Crabbie's Ginger Beer

Crabbie's Ginger Beer
0,5l
4%

So, no, I still haven't given up after the Coconut Beer. For today I chose Crabbie's Ginger Beer. They have it in Raspberry and Orange but for my first flirt with it I went for the classical version. I like the bottle though it isn't much different from other English bottles.The label shows the Scottish Thistle (or so I guess...).
As I am instructed by the label to drink this over ice with a slice of lemon I ritually sacrificed an innocent lemon. As I do not have ice in my freezer, I use my freezer-ice-cooler balls. Hollow stainless steel balls filled with distilled water and then frozen.

Again I am not sure what to expect? Something like a Finnish Lonkero? A fancy version of Fanta with alcohol?

I dislike ginger in food but I think I remember liking Ginger Joe's which I wrote about (last year?).
As I have no friggin idea which glass to chose I went for a pretty basic pint glass.

It pours easy and is darkish gold ... as if someone poured a small amount of cola into a beer I'd say.

Maybe because of the cold balls or of the lemon, the head was more than enough ... sadly it dissipated rather fast, leaving only a very thin layer of foamy goodness.

The aroma is admit-ably strange. Medicinal, sweet. It reminds me of some dissolvable magnesium tablets I took as a kid and loathed. So yeah the smell isn't anything to praise ... I doubt I would have bought this if I had smelled it before.. but well we drink beer and don't sniff it so... next step:

Yeah this is very sweet ... also with decent carbonation. I was about to type 'I do not like this' when the aftertaste hits in. The ginger is really nice in it, burning the back of my throat a bit while spreading warmness throughout my mouth. A pleasant sensation. There are flowery tones in it and I'm a big fan of the ginger hotness in the end that give it a whole new dimension. Alas, it still reminds me more of a soft drink than of a beer. Maybe a tad bit less sugar would have been great.

But yeah, go check this one out if you like the weirder stuff. It is worth a try!

Prost!

DMW