Thursday 27 November 2014

The third Geordie beer of Christmas

Three Kings Brewery With Respect




Now, Three Kings is a fairly new outfit to the local scene. Hailing from North Shields and run by the characterful, enthusiastic Ewan McCann who runs the two-and-a-half barrel plant known for its bottles wrapped in brown paper bags. A unique presentation feature.

I have not tried many Three Kings Beers and this was one was my first. It's a characterful, off-centre kind of beer and if you were to try it blind-folded you might think it's one of those crazy Belgian ales you find at bottle shops that have very vague labels. There's an imperial pale ale/Belgian ale thing going on. It's 7.4% and there's a fair dose of esters and alcohols combining with a decent dose of carbonation to give that untamed feel. A strong malt front with orange marmalade, bready banana, black pepper and an underpinning stab of blunt citrus bitterness sort of sums it up. If you find a more aged version it is a bit more refined with the signature cluster hop bitterness smoothed out a bit. All in all this is worth seeking out.

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