Ghost Ship Alcohol Free Taste Test
Adnams launched their Ghost Ship Alcohol Free in June 2018 with quite a fanfare.
This was Adnams' first foray into the world of alcohol free beer; although they have had Sole Star available at 0.9% ABV since April 2017. I happened to be be designated driver a few times in the weeks immediately after the launch, so obviously I sampled the new beer. My first reaction was that it was a decent alcohol free beer, but I was certain that it wouldn't fool anyone into thinking it was actually Ghost Ship. Unfortunately I never got round to doing a taste test at the time.
Recently I have had another spate of designated driver duties, resulting in me revisiting Ghost Ship AF. I was immediately convinced that something in the recipe or process must have been tweaked, as I was sure that the beer have been drinking recently is much closer to 'full fat' Ghost Ship. Popping into Tesco on the way home from work earlier this week I saw both versions of Ghost Ship side by side on the shelf. Clearly the universe was telling me that I was time to do that taste comparison.
If you don't know what a triangulation test is, then don't expect this brief summary to make you an expert! If you don't care what a triangulation test is then feel to skip ahead.
If had been given two glasses of beer and tried to pick out which one was alcohol free I would have had a 50% chance of getting it right by sheer dumb luck. The triangulation test first require me to pick which of the three beers pictured above is different from the other two. Picking at random would give me just a 33% chance of getting it right. To then also identify if the odd one out is alcohol free or not, the chance of getting it right at random dips to 17%. Doing that just once still doesn't prove anything statistically significant. But to someone with a rather nerdy outlook on life it is an interesting thing to do.
First of all I had a good look at the three glasses of beer. The photo above is rather misleading due to lighting. Although the glass on the left looks darker than the other two, in fact it was the glass on the right that was slightly paler than the others. Side by side this was reasonably easy to see. Had the glasses been on different tables, I am not at all sure that I would have been able to say if there was any difference between them in colour.
Next I had a sniff of each glass. All three beers had a distinct citrus aroma, as you would expect with citra being the prominent hop in the Ghost Ship recipe. However, my first reaction was to say that the third glass had slightly less aroma than the others. Having said that, I wasn't entirely certain of my judgement. Going back to each glass again in turn I was even less sure. Thinking about it now I imagine that my nasal receptors were just getting confused. I think I have read somewhere about sniffing the back of your hand to reset your nose - if only I had thought about that at the time.
Finally I raised each glass to my lips for a first taste. At this stage, I was starting to think that the third glass was the alcohol free beer. Then Dylan tried to throw a spanner in the works by starting to drink the beer left over from the bottle that glass three had come from. Why would he be keen to finish off the alcohol free beer I wondered. Careful tasting was clearly going to be required to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Going back to each beer in turn, I felt that there was very little between them in terms of taste. There was a toasty malt backbone supporting a decent, but not overpowering, grapefruit flavour, subtle floral notes, and a bitter finish. Eventually, I decided that the third glass had a very slightly thinner body, that Dylan was playing mind games, and that this was in fact the alcohol free Ghost Ship.
I had in fact successfully identified the alcohol free beer. Whilst I am happy to have proven my beer tasting skills, I am also very happy to say that it not nearly as easy as I thought it would have been last summer.
Now, I won't pretend that I will be volunteering to drive more than my fair share. I can honestly say though, that I didn't mind either of my AF sessions. The beers on the pumps (from Ampersand, Colchester Brewery, Norfolk Broads and Norfolk Brewhouse) would have been better to drink, butmy Ghost Ship AF was infinitely preferable to a soft drink. I felt like I was a having a sesh on a decent beer. I could knock back my pints at the same pace as everyone else - and enjoy them, instead of sipping a soft drink just because it seems like I ought to be drinking something when I'm in the pub.
Triangulation Test
If had been given two glasses of beer and tried to pick out which one was alcohol free I would have had a 50% chance of getting it right by sheer dumb luck. The triangulation test first require me to pick which of the three beers pictured above is different from the other two. Picking at random would give me just a 33% chance of getting it right. To then also identify if the odd one out is alcohol free or not, the chance of getting it right at random dips to 17%. Doing that just once still doesn't prove anything statistically significant. But to someone with a rather nerdy outlook on life it is an interesting thing to do.
Findings
In this case the beer had been poured and presented by my research assistant (aka Dylan, my middle son) while I was out of the room.First of all I had a good look at the three glasses of beer. The photo above is rather misleading due to lighting. Although the glass on the left looks darker than the other two, in fact it was the glass on the right that was slightly paler than the others. Side by side this was reasonably easy to see. Had the glasses been on different tables, I am not at all sure that I would have been able to say if there was any difference between them in colour.
Next I had a sniff of each glass. All three beers had a distinct citrus aroma, as you would expect with citra being the prominent hop in the Ghost Ship recipe. However, my first reaction was to say that the third glass had slightly less aroma than the others. Having said that, I wasn't entirely certain of my judgement. Going back to each glass again in turn I was even less sure. Thinking about it now I imagine that my nasal receptors were just getting confused. I think I have read somewhere about sniffing the back of your hand to reset your nose - if only I had thought about that at the time.
Finally I raised each glass to my lips for a first taste. At this stage, I was starting to think that the third glass was the alcohol free beer. Then Dylan tried to throw a spanner in the works by starting to drink the beer left over from the bottle that glass three had come from. Why would he be keen to finish off the alcohol free beer I wondered. Careful tasting was clearly going to be required to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Going back to each beer in turn, I felt that there was very little between them in terms of taste. There was a toasty malt backbone supporting a decent, but not overpowering, grapefruit flavour, subtle floral notes, and a bitter finish. Eventually, I decided that the third glass had a very slightly thinner body, that Dylan was playing mind games, and that this was in fact the alcohol free Ghost Ship.
I had in fact successfully identified the alcohol free beer. Whilst I am happy to have proven my beer tasting skills, I am also very happy to say that it not nearly as easy as I thought it would have been last summer.
Field Trials
There have been two occasions in recent weeks when I have been designated driver in quite boozy company. Both times I have started off with a very decent pint of 'real' beer, before moving on to Ghost Ship AF for another three or four pints. At 0.5% ABV this beer is just about as alcoholic as the average glass of orange juice so it can be drunk pretty much all night long without effecting your driving ability.Now, I won't pretend that I will be volunteering to drive more than my fair share. I can honestly say though, that I didn't mind either of my AF sessions. The beers on the pumps (from Ampersand, Colchester Brewery, Norfolk Broads and Norfolk Brewhouse) would have been better to drink, butmy Ghost Ship AF was infinitely preferable to a soft drink. I felt like I was a having a sesh on a decent beer. I could knock back my pints at the same pace as everyone else - and enjoy them, instead of sipping a soft drink just because it seems like I ought to be drinking something when I'm in the pub.
The Verdict
As far as I am concerned there is remarkably little difference between the two versions of Ghost Ship, and I am sure that there is a future of alcohol free beer of this standard.
Interesting results., thanks for writing them up.
ReplyDeleteI keep meaning to try the Ghost Ship AF but rarely see it. And in the Castle Inn, (Cambridge) it was served in a warm glass so rubbish.
Thanks for the feedback. Can't believe I hadn't spotted your comment before now!
ReplyDelete