Stella Artois, Heineken and Miller Genuine Draft. Three mass produced beers, internationally available and made in the millions of litres every day. If beer had a "tap water" category, these brands would be in it. I don't say this with any disrespect to these beers, they provide thirst quenching beery goodness for millions of people every day and don't cost that much. I enjoy a Corona on a hot summers day and when sitting in Copenhagen I found myself supping on a Heineken and enjoyed it tremendously. They don't pretend to be anything other than what they are - honest, commercial beer.
Similarly, producers such as Mikkeller and Kernel make interesting, flavourful beers that not everyone will like. Their small production lends itself to making different styles and therefore there will be inconsistency, either in quality levels, flavours or appreciation from the individual drinking the beer. That is the point of these smaller brewers, they are honest, artisan beer.
And then there is the middle ground and this is occupied by Innis & Gunn. A big producer (fourth largest in the UK), with aspirations of more, yet still producing beers with (and I quote from their website) "depth of flavour, complexity and mellowness". I tried four of their beers and this is what I found out.
Smells like Stella Artois that has been concentrated a little. Confected sweetness with a little bit of soap coming off. The palate is thin, with some soap, foam bananas with a bitter finish. Really not a good beer. 72pts
Innis & Gunn Blonde
Light, floury with some more soap. There is even more foam bananas on the palate with some light, pathetically weak flavours. A really dirty finish which is strange for something that tastes of nothing. 68ptd
Innis & Gunn Rum Cask
Brown sugar, a dirty aroma with some burnt caramel aromas. The palate is full of dark, bitter sweetness with a total lack of any form of complexity and depth. It is as if someone has simply added terrible caramel to a bad beer. Awful. 60pts
Innis & Gunn Irish Whiskey Cask
Like 'Tesco value Guinness', there is a terrible flowery aroma with some darker sweeter smells coming off. The palate is unbalanced, reminds me of undiluted orange barley water. There is a bitterness on the palate, a really long terrible finish that is both bitter, sweet and fat. Awful. 66pts
The beers I tried were pretty bad. I can forgive the rum and Irish Whiskey cask beers as they are simply point of difference beers that are pretty rotten. The blonde is just dull, but it is the Original, the beer that I thought was the best of the quartet, that I dislike the most. This beer is totally dishonest. It is marketed as an interesting beer, well integrated and yet is anything but. It is like the full fat version of a mass produced lager, like Stella Artois, but lacks any of the honesty that the Belgian beer has. If they marketed this as a cheap beer with added flavour, I wouldn't object so much, but this is trying to be an interesting beer when it really isn't. It is dishonest, and that is the problem.
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