Meantime

One of the highlights of my Christmas was finding two of the best bottled beers around at my local Waitrose at a very keen price.

Large (750ml) corked bottles of Meantime London Porter and Meantime India Pale Ale are now sold in Waitrose at £2.66 a bottle. Considering I just paid close to £10 for similar bottles from Lost Abbey, admittedly imported from California, I thought £2.66 an absolute bargain and "filled my boots".

Meantime London Porter is brewed at 6.5% to a 1750 recipe using seven different malts and fuggles hops. It is a ruby coloured, dark beer and is bottle conditioned giving rounded coffee flavours and aromas.

Meantime India Pale Ale is also brewed to a traditional recipe at 7.50%, with maris otter malt, fuggle and golding hops. Hop levels are high but not too overpowering. The beer is also bottle conditioned, slides down smoothly and has a long fruity aftertaste.

Both of these beers are among the best available on the supermarket shelves and I commend them to your attention. Each one is not too much of a belly full in one sitting but they are also perfect for sharing.

Meantime are experts in brewing traditional style beers for the adventurous beer lover. These are not bog standard beers, they are crafted with care and attention to detail and at this price they are a steal.