Friday, 6 December 2013

Panda Frog Makarov

Russian Caravan Tea
Well, until now I can't say I've ever brewed a tea beer before. Makarov (named after the ex-Russian army service pistol) is a 6.4% brown ale heavily hopped with Northdown and SPALT hops before being infused with Russian Caravan Tea. This is a blended tea that features the smokey Lapsang Souchong variety.

To me all my Panda Frogs are like my children, so coming back from a weekend break after the blending to try the final version was certainly interesting. Makarov is a big cedary, woody, bulky brown ale. The tea appears in subtle nuances with smoke, pine and earthy hops over a central big almond like malt sweetness. It might not be your typical December seasonal, but I cant wait to get this bottled and home for Christmas.  

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Would love to try this one rob, where will it be available or is it just your private stash ;)

Rob said...

It's out in cask form now around the toon now. Would watch all the main Newcastle pubs. The bottled version should be out within the month hopefully.

Ed said...

You managed to get a beer named after a gun? Excellent, you just need one named after a death metal band now!

Rob said...

This is true Ed. An for the record Killswitch Engage are not technically death metal.