pubs galore bar

[sheffield hatter]

A = Magic Rock Cannonball, B = Harbour Five Summers, C = Allendale Dirty Deeds. I'll post this and then go and get the remains of the cans out of the fridge.

The correct answer was as follows:

A = Allendale Dirty Deeds, B = Magic Rock Cannonball, C = Harbour Five Summers - so I got them all wrong!

But also, I reckon the blurb writers got them wrong too, because the Allendale was meant to be soft, fruity and juicy but it has a bitter finish, the Magic Rock was supposed to have a rasping bitterness but it tastes like bitter lemon and the Harbour was supposed to have a piney grapefruit aroma but it reminded me of marzipan and bubblegum. According to the blurb, these are three different styles of beer: American style pale ale; India Pale Ale in the true tradition; New England style IPA. If they were "true to style" they should all look, smell, and taste different enough to distinguish them from each other.

Actually, the main problem here is that they are three very similar beers, and trying to describe them is an absolute nightmare! Everyone's got different taste, and even when I try to take preconceptions and prejudice out of the equation (not to mention the fact that these beer styles are not really what I like best about beer), it's difficult to say what I like or don't like about each individual beer. But here goes.

Harbour Five Summers is a bit elusive, not much aroma, the taste subtle to the point of shyness, with a finish that is soft and flabby.

Allendale Dirty Deeds is supposed to be a NE IPA with soft fruitiness and juice all the way, but it has a big bitter finish.

Magic Rock Cannonball is a traditional IPA that fluffs its lines, with lemony bittersweetness where it should be "rasping".

None of them make any attempt to balance malt and hops, but then that's not the style, is it. That's not to say that any of these three is an unpleasant drink, but I wouldn't go for either the Cannonball or the Five Summers again. Not for the first time, the Allendale is my favourite beer of the blind tasting session. (And I've bought another can of last time's winner, Wanderlust. It's in the fridge for later.)