Beer of the Weekend #427: Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale

The beer tonight is Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale, brewed by the Black Sheep Brewery of Masham, North Yorkshire, England.


Yes, I said I would drink my last single-hop bottle tonight. However, J-Rod is not here. He made me promise to give him a taste of each beer he gave me for Christmas and I will not break that promise. Tomorrow night, perhaps.

Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. A batch code is printed on the shoulder but there is no freshness date.

Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is light bronze. A finger of light, eggshell-colored head left a skim of foam and a ring around the edge.

Smell: The first whiff is sweet, fruity, and grassy. Apple or grape juice blended with honey, sweet caramel, light toffee, and grassy hops.

Taste: Grassy and crisp. It is on the lighter side, too, but still very tasty. The grassy and floral hop bitterness outshine what fruits are there. The fruit juice is there but not prominent. Pale malts, honey, sweet caramel, toffee, and lemon zest.

Drinkability: It is crisp, clean, and tasty. All around good stuff in my book.

Fun facts about MPHGA:

-Style: English pale ale.

-Price: No clue. My aunt gave it to me for Christmas.

-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.

-Alcohol content: 4.7 percent ABV.

-MPGHA was first brewed in 1999 to commemorate Monty Python’s thirtieth anniversary.

-I will admit it: I hate
Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Though I have nothing against Monty Python, and enjoy the show and the one or two other Monty Python movies I have seen, I cannot stand Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It’s not funny to me. Plus, a group of kids in high school had a bad habit of chirping “ni!” One would say, “We are the Knights who say NI!” Then three for four others would start in with their squeaky, high-pitched voices. I would hear them in class, in the hallways, in the cafeteria. It was annoying as hell.

-“Did you know…” information from the beer’s webpage: “That Holy Grail is our most popular beer in the US and Canada? All our bottled ales are suitable for both vegetarians and vegans.”

-Another quote from the webpage: “We use a touch of wheat which helps deliver the lovely creamy head and lacing down the glass - just what you would expect from a proper Yorkshire beer!” Bobblehead’s mom is from Yorkshire, so I wonder if that is what she expects.


The Quiet Man’s grade: B.

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