Someone, I forget who (or perhaps I'm making it up) once said there are no bad beers, just disappointing ones. And boy, have I been thoroughly disappointed today. I am in fact still being disappointed as I write, as I haven't yet got through an entire pint of the source of my disappointment. Felinfoel Double Dragon. I bought this when I was at Blackheart and Sparrows, North Fitzroy, handing in my resume in the (probably) vain hope of getting a job there. But of course, I also had to see what beers were there. On a shelf out the back was a new (to me) line-up of UK ales, all in delightful 500ml bottles – which are my favourite kind for re-filling with my own homebrew – and after picking each one up in turn and cursing the fact I'm not solvent enough to buy them all, picked out the Felinfoel.
4.2%ABV, “The national ale of Wales benwathy prooharhar cyrngngngflgh” or some such. Pouring into a Nonic pint, it looks the goods, a coppery amber with moderate carbonation and a pretty tight head. But what's this, I think, as I go in for the sniff – a metallic tang of blood or copper is pretty much the only discernible aroma on first draw, although the second brings out a hint of fairly typical UK toffee, albeit somewhat tempered by what I can only sum up as iodine. A sip brings me back 6 months or more to the last of my kit+kilo homebrews, combining the good and bad aspects of aroma with a watery body and somewhat acid finish. There is also hints of a flavour I struggle to put into words, other than having something of the character of cheap red wine. Ugh, a real let down.
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