The difficulty with buying a large bottle of beer (750mL+) is that you need to find the proper occasion to drink it and, unless you’re the sort who doesn’t like to share, you need to find a friend or two to drink it with.
There’s a celebratory nature to a beer this size that bears some thinking about and, since I had one in my fridge, I wasn’t about to casually pull it out after a hard day’s work and polish it off.
No, it was definitely the sort of beer I wanted to get into as a prelude to more drinking; a beer to start the night off right with a little class and a lot of taste.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Innis & Gunn’s products. Damn near every beer they’ve ever brewed has been a winner, from their IPA to the limited editions they roll out every year. I’ve yet to try their Rum Cask Finish beer but I’m sure it’ll be good too.
I set the bottle down in front of me. Here was a beer I knew and loved but there was a whole lot more of it. How was I to go about drinking it?
The last time I’d had their 750mL bottle was at a house party and I carried it around as one might carry a cheap bottle of wine. It got a lot of attention and by the end of the night, quite a few folks had begun to see the merits of spending just a bit more for an indubitably superior product.
I wasn’t alone but I wasn’t cracking it open to share this time. No, this was all about pre-drinking which, contrary to popular opinion, doesn’t necessarily have to be about speed and volume. My purpose was not to get drunk but to enjoy that bit of time one spends in their home, getting ready to go out and see what the night will bring.
There was no need to worry about the beer getting stale. Innis & Gunn warms up quite nicely and I was looking forward to what the change in temperature would bring to the taste.
My memory isn’t exact but I think I finished the bottle in less than twelve minutes. It’s a smooth beer with lot of malt and some citrus and vanilla as well. Not too hoppy thankfully (I’m not a fan) and it finishes nicely. It’s a lovely beer and not at all difficult to polish off a larger portion of it.
After I was done, I was perfectly set up for whatever I might drink next and I could have just as easily segued into whisky or continued with beer. It was a great way to start the night.
