ABV 5.5%
Nicholson’s pubs on the whole do have some unusual gems in their seasonal beer list and this is certainly one of them. This is a beer where it is easy to drink too much of it, soft spicy cinnamon taste coupled with a soft mild flavour means it feels more like a session percentage beer which it is certainly not. According to Daleside Brewery website is made according to a secret recipe from Levens Hall somewhere in Westmoreland and the recipe itself is over three hundred years old. This in itself is a reason to try it but the fact it is also an outstanding beer is the best reason.
Apparently also available in bottles but I have only tried it by pump being as it still easily available that way. It arrives a dark brown pint with a very fluffy white head which is does seem to retain to the last, the first smell and tastes are ginger with a tint of cinnamon which are softened by the toffee finish. I would call this a mild but for the spicy kick to the palate, certainly can hold it’s own against spicy foods but I feel it comes out best with Chinese dishes rather than curries.
This was a lovely pint to start the weekend with, especially coupled with the company on a slightly rainy friday evening in central London. Over a couple of pints the toffee finish increases which only serves to create the nice mellow spicy flavour to the beer which lasts nicely and makes it incrediously morish.
I would head down to your nearest Nicholsons and try it whilst it is still available, their beer menu must be ready to change over soon.
For more information: http://www.dalesidebrewery.com/morrocco.htm
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I looked up Nicholson's pubs, expecting it to be a Southern pub chain and discoverd that the Philharmonic Dining Rooms in Liverpool (20 miles away) is one. So I'll check for Morocco Ale next time I'm there. The Phil, as it's called locally, is one of the most spectacular pubs in Britain and worth a visit anyway.
ReplyDeleteI had a look at that one on Beer in the Evening, it looks fantastic! Although I note from one review that it is being closed in September for a refurb, hopefully it is a tarting up the paintwork and not anything bad like what Wells have been doing to some of their pubs.
ReplyDeleteHmm, interesting. Never seen cask Morocco, and not tasted it for about five or six years in any form. I remember liking it, but not much more than that.
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