Iron Maiden Trooper

I picked it up despite its $5.99/can sticker price mostly due to my being a sucker for good marketing.  Apparently, Bruce Dickinson happens to be an “ale enthusiast.”  At least this is the message listed on the can.  I interpret that as Bruce is really an aging 1980’s, metal-god who happens to be British.  I am absolutely shocked–SHOCKED–to find out he drinks a lot of beer.  I went through my iTunes playlist of other Maiden songs while I tried this out.  In the off chance you do not have any Maiden on your playlist, here’s a link.

The song, of course, is about the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War, and the famous Charge of the Light Brigade.  I never studied the history behind this war, but skimming the surface appears to be the usual, completely avoidable conflict between European powers.  To oversimplify:  Russia wanting some control over the area took advantage of the Ottoman Empire’s weakness but for some reason was not the aggressor—that was the Ottomans.  The Russians won the first round handily.  France joined the conflict over what appeared to be nothing more than pride from losing to the Russians at Waterloo in 1812.  Britain engaged in hostilities because of the Ottoman’s strategic location, with the Ottoman regime being their access to India at the time.  Further background on this can be found at this link here.

How is the beer?  It’s a traditional English Extra Special Bitters (ESB) Ale.  If you’re into the ‘proper’ English ales or even understand why our British cousins use that adjective for everything, you’ll probably find this enjoyable.  Perhaps not as enjoyable as the music, but I’m pretty ambivalent about the beer.  It has the traditional full bodied texture, heavy malt character, and an ever so slight nutty aroma.  Some reviews on the internet also claim there is a hint of lemon, but I cannot taste that.  It does what it needs to do fairly well, but not enough for Bruce to quit his day job 2.8/5.

AC/DC Rock or Bust

It is easy to lob all the verbal jabs at the Thunder from Down Under for their remarkably simple riffs and their ability to sell millions of albums filled with songs that all sound the same.  When you do that for around 30 years, those jabs start to fall short.  Their beer in question shares this remarkably simply quality that tastes like every other mass produced pale lager in existence.  I will respect the beer more if they manage to sell it in large quantities for as long as they have filled stadiums.  Until then, I probably should not have wasted my time mentioning it here 1.9/5.

Megadeth A Tout Le Monde

This one comes with a backstory.  At the UFC Fight Night in Phoenix last January I got a sample of this for free.  If I bought one I got a ticket to meet Dave Mustaine, who also happened to go to the fight but I imagine got better seats than me.  My parents owned a store I worked at while growing up that he frequented.  By most accounts, he is a nice guy and I have to agree.  Since I met him before I gave the ticket away to a random fan.  The beer is a Saison, made by the same brewery that makes Fin de Monde.  Given that pedigree, one might assume it is pretty damn good.  It does in fact, live up to those expectations.             

It has a nice foamy head, that holds up for quite some time.  The scent is a sweeter citrus, like tangerine or orange, but it finishes with a muted lemon.  I was disappointed they sold it with a twist cap when I bought it at the store but it is hardly a deal breaker.

Way better than the swill AC/DC slapped their name on and held up way better than BJ Penn’s face.  Much like the Ottomans, that guy rather handily got his ass kicked.

A Tout Le Monde weighs in at 4.2 /5.