Meantime Chocolate

Meantime Chocolate (6.5% abv) is a strong chocolate infused porter style ale which was on the desert menu at Brown's Bar and Restaurant, Covent Garden. Whilst this beer claims to be chocolate falvoured, it actually doesn't taste like chocolate at all - well maybe a little bit in the aftertaste which has a dark chocolate bitterness, but certainly not the velvet smooth chocolate flavour of Young's Double Chocolate Stout. The beer feels gimmicky and certainly not something that should be taken seriously. My thoughts are out on this one, I am note sure if I love it or loathe it. On one hand its a nice robust porter with enough roastiness to give it the oomph that most porters lack, however it also has a horrid dark chocolate (or even burnt chocolate) aftertaste which really off putting. It also weighs in at double strength compared to most ales, therefore session-ability is out of the question. Maybe it falls into a similar category as dessert wines? You wouldn't necessarily go for it, but sometimes its a nice way to round out an evening?

Meantime Pale Ale 2

I am not sure if the Meantime Pale Ale I had recently at swish chain bar, Brown's in Covent Garden is the same as the London Pale Ale I had earlier in the year, but I have to say what a refreshing drink! There are some subtle differences, mainly being the hopping, with the draft version I had at Brown's lending more toward a bitter hop flavour than a strong aroma hop flavour which I found in the bottled version. But still it's the kind of beer that jumps out of the glass and shouts "FRESH FLAVOUR" in your face. Browns itself is a pretty classy joint which you should probably check out if you are in the west end. Their beer list is actually quite good for a franchised chain.

Anyhow the most recent tickers opinion on ratebeer is as follows;

"Jun 7, 2007 Updated: Oct 15, 2007 Alongside the decorated Meantime Porter sat the Meantime Pale Ale. It was somewhat diminished in comparison to its red flared cousin, but the outstanding merits of the latter recommended a purchase of the former. It begins with a thin, white wall head lazily atop a red-honey body. The nose is confounding – my notes leave no hints as to what it was like at all. I can only guess that it was so subtle that I couldn't’t venture to evaluate its qualities. The taste, however, was more memorable and measurable. The Meantime Pale Ale plays host to a variety of flavors like honey, apple and lemon in a dedication to Spring. However, these are muted by an overbearing, bulky bitterness. The cause is a slip shod hop flavor balance; the bane of many well intentioned pale ales. The brewers simply flexed the hop character too much. Despite the brutal bitter quality, the palate maintains an elegant feel to it. The carbonation, gravity and flavors, even if they’re a bit off, align beautifully to produce the ideal pale ale tongue texture. All the more pity that the hops had to strong arm the better qualities. I’ll be anxious to try another batch of this in the future, with the hope that somebody has gotten around to tweaking the sweet and bitter."

I couldn't find honey, apple and lemon flavours in mine, but then maybe my palette is not refined enough!