Lagerboy Speaks – Robson’s West Coast Ale
The World Cup is in full swing at the moment, building to a crescendo of footballing entertainment in mid-July. The official beer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is Budweiser (if only Dogfish Head or Stone had a bigger marketing budget). For those lucky enough to have travelled to South Africa to watch their beloved Paraguay or South Korea, there are other options if they get thirsty (just don’t try to sneak into the stadium with another brand). For example, you could do far worse than get your hands on the 2009 Champion beer of South Africa – Robson’s West Coast Ale (5.0%). Hailing from the Shongweni Brewery near Durban, their Robson’s brand contains four interesting sounding beers – the flagship being their East Coast Ale, a 4.5% golden ale.
Durban – and the small town of Shongweni from where the brewery take their name – are situated on the east coast of the country, so their West Coast Ale refers in fact to the United States, as it’s a California-style lager. It pours with a thin lasting head with some nice lacing, and has some substantial rising carbonation. The colour of the beer is just lovely – dark caramel with a touch of red, and plenty of haze from the bottle conditioning. The aroma is very malty, and so is the taste – dry, with little caramel or sweetness, the crystal malt wins out. It is very toasty, as a California common should be (if that was their intention), but not that woody – it’s a bit like a dunkel maybe. Straddling styles, it’s extremely drinkable and really rather good.
