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16-05-2015, 08:21
Visit the Boak and Bailey's Beer Blog site (http://boakandbailey.com/2015/05/what-meantime-means-to-us/)
http://boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/union_painting_672.jpgAs well as its significance in the ‘rebirth of British beer’, Alastair Hook’s Meantime Brewery has been important to us on a personal level.Meantime taught us that lager wasn’t just lager: tasting the range side by side, we could tell that ‘Cologne-style’ was not the same as*Helles, which was*definitely different to Golden Beer. *They*were subtle, but distinctive.
Meantime put Vienna-style lager and Kölsch in Sainsburys supermarkets where we could buy four bottles for £4 and we turned up at many parties and barbecues with those packs under our arms c.2004.
Having read about porter, we wanted to taste it, but there didn’t seem to be many around a decade ago; Meantime fixed that, too. And their big 7.5% IPA was among the first we tasted that gave us a glimpse of what had people*so excited about US takes on the style, and so dismissive of Greene King’s — it was boozy, fruity, juicy and bold.
The Union, Meantime’s brewery tap in Greenwich, was the first British pub where we really noticed beer being treated with respect. Half pints came in stemmed tulip glasses, bottles were served in snifters, and no-one seemed to care how much or how little you drank as long as you enjoyed it. We crossed London to get there, time and time again, and there was always something new to try. It was the world of Michael Jackson’s books brought to life.
In recent years, however, our ardour*has faded. The brewery’s focus seems to have*moved from obscure sub-styles to London Lager (oh, so lager is just lager after all?), Pale Ale and Yakima Red — beers that want so badly to be accepted everywhere that*they blend into the banquettes. Alastair Hook has always been obsessed with consistency and control — he is passionate and eloquent on the subject — but perhaps, in recent years, Meantime has too often crossed the fine line between clean and bland? (We’re not sure, to be honest, that they*are an upgrade from the mainstream as Pete Brown argues here (http://petebrown.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/why-sabmillers-acquisition-of-meantime.html), though we know what he means.)
This isn’t about demanding obscurity or ‘extremes': if we want US-style pale ale, we buy Sierra Nevada. Porter? Sam Smith’s or Anchor. Big IPA? BrewDog*Punk, or the ubiquitous Goose Island IPA, at £2 a bottle. If we want a British-brewed version of a classic German style, we increasingly find ourselves looking to Thornbridge (http://boakandbailey.com/2014/02/kolsch-test-mettle/). (Where the brewing team is led by Rob Lovatt, formerly of… Meantime. (http://boakandbailey.com/2012/05/more-visuals-beer-family-trees/))
The acquisition of Meantime by SAB Miller isn’t catastrophic, just another step in the direction they’ve been travelling for some time. We’ll always have a soft spot for Meantime, and will continue to make pilgrimages to Greenwich, where the draught lager can still be transcendent.
What Meantime Means to Us (http://boakandbailey.com/2015/05/what-meantime-means-to-us/) from Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog - Over-thinking beer, pubs and the meaning of craft since 2007 (http://boakandbailey.com)
More... (http://boakandbailey.com/2015/05/what-meantime-means-to-us/)
http://boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/union_painting_672.jpgAs well as its significance in the ‘rebirth of British beer’, Alastair Hook’s Meantime Brewery has been important to us on a personal level.Meantime taught us that lager wasn’t just lager: tasting the range side by side, we could tell that ‘Cologne-style’ was not the same as*Helles, which was*definitely different to Golden Beer. *They*were subtle, but distinctive.
Meantime put Vienna-style lager and Kölsch in Sainsburys supermarkets where we could buy four bottles for £4 and we turned up at many parties and barbecues with those packs under our arms c.2004.
Having read about porter, we wanted to taste it, but there didn’t seem to be many around a decade ago; Meantime fixed that, too. And their big 7.5% IPA was among the first we tasted that gave us a glimpse of what had people*so excited about US takes on the style, and so dismissive of Greene King’s — it was boozy, fruity, juicy and bold.
The Union, Meantime’s brewery tap in Greenwich, was the first British pub where we really noticed beer being treated with respect. Half pints came in stemmed tulip glasses, bottles were served in snifters, and no-one seemed to care how much or how little you drank as long as you enjoyed it. We crossed London to get there, time and time again, and there was always something new to try. It was the world of Michael Jackson’s books brought to life.
In recent years, however, our ardour*has faded. The brewery’s focus seems to have*moved from obscure sub-styles to London Lager (oh, so lager is just lager after all?), Pale Ale and Yakima Red — beers that want so badly to be accepted everywhere that*they blend into the banquettes. Alastair Hook has always been obsessed with consistency and control — he is passionate and eloquent on the subject — but perhaps, in recent years, Meantime has too often crossed the fine line between clean and bland? (We’re not sure, to be honest, that they*are an upgrade from the mainstream as Pete Brown argues here (http://petebrown.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/why-sabmillers-acquisition-of-meantime.html), though we know what he means.)
This isn’t about demanding obscurity or ‘extremes': if we want US-style pale ale, we buy Sierra Nevada. Porter? Sam Smith’s or Anchor. Big IPA? BrewDog*Punk, or the ubiquitous Goose Island IPA, at £2 a bottle. If we want a British-brewed version of a classic German style, we increasingly find ourselves looking to Thornbridge (http://boakandbailey.com/2014/02/kolsch-test-mettle/). (Where the brewing team is led by Rob Lovatt, formerly of… Meantime. (http://boakandbailey.com/2012/05/more-visuals-beer-family-trees/))
The acquisition of Meantime by SAB Miller isn’t catastrophic, just another step in the direction they’ve been travelling for some time. We’ll always have a soft spot for Meantime, and will continue to make pilgrimages to Greenwich, where the draught lager can still be transcendent.
What Meantime Means to Us (http://boakandbailey.com/2015/05/what-meantime-means-to-us/) from Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog - Over-thinking beer, pubs and the meaning of craft since 2007 (http://boakandbailey.com)
More... (http://boakandbailey.com/2015/05/what-meantime-means-to-us/)