Hello my fellow beer drinkers,
Welcome back once again to The Eternal Hoptimist. As you can see this time we have a post with a slight difference. Last weekend I was invited by a friend to a semi-exclusive Innis & Gunns promotional evening in Leeds Given that I was invited, it would have been rude not to go, wouldn’t it!
So how did he get these tickets? Well, he entered a prize draw competition where you had to answer two riddles which both have the same answer. The riddles for this particular event were “What flies but has no wings?” & “What can be measured and not seen?” do you know the answer?
let me know in the comments if you can find the time to answer this conundrum. Lucky for me, my friend knew the answer and was lucky enough to be selected from a large number of applicants to attend the event.
Who, What, and Why?
The event itself took place in an up-and-coming area of Meanwood just a stone’s throw away from the Meanwood Brewery‘s Terminus taproom in a small photo studio called the light space.
The event was a promotional evening where you were given free samples of Innis & Gunns, Original and Rum Cask Bitters, their newer Lager, and their 0% tipple.
But wait there is more, there was also a small collection of Vinal records that you could select from, and listen to privately on your own record player. Naturally, we had a quick listen to what they had on offer, I personally went for a bit of purple rain, because well it was there so it had to be played! There was also the Clash too so obviously that got played as well.
Alongside this chilled-out space, they also offered a chocolate and beer pairing experience that was conducted by the charismatic Innis & Gunns rep, Ashton. Now I’m not going to go in-depth about what I learnt during the tasting experience, as 1, I could never do it as well as Ashton did and 2, I feel like this is the kind of experience you need to actually experience rather than read about.
The idea behind the tasting was concocted whilst Innis & Gunns created their signature aged barreled beers. If you can pair a wine with food why can’t it be done with beer as well? throughout the talk, Ashton explained what different flavours went well and complimented one another. Some of these flavour pairings were not exactly rocket science for example a salted toffee/caramel chocolate would pair really well with a whiskey base as the flavours complement and expand one another and therefore make the tastes more intense and last longer on your pallet. The one that took me by surprise was the pairing of hazelnut and paprika praline and their Rum based tipple, that one really blew my mind it was like a rummy snickers bar!
But what about the Beers?
As I mentioned earlier they were handing out free samples of their Original, Rum Cask and their newer Lager tipple. Naturally, I tried a few of each and the night got considerably more hazy as it went on but here are my thoughts on each of these.
Name : The Original
Brewery: Innis & Gunn’s
Aroma : Strong notes of vanilla and whiskey and a cheeky sweetness.
Appearance : Clear Caramel colour, with a very thin white head.
Body : Medium-bodied, medium carbonation with poor head retention
Taste : Strong notes of Toffee and vanilla backed with a warm spiced whiskey with a woody finish
Rating : 3.8/5
Name : Lager Beer
Brewery: Innis & Gunn’s
Aroma : Hops with a slight hint of Malt
Appearance : Clear Golden Colour with a thin white head
Body : Medium, heavily carbonated, poor head retention
Taste :Crisp and light larger with a fair amount of Hop, and a surprising amount of biscuity maltiness.
Rating : 3.3/5
Name : Caribbean Rum Cask
Brewery: Innis & Gunn’s
Aroma : A subtle hint of spiced fruits with sweet vanilla
Appearance : Dark but not dense, almost Cocacola in colour with a tight white head
Body : Medium-bodied, medium carbonation with good head retention
Taste : Mellow vanilla taste followed by a spiced woody rum-like flavour
Rating : 4.1/5
That concludes my coverage of the Promotional event, it was an unusual evening for me but I enjoyed myself. I will be looking out for more of the same in the future, but I will have to brush up on my riddles and get a hold of a four-leaf clover or something for luck to ensure I manage to get my hands on those tickets!
The|Eternal|Hoptimitsts 