Mash Beer (Bottle)

Mash (London)
Formerly brewed at Meantime
Style: Pale Lager
London, England

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Lager glass, Shaker

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UPDATED: MAY 29, 2003 Label design suggests yuppie beer and name suggests a new style. Instant dislike soon turned to appreciation when I took my first sip. Pale straw-like shade of golden, with a thin soft white foam, the faintest of haze, and a very moderate level of carbonation. Aroma is pretty pleasing and inviting, fresh and flowery, with slight hints of herbs. It shows a mild maltiness, is moderately fruity/lemony with a little hop spice. Palate is remarkably soft and smooth, mild, light to medium bodied, while there’s a slight chewiness as well as a little tingling carbonation, more so at the tip. Starts out very sweet with signs of sweet lemon, almost hinting towards orange, with a smooth honey-like maltiness, and a mid-palate fruitiness that suggests (but doesn’t quite shout out) apricots. The honey and the lighter lemon do play a nice balancing act together, while there’s a tangy bitterness to the finish that is also slightly dry. A mild bitterness lingers, but the honey and lemon sweetness shine through, leaving a very pleasantly satisfying aftertaste. A very well executed lager, probably one of the best in the UK.

Bottle. Golden wtih a white head. Malt in aroma along with a pilsner-ish touch of straw. Also some perfume and starch. Not to my liking. Slightly sweet flavour of malt and fruit along with a decent fresh bitterness.

Bottled in the National Gallery Café, London. Some malt in the body, refreshing hops with a citrus tone. Refreshing, a very decent lager.

Bottle. Clear and yellow with a white head that disappears immediately. Aroma is malt, corn and grains. Very fresh flavour with citrusy notes. Light bodied.

A crisp, herbal brew that's not particularly dry. Mash Beer is a real rarity, so thanks to Spiesy for hooking me up with it. Light butterscotch smell with lots of herbal bitterness in the body. Quite heavily carbonated. Touch of citrus present. I don't see why this beer had a mystique once - it seems rather ordinary other than that it's quite hopped up and tastes like a mouthful of herbs.

Bottle. Seems to be closer to the continental style than most other British lagers. Decent.

Light gold color, small head, malty aroma with a hint of lemon. There is a lemony initial taste which fades to a lightly malty and hoppy. Carbonation is tingley on the tongue. Interesting beer, light flavor but tasty and refreshing. Mouthfeel is bubbly. Finish is dry and clean. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Bottled. Pale golden. Papery, grapefruity nose. Malty and rather sweet. Quite bitter finish. Besides that paper in the nose it is a very respectable lager.

This is an example of style over content. The bottle is decorated in a Tate Modern/trendy mobile phone design: the words ’mash beer’ in lower case gold letters run sideways up the front of the bottle, and ’mash’ appears in an orange dot on the neck. This is a beer designed to be drunk out of the bottle in a trendy upmarket club. As this beer is produced for the Mash restuarant in London, that image seems appropriate. The brewer is Alastair Hook of Meantime who also makes Meridian Lager, so it’s no surprise that this is also a German style lager. It is crisp and clean with a satisfying but soft malt body. There is little more to be said - there is a faint hop aroma, and a leaning towards a dry finish - but all in all it doesn’t leave much of an impression. An easy to drink lager that is certainly better than those produced by the big guns; full marks for a well made product; and applause for making a decent British lager - but where’s the distinctive taste and character? This is a beer that has been made with nervous care, and a desire not to offend. Market this well and it could sell by the truck load, but a great beer it is not.

Pretty nice, fresh herbal aroma and taste, but its not too pronouned, slight bitter finish, overall pretty light, but what there is of it is good.

Bit of a shock this one. The term English lager does not fill me with any pleasure and I fully expected this to be dire. Very reminiscent of a Czech lager, with a big honeyed hop nose backed with a sweet malt hint. Slight haze and very small bubbles suggest it is conditioned for some time and then bottled without filtering or recarbonation. Malt and hop balance continues in the mouth, with a good amount of hops making it through to the aftertaste. Someone spent a long time making this beer and it shows.