Roaring Meg, Springhaed Brewery

Brewer: Springhead Brewery

Brew: Roaring Meg

ABV:5.5%

Aroma: Citrus

Style: Golden Ale

Awards: Runner Up - Great British Beer Festival

CAMRA East Midlands Region

Champion Beer of Britain Competition 2014 - Silver Award

So I am back in the reviewing seat on what has turned out to be another glorious sunny day in Nottinghamshire. Today's beer, a golden craft ale from Retford, also located in Nottinghamshire is fairly local to me and on first impressions, the bottle label is rather funky.

Roaring Meg is the flagship ale for Springhead Brewery, having been first introduced in 1990. The mix has changed somewhat from its original recipe, having started out life as bottle conditioned with an ABV 5.7% until 2006, at which point it transitioned to an cold filtered 5.5%.

The name is derived from a cannon which was used in the local area during the civil war in the 17th century. The beer made promising headlines when first introduced, finishing as runner up in the Strong Bitters category of the 'Great British Beer Festival'.

Upon pouring this golden ale into the glass, there is medium carbonation and a decent amount of head to the beer. The initial taste is bitter, earthy with an underlying citrus tang to it, the aroma is malty with subtle hints of orange and honey. Having said that, the aftertaste is acidic and lingers in the mouth a tad too long - I find the only way to alleviate this problem is to drink more (a slippery slope I think!).

Whilst the bottle and website make little reference to the hop variety or malts used, it is safe to assume a citrus based hop, such as cascade may have been used for creating the orange tangy taste. This combined with a bittering hop such as Nugget hops or Columbus hops to add to the intensity of the aroma and flavour. The maltiness is probably generated from Crystal Malts which also adds to the sweetness I can taste in the ale.

All in all, this is a decent ale, although I feel for some the ale may be too bitter. In relation to appropriate cuisines, Roaring Meg would go nicely with a Indian or Thai curry

Overall, I would score this beer a 3.75/5. Thanks for reading our latest review at Beerswillers. Until next week, enjoy and er, drink responsibly 😉