Super Trooper

The bottle was EMPTY! OK?

Iron Maiden clawed their way back into the headlines with the launch of their mighty Trooper beer a couple of months back. I got round to trying it just the other night.

It's a fine British beer, produced by Cheshire brewery Robinsons, with a strong malty taste benefiting from fruity hops and caramel edge. Dark golden in colour, it's enough to keep the crafties happy without turning off the bitter fans. Very drinkable. 

Anyway, best bit about this beer is the labelling. The front takes its inspiration from the artwork off the band's Trooper single released some THIRTY years ago. I'd show you the picture of Eddie and his Union flag but my image is much better. 

And here's what the blurb on the back said:

Onward, Onward
Rode The 600...
The Charge Of The Light Brigade, which inspired the Iron Maiden song The Trooper, took place at the Battle Of Balaclava (1854) during the Crimean War when 600 British cavalry courageously charged the massed Russian artillery. This gallant but foolhardy assault resulted in a massive loss of live and came about due to a misunderstanding of an order given by the commanding officer, Lord Raglan.

Trooper is a premium British beer inspired by Iron Maiden and handcrafted at Robinsons brewery. Being a real ale enthusiast, vocalist Bruce Dickinson has developed a beer which has true depth of character. Malt flavours and citric notes from a unique blend of Bobec, Goldings and Cascade hops dominate this deep golden ale with a subtle hint of lemon.

So, you get a nice wee history lesson while you drink beer. I want more of this. Much more. Brian Cox could do a cider, mix his tasting notes with a wee blurb about subatomic particles. Mervyn King, now he's got a bit of spare time, could do budget beer, with a small treatise on economics. JK Rowling could entertain her over-18 fanbase and pen 100 micro-fictions for the back of her bottles.

I'm going to come back to this. In the meantime, here's a short Trooper promo: