The Famous Belgian
Meantime Brewing Company Limited

Got this on tap at the Old Brewery in Greenwich.

A: Pours a very clear gold/orange. So far so good. Not as much head as I would have expected, but not terrible either. What head there was had a light tan color and reasonable resiliancy

S: Not much going on here, really. The first and most apparent component I got was malt. I was a bit disappointed that there were no esters present. No fruit, no spice. There was nothing here that I could identify as Belgian. For me, the distinctive Belgian aroma is part of what really makes the style and I didn't get any of it. The aroma was perfectly pleasant, I just didn't feel it was to style.

T: Light but full malt. Well balanced. Again, this was a perfectly fine beer, it just wasn't Belgian. I didn't get anything that really stood out as notable. This just tasted like a standard amber ale to me. No really distinctive hops, as you'd expect for the style. It wasn't that there was anything present that shouldn't be, rather that I felt something was missing.

M: Rich and full without being cloying. The balance between body and carbonation was well done.

D: Quite good for 6.5%. It drank easily and pleasantly. At this range you probably couldn't drink these all night, but you could certainly have a couple and enjoy it.

Overall, there was nothing really wrong with this beer. It simply didn't stand out to me. And the reason I've rated it so low was that I didn't feel it was to style. If this was called an amber ale I would have rated it much higher. But there are certain characteristics I expect in a Belgian and I found them really lacking here.

OK, OK, one last beer at The White Horse on Parson's Green then I really must be going. Good food, too.

Pours a spun gold, very true Belgian coloring. Smell is light, sweet, warm.

The Famous Belgian follows the sniff profile closely. Very sweet, with light, almost grape fruit undertones. Light, fizzy, but lays deceptively heavy in the stomach for a 6.5% brew. Very carbonated, even on cask, feels a little jumpy in the mouth.

Good brew & a nice Belgian from a London brewery...and on cask at that.

I ve had this a couple of times now in my local which does a Meantime seasonal tab.

The colour is golden to amber with some head - creamy raqther than fizzy.

The taste is as expected strongly malty with little hops and faint fruity esters.

Mouthfeel is medium body definitely not a dry beer and alcohol is barely noticeable.

Drinkability is very good - goes down a treat!