOT more of this. You do get that warmth of alcohol, but it doesn’t taste anything like a 7.2% and that, my friends, is a dangerous brew.
I was going to write about a couple of other beers, but…frankly, being negative about mass produced beer that we already know is terrible is just lazy and a waste of time. Instead I will finish with a NON BEER. Yes, that’s right, a NON BEER.
This was completely out of my comfort zone, but the Cloudy Lemonade totally won me over! It gets the balance between sweet and bitter just right and doesn’t have all that artficial sweetness you would usually associate with this sort of beverage. Very good. Get a crate of it and fire up the barbie. They do have other flavours such as Raspberry and Nettle, but that was a little too sweet for me.
Thanks for having me, Imbibe!
The Crafty Beeress 