Day 78, Beer 78 - Robinsons "Old Tom"

Today's Beer







Name - Old Tom

Brewer - Robinsons

Classification - Dark strong ale

Strength - 8.5% ABV


Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye - Rubied espresso. Vampire coffee.

On the nose - Black treacle and liquorice. Bold, rich and quietly terrifying.

On the tongue - Deftly complex and delightfully powerful. A dangerously easy-drinking high strength beer.

On the subject - This famous ale is now branded 'Original' due to the arrival of the variant 'Toms' - Ginger Tom (Beer Year review here) and Chocolate Tom (review coming soon).

On the market - Wide availability. For a case-load (consult your doctor first!) try online at MyBreweryTap.

On the whole - 8.5/10


Full Review

I reckon I may eventually need to finish off this review some other time.

I sensed after just one mouthful that any great detail, entered into at any great length, may ultimately prove hard to sustain.

The reason for this is simple, and it has something to do with the 8.5% ABV rating printed on this bottle's label (which, I've soon realised, is no typing error) and it also has something to do with the fact that this high strength does little or nothing to stop you popping rapidly back for more and more sips.

Deadly combo alert!

So, before my mind dissolves entirely into mush, let me quickly talk a little about flavour - because alcohol is by no means the only thing that this excellent ale is packed with. The deepest, richest and most vivid flavour themes are at work here.

Liquorice, blackberry, dark boozy fruit cake, almond (as in marzipan), orange zest, red grapes, cocoa, faint aniseed - all blended and integrated with the kind of skill many breweries could only ever aspire to.

To be this strong and yet this nuanced - by heck that's an achievement.

The elegant lightness of the body is also worthy of mention - yet another aspect of this beer's frightening drinkability.

Just above that ABV rating on the label is written - with great pride, no doubt - a claim that this brew is (or at least it was according to the World Beer Awards back in 2009) the very best beer on the planet.

A reasonable claim?

Well, personally, I tend to spy a certain vulgarity when such impossibly subjective matters are stated like facts in this way (though I blame neither the brewery nor the organisers of this event for feeling the need to enter into the spirit of a good old public relations exercise every once in a while). I do also wonder whether an ale of such bloodcurdling power really ought to be hailed in this way on a global scale - looking at it from moral/public health perspective.

However, these small quibbles aside, there's really not a lot more I can say to counter the WBA's opinion because this beer is quite clearly a magnificent example of what a properly fine ale can be.

Anyway, I'm almost at the end of this glass now, so there's probably little or no point in trying to continue...

So, I'm just going to sit back and savour the last few drops of what some say is the single greatest beer of them all.

Don't be jealous.

Cheers.

Day 48, Beer 48 - Robinsons "Unicorn"

Today's Beer

Name – Unicorn

Brewer – Robinsons

Classification – Premium Ale

Strength – 4.3% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Rich, light amber. Curiously eye-catching bubbles...

On the nose – A nicely hopped, top end zing. Faint but fulsome malts.

On the tongue – Pretty much everything you'd want from a premium ale – and yet...

On the subject – This brewery's next landmark birthday will be its 200^th (albeit in another 27 or so years) so they pretty much know what they're doing. This beer, though, has not plodded what you'd call the 'usual' path.

On the market – This mythical horse came direct from the brewery. Larger stockists include Tesco and Sainsbury's.

On the whole – 7.5/10

Full Review

The next thing I knew, was that it was almost empty...

My glass, that is.

A good thing, then, that I had a second bottle nearby.

The 'emergency' bottle is what I like to call the spare one, and the emergency in this case was 'severe drainage of the previous.'

It should now be clear that today's beer is supremely drinkable. There's no problems in that department. It is definitely a brew which gets you reaching repeatedly and with some regularity for another mouthful.

This is nearly always the sign of an excellent beer... but what was that nagging doubt I had in the back of my mind?

Well, first let me deal with the easy bit and say something about what gets you reaching so often for more.

The dominant (and extremely delicious) hop-based sharpness is made even more wonderful by the most exquisitely delicate nut finish, which is so playful in its delicacy that sometimes it chooses not to appear. It becomes almost like a game of nut peek-a-boo, during which this flavour only pops its head out when it is most likely to be surprising and amusing.

It's very entertaining.

The body is lovely – firm but light – and the aroma is zingy, lively and inviting.

In a sense, this beer is all good.

But what about that nagging doubt I'd been feeling?

Well, the doubt first began to nag when I introduced the beer to the glass. There was a certain hyperactivity to the pour, which produced a large and uneven head, and ultimately enforced a three stage fill.

No real disaster there, but then I noticed that the individual bubbles within the head where pretty huge, and the bubbles rising from the base were of a similarly large scale.

Now, it turns out that this beer was actually purpose-brewed for bottles, and I reckon this might have some bearing on the nature and behaviour of the gas.

Of course, you might expect me – of all people – to be delighted that a brewery of Robinson's stature and quality was creating ales specifically for bottled usage... but the great irony is, that I'm not so sure this beer has benefited from this approach.

I sense that this beer would love to take an extended holiday in the land of 'cask' for a while, where I suspect it might find itself relaxing, taking deep breaths and maybe learning a few things about itself.

Upon returning from that holiday and getting back into the bottle, refreshed, revitalised and refocussed, I reckon this beer might then become utterly formidable.

Whereas, in its current condition, it is merely excellent.

Day 42, Beer 42 - Robinsons "Ginger Tom"

Today's Beer

Name – Ginger Tom

Brewer – Robinsons

Classification – This is a bit tricky. A famous ginger ale meets a famous strong ale. So I guess that's the classification.

Strength – 6.0% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Brooding, darkest orange. In fact, make that black orange.

On the nose – Ginger. I simply don't know how else to say it.

On the tongue – Nuclear ginger. In an acutely drinkable sense.

On the subject – Robinsons Brewery have taken their iconic strong ale in new directions, there's now a 'Chocolate Tom' as well as this one. Planet Earth's many devotees of Old Tom need not worry, this beer is just too different to ever feel the need to compete.

On the market – Availability is interesting point. Far more elusive than it's ubiquitous cousin, specialist beer stores and online outlets are best to try. This little kitty came straight from the brewery.

On the whole – 8/10

Full Review

From the side of the bottle, Old Ginger Tom was winking at me.

He'd been winking at me before I'd started to drink the beer, but now that I was drinking it, I suddenly began to realise exactly why he was winking at me.

And it wasn't because he thought I was gorgeous. Or if it was, he certainly hid it well.

He was partly winking at me because he knew that by drinking this beer – I'd been let in on the secret. The secret being that when the world renown Fentimans ginger beer is blended with the world famous 'Original' Old Tom – the result is a winning formula of biblical proportions.

He was also winking at me because he knows only too well that – as well as being manifestly delicious – this recipe is also a sackful of fun.

What a cheeky little cat he is. I'd give his cheeky little face a rub, but he'd probably just make me sneeze. Which most (real) cats tend to do.

Let me be clear about this 'fun' issue, though. This is not a 'novelty' beer. The fun loving nature of the beast has been underpinned with some very skillful flavour management, and the texture is rich and sophisticated.

But it's just inescapably playful. The various hints of coffee, black pepper, cinnamon and pear all have a playful feel to them. Even the way the ginger runs it claws down the back of your throat is done playfully.

But it's a high class sort of playfulness. I reckon the sort of fun Ginger Tom enjoys is that of a lover of dry wit and eloquent banter. I'll bet he reads the works of Oscar Wilde or Damon Runyon before curling up on his chaise-lounge for the night.

There's no point in pretending that this is an ordinary beer. The ginger theme is unquestionably and deliberately dominant and it takes this ale in a direction which most ordinary beers would never dare to tread.

But the sheer experience of this drink is one that absolutely should not be missed.

Who's Been Robbin' Robinsons?

Well, the answer is that no theft of any sort has taken place.

In actually fact, the folks over at Robinsons were all in on it! They were perfectly happy about their delivery man speeding these goodies over here to Beer Year Towers, and we were even happier to receive them.

All these beers will be featuring over the coming weeks, and I have to admit to being especially excited about the two variant forms of Old Tom - 'Chocolate' and the even more tantalizing 'Ginger.'

I always considered myself more of a dog man until now.

That may be about to change...

So, thanks to Robinsons for this (perfectly legal) consignment - it's great to have another great brand on board!