India – Cobra, 5.0% abv

Following the poor performance of it’s big brother earlier in the tournament, this ‘king of the Curry houses’ tried to pick up the bat and put in a better showing out in the middle. Coolness is the key here and, without trying to be anywhere near as fancy as the King Cobra, this beer turns in a good solid performance.

Thrown down ice cold this one takes the middle stump clean out however, if it’s left to get warm, there’s a danger it goes wide down the leg side. Certainly it’s a better offering than it’s common rival Kingfisher.

Score (out of 20) – Ice cold, this one produces a respectable knock – 13

West Indies – Red Stripe Lager, 4.7% abv

I have to admit that I had already been ‘out in the middle’ for some time before I got round to sampling this one. My tasting notes are therefore being read from the back of a pub food menu.

The first taste was rather tart and a little tangy but it settled to be a fairly average beer. It did not taste very strong and I was surprised to see that it was 4.7%, I had thought in drinking that it was far lighter than this. I have to admit that, probably before the end of the Twenty20, I will most likely give this another crack of the whip when I’m a little more sober.

Score (out of 20) – probably should have been offered the light but still above average – 11