Last Updated: 8 January 2024
BEER FOCUS: Signature Brew – In The Dark (Limited Edition)
Easy folks! Hope you have all been doing okay. It’s been a minute since my last post. Signature Brew has been doing some big things during lockdown, and I’m pleased that I’ve been able to try them. They are a brewery which has become a firm favourite of mine and one that even though they send me beers to review, I’ll definitely go out and buy and hopefully will have the opportunity to go and visit their brewery and taprooms in London.
Drum & Bass isn’t necessarily a style of music that you would usually associate with beer, okay, in some aspects you would, particularly when I DJed out in the clubs in London, Liverpool etc. it was what I consumed but Signature Brewery have joined forces with DRS & Dynamite MC, ones you would usually see hyping up crowds for the likes of Metrik, Roni Size, Calibre, Fabio and more but this time around they’re hyping up your taste buds.
Okay, so you might be thinking, “hmm, but is this just another gimmick beer brewed for promo because, why not?” No mate, this beer is packing. It is one that you can definitely enjoy the flavours and cook with but it is far from a poor promotional beer and to be perfectly honest, I highly doubt that Signature Brew would want a beer done in this way and you can definitely feel this in the quality of the beer and the flavours that this beer provide.
“In the Dark” is a dark smoked lager coming in at 5.1% ABV, 24 IBU and 1.049 OG. Cracking the can open you can expect to sense some traditional lager aromas but predominantly smokey bacon and ash type aromas are what you can expect here.
Pouring into my Signature Brew tulip glass I was greeted with a deep brown, wood type colour and a stunning two finger head with sticky lacing. Taking my first sip, I was taken back. Sometimes when I’ve tried these smoked beers I have never liked them, they’ve always never been my go-to, but this, I was drawn in, the balance of bitterness is what got me enjoying this as yes it is 24 IBUs but it is extremely quaffable and very crisp with whisks of smokey bacon, caramel, bonfire toffee and dark fruits. It is definitely one of my favourite lagers at the moment.
Food pairing:
Well, it would not make sense to not sit this alongside a bacon sarnie, perhaps package in sourdough bread with streaky smoked bacon and tomato sauce to cut through the slight bitterness. But, if you don’t quite fancy a bacon sandwich, then, I would pair this with a creamy pork tagliatelle and crusty bread.
If you have Spotify, I’ve included the new album below but this is out on all major streaming platforms, go check it out:
Let me know what you have been drinking in the comments below and be sure to check out my other beer reviews.
