Tuesday, November 20, 2007

A Pint and a Book , marriage made in heaven.

“The yeasty fruitiness, suggestion of sweetness in the Pale Ale malt and the hoppy acidity attain a height of complexity”

That’s how the late Michael Jackson described a cask conditioned English bitter when the cask is at its peak. Well that’s exactly how I would describe the pints of O.S.B. I drank tonight while reading the new book from Mr Jackson, the “Eyewitness Companions Beer”.

This corny-cask of O.S.B. is just coming to the end and its tasting brilliant. The hops are just starting mellow, there is the faintest touch of sour acidity, the malt sweetness is just peaking through on the palate, before a firm bitterness begs another sip, and then another pint. The changes from when the corny was first tapped are staggering, this is the magic that turns perfectly normal people into real ale obsessives.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The joy of pulling a perfectly conditioned pint you've made yourself in your own home is, in my opinion, the closest us men will ever come to the joy of childbirth!!!

I once read Iain Banks "The Wasp Factory" in a local pub over a number of nights and I ended up with my good lady friends phone number as a result. Apparently she had a thing about geeky guys, I can't think what she meant as there's nothing odd about a chap reading a book by himself enjoying real ale in a pub hahahaha!