Fancy a pint of Swill?
It’s not exactly a name to tempt the tastebuds but it is on sale in America.
My brother-in-law Ian Lennon, who emigrated to the West Coast from Skelmanthorpe, sent me a photograph of it in a display in his local store. It comes from a micro brewery in Oregon called 10 Barrel Brewing that produces a long list of beers with names like Cherry Tart, Smoke Screen, Sinister Black and Mike Saw A Sasquatch.
A Sasquatch is another name for Bigfoot, a mythical creature of the north west, suggesting that if you drink enough beer, you might see one. Particularly if you choose a brew called Apocalypse IPA with a strength of 6.8%.
Swill is described as: “The perfect blend of American sour and multiple layers of citrus.” Which means a blend of beer and lemonade. In other words, a shandy with a strength of 4.5%.
There are other beers with unfortunate names, usually, but not exclusively, from America.
Butface Amber Ale is not particularly appealing, nor Old Engine Oil, Sick Duck, Moose Drool or Pooh Beer (it has honey in it) and Seriously Bad Elf hardly seems like a recommendation to try a tipple.
Ian returns to Yorkshire once a year to visit friends, relatives and The Chartist and The Grove at Skelmanthorpe where he can indulge his taste for real ale.
As for Swill?
Presumably the American definition is to drink or quaff in large quantities: to guzzle, imbibe, slurp, consume, swig and slug. Presumably its English definition has passed them by.
“I don’t know what Swill tastes like, Ian said. ‘‘But the name sums up a lot of American beers.”
