London Lager + Grolsch = London Lager!

Surely it cannot be true. The quintessential London brew from Meantime Brewery, its London Lager, now contains Dutch brew Grolsch.

It is understood that batches of London Lager contain around 10% of the overseas brewed beer. While  this is not a crime in itself it is rather disappointing that this blending of London Lager undoubtedly strips away some of the credibility of the beer.

It also stretches somewhat the ongoing naming of the beer as London Lager. Maybe renaming it Anglo Dutch Lager might now be more suitable.

It is sensible that Meantime should work closely with its new parent company SAB Miller to benefit from synergies and greater operational efficiency but mixing the group’s beers might be just a step too far.

There is of course a long history of the mixing of beers, which continues to this day, and beer lovers will know that the great Belgian Lambics are produced from the blending of different vintages. But it really would be a stretch to say that combining Grolsch with London Lager quite fits into this category.

This scenario certainly has to be seen as a disappointing turn of events and does not bode well for Meantime following so closely on the heels of the SAB Miller deal.