MM’s new regular feature explores the beer-y delights available in Manchester. This week, Marston’s Single Hop El Dorado, on tap for £3 a pint at Bar Fringe.
Everyone’s heard of El Dorado: a mythical lost ‘city of gold’ somewhere deep in the heart of the Amazon that men have long searched for.
When creating these hops of the same name on a farm in Washington State, presumably the Desmarais family were hoping that such a moniker would herald the discovery of a truly golden and prized hop variety.
Yet the literal ‘city of gold’ that was El Dorado is now resigned to the realm a myth. The hope of finding the city with pillars of gold encrusted in jewels as far as the eye could see has been largely discarded.
By using only the El Dorado hop as opposed to a range of hops like in most beers, Marston’s claim they are introducing the UK’s ale-lovers to the ‘unique tastes and qualities of each hop’ – some of which are never seen before in the UK.
All part of their Single Hop range, Marston’s have been busy bees – producing no less than 12 of these special ales in 2012 and a further six in 2013 following the former dozen’s success.
The El Dorado promises to let the fruity notes of the lone hop sing, particularly the tropical fruit flavours as well as ‘pear, watermelon candy and stone fruit’.
No small feat to promise such bold flavours, surely you’ll agree.
But is the El Dorado destined to fall victim to the same legacy as those who hunted for its namesake – an impossible dream?
There’s little room for error when the hop is the sole performer, but this fella’ holds its own.
Bold and hoppy but smooth and easy-drinking at just 4%, it manages to deliver notes of stone fruits on the nose and citrus on the palate.
Watermelon candy? Not exactly, but if they were hoping to lump in the taste of chemically-created kids’ treats then thank God they failed.
Back-to-basics single hop beers are popping up left, right and centre as the UK’s burgeoning craft beer scene chases on the tail of the US’s own fit-to-burst market.
While Danish demi-gods Mikkeller are producing crowd-pleaser after crowd-pleaser, the UK’s own Oakham Ales and The Kernel have been delivering single hop gems for a while. Even Brewdog have been in getting in on the action with some of their limited edition beers.
That said, a fair few single hopped beers can feel unbalanced. An over reliance on a single hop’s flavours can limit how easily the brewer can achieve the all important balance of flavour that (can be) easier when weighing different hops against each other.
But not so here. In El Dorado, they’ve delivered an unbelievably smooth, balanced beer that boasts the necessary punch to make it stand out from whatever else is next to it on tap, but not harsh enough to put you off a second (or third, or fourth) pint.
The lost city of El Dorado may be a myth. Yet the legend stems from a Muisca tribal chief who smothered himself with gold dust before plunging himself and a boatful of gems into the Guatavita Lake as a tribute to the Gods.
The tale is well-documented in chronicles from Juan Rodriguez Freyle and explorations of the lake bed have uncovered both gems and gold to confirm it.
So there is some truth in the legend, after all.
Either way, El Dorado is a treasure well-worth discovering.
Marston’s Single Hop El Dorado is £3 a pint and is now available on tap at Bar Fringe, on Ancoats, Manchester.
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Picture courtesy of Quite Peculiar, with thanks.
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