Morrissey Fox

My ale blog triumphantly returns with what may seem a fairly predictable taste test – Morrissey Fox blonde beer. My decision to review this prompts an obvious question – Is this all about hype or does this beer have real substance and appeal?

Recently on television James May and Oz Clarke conducted a brewing contest between themselves and Gordon Ramsay even brewed his own. Has the cult of celebrity now infiltrated the world of beer production? Will we be switching on our televisions on Saturday evening to witness Strictly Come Brewing on Ice? Which washed up celeb will be itching to sparge their wort? Will Abi Titmuss be up to her knees in a mash tun wearing nothing but a pair of fishing waders......? Where was I? Oh yes, Morrissey Fox.

The recent television series that saw our two protagonists, Neil Morrissey and Richard Fox secure their own gastropub was compulsive viewing. But is the beer any good?
Label notes from the brewers call this a ‘hybrid’ – somewhere between a lager and an ale. It’s 4.2% and an easy drinker so a nice session beer if you want to cross that line and have a session on your own!

The brewery also claims that it has an amazing nose – personally I couldn’t agree on this one: I couldn’t really smell much at all without putting my whole face in the glass and taking huge sniffs. It’s a pleasant smell yes – subtle fruit hints maybe but difficult to detect anything specific.
First taste is good – nice mouthful of fruit giving way to a refreshing yet slightly bitter aftertaste. I don’t know what else to say about it really – it’s a nice beer. I’ve heard it goes really well with fish but didn’t have any around except a can of tuna that the cat was guarding with malevolence in her eye.

I really wanted to like it, particularly after seeing Neil Morrissey’s vitriolic reaction to the rather uncomplimentary Focus Group that evaluated the beer on the TV programme. I just don’t want him to come looking for me. In fact I do like it, I just feel that at its usual price of £1.90, I would need something more remarkable to drag me away from my usual supermarket favourites. That, as with all my comments, is just my personal opinion.

What I would say is, if you can find it, try this on draught. I find all beers better on draught but this was a completely different animal. Hugely fruity and very easy to drink, the only problem is that I find it difficult to trace down here in Hertfordshire. Hopefully I can track it down at one of the May beer festivals coming up. I shall let you know...