Ticket Alcohol Free Beers - Saffron and Lemongrass (Ticket) By @SpectreUK

Cinabar enters the odd competition draw now and then. Sometimes she wins something, most of the time she doesn't. This time she's won something odd. These Ticket Alcohol Free Beers have odd flavours, both of which have saffron in their ingredients, the pale ale a little more saffron than the lager, whereas the lager has lemongrass as its predominant flavour.

I thought putting lemongrass in a beer would most likely make it taste like washing up liquid. Fortunately I was wrong on that assumption and have found that Asian cuisine, such as Thai curries and Chinese takeaways go well with this not too fizzy lager. Golden in colour, Ticket's alcohol free lager with lemongrass, had a not too overwhelming flavour of lemongrass, followed by a light spiciness from the saffron and complementing hops, with the sweetness of malted barley into the aftertaste. Bizarrely this lager also went well with the bread, cheese and cold meats I have as a Sunday night treat. Although I usually have a big glass of Port or a triple Southern Comfort or rum and lemonade.

The saffron infused pale ale had lavender and orange added in during the brewing. I couldn't help but feel that there was too many complex flavours in this pale ale. Although it still went well with cheese meals, I couldn't find that it went well with anything else or on its own. The spices from the saffron, floral notes from the lavender and citrus from the orange plus the hops seemed to battle each other within each mouthful. Instead wiping out the sweet malted barley and producing a very maize type flavour. A flavour I don't particularly like in beer, and will be glad when I don't have anymore left to slowly drink away.