Trooper Red ‘N’ Black

Last night I tried out a new (2016), Limited Edition beer created by Iron Maiden. Naturally, it’s called Trooper Red ‘N’ Black. It’s a porter, not to be confused with a stout. Or is it easily confused? Let’s get Wiki to do the talking:

“Porter is a dark style of beer developed in London from well-hopped beers made from brown malt. The name was first recorded in the 18th century, and is thought to come from its popularity with street and river porters.

The history and development of stout and porter are intertwined. The name “stout” as used for a dark beer is believed to have come about because strong porters were marketed under such names as “Extra Porter”, “Double Porter”, and “Stout Porter”. The term “Stout Porter” would later be shortened to just “Stout”. For example, Guinness Extra Stout was originally called Extra Superior Porter and was only given the name Extra Stout in 1840.“

Anyway, knock it off, Knowlton. Maiden’s beer fucking rocks.* I like darker beers (Guiness is my go-to), so I’m all for this new invention. The flavour is grand, heavy but not overbearing. There’s no nasty “ugh” aftertaste, either. It’s a very drinkable beer, quite a bit darker than the very drinkable regular Trooper beer. Yay!

Sad that it’s Limited Edition, though. It oughta be more readily available. Perhaps, in future, it will be. Maybe this “Limited” run of it was to see if people like it. Yes, people, we do! Then again, when has Maiden ever done anything on a small scale? Ach, who knows. Drink up if you’ve got ’em!

I did find it a wee bit pricey at $4.50 (CDN) for one 500mL bottle. I can get a 4-pack of Guiness of $10. Granted, it rocks in at 6.8% alcohol (whereas Guiness is 4%), so perhaps all can be forgiven due to its quicker inebriating properties. It’s also weird to complain because (I think) the Trooper beer is priced at $4.25 for a bottle. Here’s a quarter, call someone who’s drunk!

In Sum:

I’m glad I got to try this excellent beer. It is very, very tasty. UP THE IRONS!  \m/  🙂  \m/

* At this point I think it’s a given that whatever Maiden does, typically, rocks.