A while back I won a prize of a 750 ml bottle of Marble Saison Special, weighing in at a hefty 9% ABV. There seems to be a vogue for these big bottles, but surely they’re a most inappropriate form of packaging, especially for beers of that kind of strength. They’re not screw-caps, so you can’t drink half and keep the rest for later, meaning you’re faced with having to consume what is effectively the equivalent of a full bottle of wine at a sitting. And, given that it’s bottle-conditioned, you can’t even pour out one glass and stick the bottle back in the fridge, you have to find a vessel into which you can decant the whole lot. A 330 ml or 375 ml bottle would make a lot more sense, and also be more affordable.
Although I had let it stand for a couple of months, and the beer appearing clear from outside, removing the cork caused some fobbing and disturbed the sediment, so I ended up with some very murky beer in spite of careful pouring. A good thing I’m well-stocked with bogroll. This seems to be my fate with
any bottle-conditioned beer produced by micro-breweries. I can’t comment on the taste – it was an overpowering mixture of yeast and alcohol. Sadly, not a beer I would spend my own money on.
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its a myth that yeast causes diarrhoea, plus just find someone to share it with as most people would a bottle of wine. can't say i had any fobbing issues with mine, which i got at source in the marble arch.
ReplyDeleteWhy only make the beer available in these huge bottles, though? Most bottles of beer are drunk by one person, and not everyone has an extreme-beer-drinking friend to split one of these with. The original Decadence came in 330 ml bottles, which seems like an excellent size for a strong stout.
DeleteSo the old boys who used to dump the yeast from their bottles of White Shield in the glass on the grounds that it "kept them regular" were totally wrong, then?
ReplyDeleteits often suggested that bottle conditioning in 750ml produces a better flavour profile than a smaller bottle...saison dupont is allegedly better in the bigger format
ReplyDeleteI have drunk quite a few continental beers that have yeast in the bottom of the bottle. when asked whether or not to add the yeast by the barman, I have said yes and suffered no ill effects. I may of course have a cast iron backside!
ReplyDeleteShould have given it to JC. He loves anything foreign and murky.
ReplyDelete"A good thing I’m well-stocked with bogroll" You would have to be, for more reasons than one, drinking pongy muck
ReplyDelete