The Fifth Stout of Christmas
BEER: IMPERIAL BROWN – LONDON 1856
BREWERY: THE KERNEL
ABV: 9.9%
RATEBEER RATING: 99
UNTAPPD ABUSERS: 1,548
Purchased from The Red Lion, Cricklade
Beer opened 8.44pm…
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector is on the stereo.
The label says Brown Stout so I’ll assume that this bottle of IBS London 1856 pours brown but the truth is that the lights in here tonight are so subdued that I can barely see the glass that houses the beer… but once the glass is safely in my greedy mitts I do discover that there’s a groovy looking head and that it’s the colour that we all aspire to achieve when we create a caramel-latte-mochaccino. And the carbonation is spot on. The nose is also spot on: chocolate, coffee, malt loaf & fig rolls soaked in vanilla ice cream, a fancy new boat race, the invention of the rules of croquet, the funeral cortege of GB Shaw and the subtle suggestion of caramelised molasses. Taste wise it’s damn impressive. But I almost feel like I’ve committed a crime by opening it after only two years in the bottle. I can’t help feeling it’ll continue to improve with age. I’d tell you what it tastes like but that would spoil the surprise. WTF? Are you one of those lowlifes who squeezes their presents then holds them up to the light so you can try and guess what they are? Shame on you. Shame on you.
Hmmm… Xmas Eve is a time for Xmas songs and there aren’t many Xmas albums that are as great as A Christmas Gift To You From Phil Spector. I probably heard loads of Phil Spector produced songs when I was a kid but it was until I discovered the Ramones that I actually became aware of his name. And the further I’ve delved into the musical archives the more I’ve come to realise that Spector is responsible for far more music than the Ramones’ finest album. But he’s also responsible for the death of a woman. Is it cool to listen to music that was created by someone who is currently incarcerated for murder? Does loving the Wall of Sound cheapen the death of Lana Clarkson? Arguably, it does. But if listening to Spector cheapens her life then not listening to Spector must cheapen the contribution of such stars as Darlene Love, Ike (now, there’s another scumbag) & Tina Turner and the Ramones. Morality is a confusing town. I really don’t want to live anywhere that I can’t listen to Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) or River Deep Mountain High or End Of The Century. As a famous poet once told me: Worship the art, not the fuckwit artist who created it. I’m just glad that Rolf and Adolf were shit artists. Apologies that this post is a tad down. Merry Xmas.
… beer finished 9.34pm
Twelve Stouts of Christmas (2014) 