Black Hole Red Dwarf

Gravicask, half pint on the second day of London Drinker BF 08. Dark brown body without head. Some notes of hop resin in aroma. Brittle caramel and a touch of roastiness in taste. Yeasty ending - maybe a bit unfinished (13.03.2008).

Cask at the Devonshire Cat, Sheffield. Pours a dark reddish-amber with a tight off-white head. Aroma is malt, roasted, berries. A little watery and sweet, but does dry out pleasantly with some roasty astringency at the end.

Cask conditioned at The Woolpack, Banbury. Chestnut colour with white head. I too quite liked this beer, richly roasted malt with a fruity, caramel background, there is a nutty 9hazelnut) character near the finish. Ends a little sweet, but the beer is fine.

Cask (gravity) Leicester BF. I don’t have a problem with this beer. No taste, no texture, no flavour. No problem.

I tried it on gravity at its debut at Burton BF; I’ve tried it on handpull in that veritable bastion of brewing, The Brunswick. I tried it again here in Leicester. Because

a) I’m stubborn

b) Third time lucky?

c) I wanted to give maeib a laugh.

It seems to take bland ingredients and turn them into a product of a quality less than the sum of its parts. Like the brewer set out to make the blandest cask he could. Like he managed to extract deep fruits and sweet malts and put them in his other beers instead. Some washy malts, thin hops, watery texture. It’s not unpleasant, it’s always been in good condition, it’s just.....

I don’t get it.

Like a Bateman cartoon character, I’m doomed to be ’The Man Who Didn’t Get The Gist Of The New Beer’. it’s a riddle, wrapped in an enigma..... but not covered in malt ’n hops.