Sheffield United 3 v Plymouth Argyle 0
Saturday 6 December 2014
FA Cup Round 2
Twitter @ball_sup
I headed for The Rutland Arms. They'd had a Magic Rock Brewing Tap Takeover in the week, which I couldn't make. So I was hoping to catch the tail end.
I plumped for Barrel Aged Dark Arts Surreal RASPBERRY Stout on keg at 6%.
Lovely lingering thin latte head. Black Forest Gateau on the nose. Sweetness of the raspberries gives you an immediate hit. There is a little bit of tart there. And that segues into a rich & bitter background kicking in. Maybe the finish is more toasted hazelnuts than bitter.
Great. It's sort of 3 beers in one. The raspberry sweetness. The bittering. And a burnt toasty finish. The sweetness does not stay. Hit & run.
They've got me now. So I moved on to the Barrel Aged Dark Arts Surreal CHOCOLATE Stout. Also on keg, also at 6%. This one had a much more grassy, earthy feel to it. There isn't a sweetness. I'm OK with that. I don't like sweet chocolate stouts. The bitterness (presumably) comes from the chocolate & hops. I'm thinking the earthy feel is maybe woody coming off the barrel ageing. Although I wouldn't say I can taste the chocolate. But you sort of feel it in the background. A tip of the tongue bitterness gives it away.
Nice. But I firmly prefer the Raspberry version.
Football Remembers at many grounds today. Another "thing" for clubs to try & outdo each other with. I'll get firmly behind the song & the sentiments on this one. Hooty & The Farm. Pete Wylie cameo in the video. Ordinary German & British & Commonwealth soldiers doing what they could to stop the fighting in a mad Imperial War for one day. Salute.
I still get a little buzz from the Cup. It helped a lot that we had a great run to the Semi Final last year. I'll hear all the "we've got to get out of this league", "forget the cups, concentrate on the league" arguments. But, come on. It's still an 11 v 11 game with a ball. It's different. In a way it's more immediate. It's better.
Went OK for us in the end.
