Marble Specials

We took delivery today of Marbles latest corked and caged 750ml special bottles. One is a US style IPA called "Utility Special 2010" and the other Marbles "Stout Porter Stout" which previously has been bottled in the smaller 500ml standard bottle. I'm always excited to try anything new from Marble, so I thought I'd crack them both and share my thoughts.

Utility Special 2010 IPA ABV 6.5%

Aroma: The cork comes out with little force and a decent 'pop' and the beer pours a lovely golden colour. The beer is slightly hazy with a bright white head. As might be expected the aroma is typical Marble, a big sweet fruity aroma reminiscent of pear drops. Its dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin but smells more of pears than gooseberries to me; pears, grapefruit and maybe some tropical fruits.

Taste: The Nelson Sauvin really comes through as the beer hits your mouth, the flavour and astringency remind of white wine flavours, its slightly thinner than the 7.2% Vuur and Vlam but has a similar smoothness. Its also a bit thinner in mouthfeel than 5.9% Dobber and definitely more bitter than both. The flavour is more grapefruit, gooseberries and a sort of candied pineapple. Its nicely carbonated, less so than US IPA's, but still plenty and it makes it very drinkable.

Aftertaste: I like bitterness in beers and this one doesn't disappoint, and as mentioned above the carbonation is soft so the beer goes down easily. You're left with loads of bitterness at the back of your mouth/tongue which just makes you thirsty for more.

This is another great IPA from Marble. I believe its one they've brewed in the past when experimenting but didn't put it into their regular line up. Maybe tastes have changed? I'd say its not as refined as Vuur and Vlam and its slightly thinner and more bitter than Dobber. To me It's sort of an IPA version of Marbles session beer PINT and a very satisfying hop fix if thats whjat you're after. Another great Marble IPA.

Stouter Port Stout ABV 5.1%

This is a beer I've had before both on draught at the Marble Arch and in the bottle. To be honest though I can't remember exactly what it was like.

Aroma: This cork also leaves the bottle with a satisfying 'pop', the beer pours a thick black/brown colour with a milky coffee coloured head. The first thing I smell is chocolate and then roasted malt. There's a rich plummy smell and a bit of a burnt toast aroma.

Taste: The tastes in primarily bitter chocolate, coffee and a slightly vinous charachter (as you might expect). Once the beer warms up a bit there's a decent velvety mouthfeel. There are lots of hops in there, and lots of roasty malt flavours.

Aftertase: There's a cleaning carbonation on swallowing and the aftertaste is a hoppy bitter astringency to the sides of the tongue rather than the back of the throat.

This is another very tasty beer, which stands out in its strength of flavour for its relatively low ABV. Its very roasty and bitter and very Christmasy. I can see myself tucking into one of these with some cheese or christmas cake over the Christmas holiday.

You can buy Marbles beers including the new specials here. They're also available via our pick and mix list here.