Sunday 3 February 2013

#121: St Austell

Having finally returened to college after a long Christmas break, I haven't been seeing many bottoms of beer glass. When I have, it's usually been after an Irish or British ale that I picked up relatively cheap. These next two are no exceptions.

Tesco have Tribute alternately going for €2.99 and €1.49, I really don't know why. Keep an eye out though, because that's a bloody bargain. It pours gold with a decent head, and although it hasn't been chilled, the aroma is very subdued. It's hoppy, light and fruity, though, which is enough to be pleasant. The taste is in a very similar vein, being very balanced between biscuit malts and fruity peel flavours, very English altogether, in a good way. It's light bodied and satisfying, and definitely worth picking up a few.
I usually don't like to direct people to Tesco over an independent off-license, but it must be said that at the moment, €2 in Tesco can get you a Clotworthy Dobbin, Fullers Black Cab, or even a delicious London Porter, among others. 

I try to refrain from exploiting offers such as those in favour of saving my beer money for Bradley's, Abbot's or Carry Out. I Bradley's this week was a 4 for €9 deal on beers that were seemingly coming to the end of their lives. St Austell's Trelawny was among those I picked up. The colour is copper this time, and while the fruity nose is still there, small hints of nutty toffee can be found if you're looking. The ABV is a lowly 3.8%, so it came as a bit of a surprise to see that it packed quite a lot of flavour into it's tiny boot. Caramel malt is the backbone, with a spike of green apple and a bitter kick of grapefruit, before an singular, unfortunate drop of soap lingers in the aftertaste. All these flavours appear not as the Joeys and Chandlers of the episode, but rather the Mr. Heckles or Ugly Naked Guys.

Sinkable and forgettable, even a tad boring.

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