Way back in the day us Cranky Old Men frequented a few of the finer K-town establishments. The PG, like the rest of the downtown, went uptown, but before it did it had concrete floors with a beer and blood drain and was a no go except for the lowest of the low, which at that time did not include us. After a complete refurbishment we were drawn to its main attraction, a Flash pinball machine.
K-Town Pubs of past and present
The Royal Tavern taproom always had a group of cranky old codgers in the corner salting down their beers. The draft was served by the tray and dirt cheap, promoting volume consumption on a budget. * The Manor hosted afternoon backroom ballets which morphed into evening Main Stage acts at times impressive, but often with questionable credentials. ** The only entertainment at the Ports, apart from the shuffleboard table, was the guy drunker than you, and when there wasn’t one of those it was quite possible that you were the entertainment. These days the Ports is still going strong, no doubt due to RA’s continuous support over the years. The Portsmouth House clientele is of a vintage such that the COM can go there and feel young.
The fine folks at Fine Balance have served up, without spilling, a four-nation collaboration here with a new wave of K-town watering holes. The Duchess, Kingston Brewing Co, and the Red House have all teamed up with FB on this one. And even though a camel is a horse designed by committee, somehow FB have brought together this merry band of brewers for a highly rated hometown brew. I had actually sampled this one during a one room pub crawl at the MBAA conference but as per the COMDB Guide to Beer Tasting you can’t do a review on half a brew, so I’m here to finish what I started.
A dark coppery coloured pour, slim white froth to blow off. A copper caramel aroma, smells like amber to me, and Lord knows I love me an Amber. A thick, some would say substantial, caramel toffee taste but some hops head the sweet off at the pass. Lots of malty caramel flavour leading into a mild hoppy body with an ever so slight bitter finish. Great flavour and easy drinking, this is as full flavoured a light as your ever going to see, or taste for that matter.
I could see ordering up a tray of these at the Royal, hold the salt. Great beer, not just finer, but one of the finest. Well done FB and friends.
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