'Off Days'

After stopping at Kew Green to watch the end of what looked like an exciting game of cricket, I wondered down to The Botanist with the intention of writing my first blog...

The Botanist is quite a high end spot serving gastro pub food...but they have recently installed a micro brewery that sits openly in the window.

Despite my photo, it looks great, and some of the brewery/beer touches they have added around the place are really smart. The entire place is sharp and welcoming, unfortunately the same cannot be said for the bar staff. After waiting 5 minutes, a girl shuffled over and seemed surprised that I wanted a drink. 

Having had a long time to look at the offerings from the bar, which itself seemed disorganised, contradicting and not very beer oriented, (they did however give the option of straight, dimpled or stem glasses) I knew exactly what I was going to order -  a pint of Humulus Lupulus in a 'Josh Glass' - a dimpled mug, naturally. 

I was rather disappointed to have to pay £3.40 for a pint of 3.8% beer that had been brewed 5 feet away from me - and that was hazy. 

However, taste is what I'm here for, and fortunately it delivered quite well. The powerful aroma gave a nice citrusy hop, followed by a dry biscuity end. 

The first sip of this straw coloured ale awoke my tongue with great carbonation levels and a light citrus flavour that mellowed to a sweeter summer fruit taste with a long bitter finish. It wasn't as dry as I was expecting (or hoping), and there was what seemed like a slightly oxidised flavour near the end. I think most people would describe it more as a honey or nectar flavour and link it to the sweetness...

Overall I rate this beer quite well, but for the abv it has a lot going on. I'm not convinced it would be all too satisfying on a hot day, or be a good candidate for a session beer. The aroma and initial citrusy taste is however, very pleasing. The head lacing was pretty good and that nice aroma stayed fresh until the end of the pint! 

Next up, Q gold. A 4.5% beer that was delivered much quicker! £3.50 a pint, again in my view - over priced...and hazy! The head seemed to disappear rather quickly. It was at which point I questioned my judgement ordering a Jubilee beer 2 weeks after the Jubilee! 

The aroma was unpleasant. Very medicinal, and heavily oxidised...perhaps my earlier comments on oxidisation weren't unfounded! 

It didn't do much better in the drinking. Quite sharp and with little condition. The sharpness moves to an ok wheaty/straw taste. But this rapidly dissipates to a heavily oxidised flavour - metallic, wet and like smoked bacon. 

I sent it back, no apology or even any interest was offered, and I was asked to pay for my next beer. 

Next up was the OK Bitter, 4.2%, £3.50 a pint and also hazy...I see a trend forming here! The glass wasn't full either and when I asked to have it topped up I was meet with such a response that I checked my trousers, as the only explanation was that my junk was on display. Strangely enough - it wasn't. 

As the sun was taking the same path as my opinions of the botanist - downwards, I ramped on with the OK bitter. As I drank it I thought they have actually been ambitious with the name! Not very interesting, slightly oxidised, and lacking condition. 

The aroma shouts crystal malt, but with a dettol finish. The taste is a lot smoother and more pleasant, but nothing to shout home about. It tastes like a 4 day old doom bar. Not impressed. 

Time for the 65, a 3.4% mild. Now, I'm quite a big fan of milds so this could go either way! Once again conforming to their trend - £3.50 a pint and hazy, and the 65 had lost it's head by the time I had received my change. 

The initial aroma was inviting, chocolate hazelnut and with a hint of dark fruit, but this finished up smelling strongly of alcohol and somewhat acidic. I could tell before I had tasted any that it had suffered the same way as the other beers - it was old. The taste confirmed this. 

I had to leave anyway, and so told the woman behind the bar. She was much more interested, apologised and offered me another beer. Unfortunately I had to go. As I left I noticed the Q Gold pump clip had been turned round! 

So it seems the botanist can produce good beer, but like a lot of beers - they are getting let down by poor dispense. For other brewers this can be hard to keep a handle on...but not if you're selling it in your own pub! What seemed more alarming was that the fact that one of the people now behind the bar was working on the brewery earlier! Perhaps this gets them off the hook RE the slow service as obviously they were short staffed. 

It still begs the question though - why are they allowing beer of such a substandard quality to be sold? This place has huge potential, they attract a varied and pleasant clientèle, have a fantastic location and little competition for craft beer nearby. 

Perhaps I went in on a bad day, but for me, this is what separates good pubs from bad ones - good pubs simply do not have 'off days'. In the current climate we know and hear all too much regarding pubs, breweries and the recession, (new breweries opening constantly and pubs closing even faster), the market is getting very tight - great for the consumers, but something to really think about for pubs and breweries that have 'off days'.

Cheers,

Josh Walker