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After two excellent games last night, we back up with another huge clash this evening. England vs. France is always a big game, this is the first time the two have played since EURO 2004 and arguably theres never been a bigger game between the two. France will be represented by Kronenbourg 1664 in bottle form, a solid premium lager, while England will be represented by an English IPA, Samuel Smith’s India Ale. This should be a cracking contest!
 Kronenbourg 1664 FRANCE Euro Pale Lager 5.0% |
First off the bat, the pour of this beer is pathetic! The head is less than half a finger high, the nose is almost entirely of sweet malts. The flavour lifts the score a bit but I feel the damage may already have been done.
English IPA’s typically aren’t my thing, however this one is fantastic. It has lowely balance between the sweet malts up front and the nice earthy hops, which provides lovely bitterness. This bottle has been aging for quite a while and you could really taste the extra flavour in this one, than the one I hadn’t aged. |
 Samuel Smith India Ale ENGLAND English IPA 5.0% |
It does almost seem unfair to put an English ale up against a continental European lager, but that is just the luck of the draw (the beers are drawn out of a hat). The Kronenbourg just hadn’t travelled very well, it didn’ taste good and realistically it was probably not worth it’s 1 goal. The Samuel Smith India Ale was just beautiful, delicious and really good to drink. Definitely one to buy again and definitely worth the win for England. They are now in the box seat to progress from this group.
