Food & Beer pairing: Meantime Union + Wings

It may not be the height of culinary excellence but hot, spicy, marinade laden chicken wings have always been a hardy companion of the malted ale. In this case, were pairing it with a crisp Vienna amber lager, courtesy of Meantime in London.

The beer firstly. Vienna lagers are slightly hoppy, residually sweet lagers from the city that they take their name from. Three

malts are generally present, Munich, Pilsner and Vienna along with a reasonable hop bill.

The wings. Heavily marinated in numerous types of hot sauce, cayenne pepper, paprika and malt vinegar. Grilled, tossed in the sauce served with home-made blue cheese dressing. A classic combination...

The pairing. The beer pours with a rich deep dark amber body. Puffy off white head with solid retention and a touch of lacing. Smokiness on the nose a whack of dextrin malt and a hint of fresh lavender infused hops. Taste is crisp. Biscuity malt and a touch of hop bitterness, little bit of sweetness on the finish and a touch of spicy dried fruit.

With the wings its a solid match. Lagers generally work well with heat, IPA's full of citric hops also match up well to the acid and fiery punch of chilli heat. The Meantime holds up very well, the sticky spicy fat from the wings was contrasted well by crisp fresh hops soaked in a sea of biscuit malt. The 4.9%abv gives it a reasonably light body without any noticeable booze. Cuts through the heat well, supports the sharp vinegar and creamy sour cream sauce and backs up the overall flavour.

A superbly competent bedfellow for hot and spicy chicken wings. Its not a delicately layered beer with epic flavour but it is a well balanced, fantastically drinkable little lager.

TASTING NOTES: Glencoe Wild Oat Stout

Time for something with a slightly more reserved alcohol content. Glencoe Oat Stout is a 4.5abv Scottish oatmeal stout. I haven't had anything from the brewer as of yet so I'm keen to see what this little Stirling based brewery can produce.

500ml bottle served chilled in a wide bowled wine glass

Pours with a rich dark chocolate body, clean lines between the body and head. Puffy dense light tan head with great retention. Lots of patchy oily lacing on the side of the glass.

Aroma is packed with chalky roasted malts, a touch of coffee and an almost oaked woodiness.

Taste, crisp chalky malts, not overly bitter. A little touch of sweetness but not overpoweringly so. Some roasted malt bitterness on the finish and a pinch of acidity

A perfectly sessionable Scottish stout, I'm sure on cask this would be a much more flavourful beast but its certainly kept me entertained on this chilly autumn evening. Not quite up there with the architect of the style, Samuel Smith's Oatmeal however certainly worth a visit.

TASTING NOTES: Stone's Oak Aged Arrogant Bastard

A short one for now as I am in the process of sampling this. 355ml bottle, served chilled in a McChouffe glass

Pours with a ruby red body. Thick off tan head, loads of retention

Smell, akin to the standard Arrogant Bastard but with a touch of oak in the background. The nose is full of fresh American hops (notably Amarillo)

Taste, rich thick malt encased hops. Ballsy profile. Heaps of Amarillo hops

punctuated by robust malt, little touch of caramel sweetness on the finish and a nice lingering bitterness.

Not quite as great as on tap, in New York but still a superbly tasty strong ale. The original I still think remains king, the oak seems to cut the hops back a little and mutes the balance of flavour

TASTING NOTES: Brewdog's Paradox - Isle of Arran

I've been waiting to try this wee beast for many a day, its been sitting in my cupboard staring at me. Cracked it tonight with a friend, he was driving, I consumed the bulk....

Brewdog's big beastly offering. Their Paradox imperial stout, aged in different types of whiskey cask. This particular brew is aged in Isle of Arran casks, it really adds tonnes of rich iodine salty character to an already complex imp. stout.

330ml, served very slightly chilled in a La Chouffe glass. 10%abv

It pours with a really dark rich dark brown body. Not overly viscous considering the abv but still has a some body to it. Whispy, faint vague head, tan in hue with some retention.

Initially on the nose fresh overly ripe fruit. Passionfruit, banana and mango. That soon passes with a wave of rich roasted malt, swimming in a salty sea. Salty notes along with a whack of dark chocolate, touch of sweet sherbet fizz and roasted malt. Lots of effervescent alcohol on the nose

Sweet rich and roasted malt. Little bit of a syrupy body but certainly not as thick or viscous as an equivalent American imperial stout. Rich and nutty, a touch of mace and five spice towards the finish. A huge heap of boozy roasted malt on the finish, some bitterness from the hops also

I wa sn't sure what to expect of this, I'm pleased to say however that it is a truly interesting and deeply complex little brew. The casks really add a whack of fresh sea air and that rich iodine character syn onymous with the Islay whiskies (notably Lagavullin and Laphroaig) I'm looking forward to the tasting night at the end of November. It will hopefully be a chance to sample some of the variations of the brew. Go seek this out...

TASTING NOTES: Skullspliter

On this occasion we have a classic strong ale. The quintessential big bulky Scotch ale, Orkney's Skullsplitter. I haven't written any tasting now on this thus far, on cask this is a beastly, sweet, rich malt ale. This time its bottled, a bit more carbonated, not quite as creamy and smooth but still a superb gem.

330ml bottle, served slightly chilled, 8.5%abv.

Poured into a wide bowled Duchesse de Bourgogne glass. Deep rich ruby body, glimmers of gold floating around too. Rich sticky off white head, bubbly and some solid retention.

Nose is full of rich Christmas pudding and rich alcohol soaked fruit. A touch of mustiness from the malt, touch of yeast on the nose too. Buttery caramel and lots of sweet esters

Smooth alcohol stuffed dried fruit. Sticky malty body with a touch of marzipan and amaretto. Some lasting crisp biscuit malt on the finish and a breath of alcohol.

Its been some time since this crossed my path, it still holds its own today though. A shadow of its 'cask' self but certainly remains one of the best Scottish strong ales.

TASTING NOTES: 't Smisje IPA+

This will indeed be a short one, time is pressing on and beer must be consumed. I am going to get round to getting a decent camera. Currently a mobile phone is providing these limited, poorly lit shots that I'm sure Annie Leibovitz would be proud of.

An interesting little spectacle of brewing awaits the palette this evening, a Belgian IPA from Brouwerij De Regenboog. Its a 10%abv, Belgian strong pale ale hopped in the same vain as a West Coast American IPA. Piratt's big bold IPA is a pretty tasty affair, I haven't had that many Belgian IPA's to date but this little rare beauty is certainly going to alter my interest.

Its a 330ml bottle, served chilled in a goblet. Gorgeous slightly hazy sunny amber body, like healthy egg yolks swimming in a sea of bubbly light tan froth. Has a very typical yeasty, dry, musty slightly gueuze aroma. A flutter of fresh, spicy lavender infused hops.

The taste is ballsy. Fresh syrupy candied sugar, smooth and unctuous. Slight hint of farmyard funk followed by a whack of dry, aggressive acerbic hops. Musty and lingering bitterness on the palette along with zesty grapefruit and a touch of marzipan. A little alcoholic warm on the finish but only slight, the hops cover up most of that.

A superbly tasty and kooky little brew. A really interesting take on the Belgian IPA style.

TASTING NOTES: Mikkeller Jackie Brown

A few brief notes on this little Danish gem, sampled it last night, the first I've had from the brewery. Mikkeller has caused a stir in recent years, the demand for their off beats, experimental (US influenced) brews have increased considerably. I'm going to treat myself at Christmas and invest in their Imperial stout's, notably 'Beer Geek Breakfast' and 'Beer Geek Brunch Weasel'. The latter is a stronger version of the former with..... Vietnamese ca phe chon coffee. That btw is coffee that, for lack of a better description is eaten by weasel/cat type animals (this is certainly not a detail Attenborough would brush over but I shall) and then promptly pooed out. Its collected and is a much sought after coffee bean. So much for this being short....

The usual... 330ml, served chilled in a Sierra Nevada shaker pint glass

The beer pours with a deep rich brown body, quite dark for a brown ale. Foamy off white head sits a top, good retention. Smell is rich and malty, little touch of freshly ground coffee, a hint of allspice and a touch of fresh American hops.

Taste is suprisingly similar to a beefy English stout mixed with an old ale (think Titanic Stout and Olde Suffolk Strong Ale). Some hop dryness on the palette, slight hint of acetone and a touch of chalky malt on the finish. Light bubbly espresso bitterness, lasting crisp chocolate malt on the finish.

Certainly a good start into the world of this infamous brewery, not a world changer but a solid, robust well built dark ale. I'm considering a bottle of their beastly 'Black' stout. Heady alcohol at 17.5% the general consensus seems to be it requires a fair bit of aging but we shall see....

TASTING NOTES: Flying Dog's Double Dog

The availability of US craft brews has increased dramatically, which is no bad thing. The jealously felt by myself reading reviews and tasting notes of huge IPA's, barleywines and imperial stouts from inaccessible brewers left me champing at the bit. I have sampled many of Flying Dog's current offerings and so far they've all been very solid, their Snake Dog IPA is a fresh lively little ale however their Gonzo Imp. Porter shines above everything and is still one of my all time favourite brews.

On this occasion we have Flying Dog's Double Dog Pale Ale. Essentially its a 'double' version of their standard pale ale, a barleywine really with reasonably high IBU's of 85. At 11.5% its a big one, huge malt bill and lots of fresh cascade and columbus dry hopped also.

355ml bottle, served slightly chilled

It pours with a rich lively red hued amber body. Frothy nicotine stained head, lots of tight little bubbles on top forming

a creamy rich head.

Huge whiff of rich brandy alcohol on the nose, christmas pudding and alcohol soaked fruits. There's also a lovely citric hop character, lemon and orange rind and a little bit of muscavado sugar too. Sweet, syrupy malt character also

Smooth rich silky alcohol drenched fresh cascade hops. Caramel and toffee malt pushes back against a dry, quinine bitterness from the hops. A few tannins floating about in there too. A touch of fresh herbs and lavender in there too, permeated by a whack of crisp lasting bitterness on the finish. Little bit of alcohol on the breath but not in anyway overpowering, deceptively quaffable.

The yanks certainly have their own take on a traditional style. As we've seen over the last few years they know how to push the boundaries of a beer, adding more in everyway and to be honest with you I really can't say no to a huge abv IPA or barleywine such as this. It has enough depth and flavour to stick around on your palette for an eternity, you'll have fresh dry hopped cascade breath till the cows eventually get their asses homeward. Its a pretty well balanced brew considering, the hops don't overpower things as the malt bill and alcohol ensure things stay in control.

More to come soon. Next time, Brewdog's Zeitgeist black lager and Physics red ale. Plus, 24th November is Brewdog tasting night just a stroll away. I'll update with all the tasting that goes on...