Some Christmas Ales

Pretty much every brewery produces a Christmas themed ale these days, and as I had a few in my cupboard I have sampled and reviewed four of them. Here’s is what I think of them;

Panther Brewery Festive Panther, 4.5%

The Panther Brewery from Reedham in Norfolk takes its name from several claim sightings of a Panther in the area and this is their festive ale, a dark ale with the addition of mulled spices.  Poured a very dark brown, smells of malts and a lot of mulled spice, with a smooth texture the ales taste for me was a little overdone with the mulled spice really overtaking everything else and giving it a bit of a vinegar undertone, I didn't really enjoy this, 5.5/10.

Ridgeway Reindeer’s Revolt, 6%

An amber beer with good head from Ridgeway Brewing in Oxfordshire, the bottle says this is brewed for the USA market but it seems to be readily available from several outlets over here also. The ale has rich toffee aromas with a touch of hops and raisins, to taste the ale had a rich malt with toffee and spice, with a mild bitterness to finish. Very drinkable for its ABV, 7.75/10.

Shepherd Neame Rudolph’s Reward, 4%

Shepherd Neame’s festive effort wins the prize for my favourite label of the four but that’s about it I'm afraid. In a clear bottle this amber beer with a cream head had an aroma of dusty malt and burnt wood with a little spice, to taste it was a mild amber ale but with an undertone of ash, I hope in real life Rudolph’s Reward was better than this. 5/10.

Mighty Hop Christmas Cracker, 4%

The Mighty Hop Brewery from Lyme Regis has created this Christmas ale from a tradition recipe using Viennese Malt and Curacao Orange. The orange is really strong throughout, and the aromas of the ale are a mixture of vanilla and orange hops. To taste it’s a mild amber bitter with added orange and spice, with very mild bitter finish, very festive and I enjoyed the infusion of Orange, 7.5/10.

Copper Dragons and Riders on the Storm

Four more ales have been sampled and judged, read on if you please.

Kelham Island Brewery Riders on the Storm, 4.5%

The Kelham Island Brewery is based in Sheffield and has been open since 1990 making it the first new brewery to open in the city for 100 years.  Pours an clear amber colour, slight sweetness on the nose with a little fruit, on the palate it is dry with a light crisp malt and some hops, I’m afraid I found this a little dull, but it is inoffensive, 5.75/10.

Loch Lomond The Ale of Leven, 4.5%

This brew takes its name from the River Leven that connect Loch Lomond in Scotland with the River Clyde, the brewery sits on the site of old cloth factories which were located their due to the purity of the water, so hopefully this beer benefits from that. The beer pours a dark golden orange with a nice creamy head, spicy fruit aromas with some maltiness, similar flavours on the palate followed by a well rounded bitterness, very nice, 7/10.

Summerskills Devon Dew, 4.7%

A brewery based in Plymouth in Devon this bottle is a survivor from my West Country selection earlier in the year maybe due to its slightly uninspiring label and name, this was a mistake. A golden beer with a lovely lasting head, aromas of honey and lemon hops, and the flavour is sweet which reminded me of lemon cake with slight malt and some herbs with a refreshing mild bitter finish, really enjoyed it, 7.5/10.

Copper Dragon Black Gold, 4%

Black Gold uses a recreated recipe from 1800s records, and I must say living in the 1800s sounded fairly grim until now but if this is the kind of beer they were drinking I may have been wrong. There were aromas of toffee, caramel and bread malts, smooth texture with a lasting halo head round the edge of the glass. To taste there is creamy caramel malt with a mild bitterness, lovely creamy aftertaste as well, sort of a mild/stout hybrid, superb, 8.5/10.

A Chimera, a Flying Dog and the Black Pearl, but no Johnny Depp

Some of my most faithful readers (Hello Mum) may well be aware that I am soon to move to pastures new in Kent and to avoid having to hike my bottles across the south east I'm endeavouring to drink them all before mid January, so I'm going to review as many as I can but not all will make the cut I'm afraid. Here are three of the more interesting ones I've had in the last couple of days.

Downton Chimera Honey Blonde, 4.3%

The Downton Brewery is to be found near Salisbury in Wiltshire and is a 20 barrel brewplant with some lovely bottle labelling across their range. The first thing I noticed upon opening my bottle of Chimera Honey Blonde was fizz as the carbonation in the bottle moved all the sediment as soon as I opened it, so after a period of settling in the bottle I poured it out to find, a straw clear yellow ale with a long lasting almost perpetuating head. On the nose I got honey and lemon hops, and on the palate some earthiness a little sweetness and a clear bitter finish. A little over carbonated and not quite sweet enough for a honey ale for me, 6/10.

Emma Says: 'bittery lemon citrus'

Mighty Hop Black Pearl Porter, 4.4%

The Mighty Hop Micro Brewery is based in the lovely Lyme Regis in Dorset and they have a nice little range of beers. This very dark beer gave me on the nose roasted malts with strong hints of ripe plum like fruits, taste was chocolate malts with fruits and spice and a lasting acidic bitter finish. A really excellent porter and at 4.4% I would like beers like this to encourage some other brewers to move away from imperial this and that and focus on excellent milder beers, 8/10.

Flying Dog K-9 Winter Ale, 7.4%

I'm starting to see Flying Dog’s distinctive bottle designs (which I really like) all over the place in trendy London locales these days, deriving from somewhere called Frederick in Maryland, USA this is their winter ale. I'm not sure if its named after the K-9 dog from Doctor Who but that’s what I'm going with, this ale has a dark reddish amber colour with a slight head which dissipates quickly, aromas of sweet fruits and malt which reminded me of Christmas pudding. On the palate it has a rich malt dark fruity taste and you can taste the alcohol from its ABV which gives it certain warmth, nice 7.25/10.

Emma says: 'smells like brandy butter', then she tasted it, shook her head and declined to comment further

stock pic due to my phone not being co-operative

Beer for the Gods and Slugs, Emma's top 3 opinions

RCH Old Slug Porter, 4.5%

The RCH Brewery began in the 1980s in the Royal Clarence Hotel in Weston Super Mare in the West Country but had to relocate to a nearby facility as they were using up all the water. The Old Slug name derives from the fact the old brewery had a problem with slugs! The Porter itself pours very very dark brown, on the nose there are roasted malts, cocoa, and coffee. Lightly carbonated this is easy to drink and on the palate you get more roasted malts and very slight dark fruit flavours with a long bitter finish. A very enjoyable porter, 8/10.

High & Mighty Beer of the Gods, 4.5%

High & Mighty Beer Co, from Holyoke, Massachusetts, are beer-evangelists as well as several other religious based brewing statements according to their website. The Beer of the Gods follows this string of religious naming, but moving away from names and statements this is a pale gold beer with a sweet hop smell. On the palate there are bready malts, wheat with a spicy sweetness and a smooth mild bitter finish, very refreshing indeed, 7.5/10.

To finish this blog I thought I’d list my favourite 3 quotes from Emma this year (she really does not like ale);

• St Austell Clouded Yellow – “I don’t know what it tastes of, but it’s not right, bitter dishwater maybe”
• Exeter Brewery Fraid Not – “smells like hay, farmlike, tastes it, that is awful, tastes like when you accidentally suck your finger when you have just used nail polish remover”
• Stroud Five Valleys – “musty straw with malted milk biscuits smell, tastes like mouldy straw with urine in it”

My Top 5 Ales of 2012

In 2012 I've tried probably in the order of 130-150 ales, here are my top 5, they are not necessarily new or special, just ones that I've tried and enjoyed in 2012 which I've picked out as my favourites over the year. So in no particular order...

Blue Monkey Infinity, 4.6%

The Infinity is an American Pale Ale style using Citra hops, which are excellent throughout. There is a good frothy head and an aromatic citrus aroma, bitter citrus flavours to start followed by a sweeter juicy tropicalness with a lingering mild bitter finish. A triumph.

Harviestoun Ola Dubh 12, 8.0%

Ale aged in Casks which used to hold 12 year old Highland Park whisky from the Harviestoun brewery in Scotland. Pours a very very dark brown with a light head which dissipates fast, Oak and roast aromas with a tinge of whisky. On the palate roasted malts and a little chocolate and then the whisky which starts light develops to leave a dark whisky ale taste. Excellent.

Bath Ale Barnsey, 4.5%

One of the ales available at the ‘Look Mum No Hands’ cycle cafe (or at least it was when the tour de france was on), I spent a whole stage drinking this and it is lovely. A nice fruity dark ale with a chocolatey edge, cracking.

Kelpie Seaweed Ale, 4.4%

This ale from William Bros Brewing Co, has its roots in coastal Scottish alehouses where the malted barley was grown in fields fertilised by seaweed, this essence has been recreated in this ale by the use of seaweed in the mash tun. The ale itself is a dark brown colour with aromas of toffee and nut with an unmistakeable hint of a seaside smell, on the palate it is robust and malty with a roasted aftertaste with again a hint of the sea. This ale is not going to be for everyone but I really enjoyed it.

Clearwater Devon Dympsy, 4.0%

Formerly known as “Cavalier” this ale is from the Clearwater brewery in Torrington, Devon, a small brewery with a succinct range of ales/pubs around the Exmoor area. The ale itself is excellent, dark chestnut in colour with a nutty smooth taste which builds into a citrus finish. It’s very drinkable and I need to get some more of this asap.

Humpty Dumpty, Maverick and Coper

Humpty Dumpty Norfolk Nectar, 4.6%

The Humpty Dumpty brewery based in Reedham, Norfolk which must be handy for them to get their bottles to Beers of Europe which is where I got this bottle from. The Norfolk Nectar has a good frothy head, an aroma of lemon and vanilla hops on the nose, it has a bitter floral taste with a refreshing mid bitter finish, I quite enjoyed this, 7/10.

Emma Says: 'nondescript beer'

Butts Coper Organic, 6.0%

A totally organic operation the Butts Brewery can be found in Berkshire and have a rather nice bottle design on this ale I think, maybe I’m just a sucker for a picture of a Coper (which is ‘a ship employed in surreptitiously supplying strong drink to deep sea fishermen’ according to the bottle). This dark chestnut coloured ale has toffee and Christmas pudding aromas; the ale has a smooth texture, a start with a sweet malt taste and develops into bitter with a lasting finish, very nice indeed, 7.75/10.

Emma Says: 'toffee with an awful bitter finish'

Fyne Ales Maverick, 4.2%

Fyne Ales are based in Scotland and the water used for the ales is sourced from a burn above the brewery. The Maverick is labelled as a dark robust bitter ale, sadly I didn’t enjoy it. The smell was of coffee and a burnt ash, the taste was a musty malt and bread, it just didn’t have much going for it unfortunately apart from the head, 4.5/10.

Emma Says: 'biscuitee, coffee, soil'

Lots of Chocolate, Skullsplitter and a Blue Monkey

I've tried a few more ales over the last couple of days and here are my thoughts;

Saltaire Triple Chocoholic, 4.8%

Established in 2005 the Saltaire Brewery has won a number of awards for this brew. It pours an extremely dark black with a thin tan head, smells of rich cocoa malt and is reminiscent of the aroma of hot chocolate powder, which I enjoyed. The ale has a smooth texture and a nice mild chocolate bitter taste, I wouldn’t say it’s overwhelmingly chocolatey but it is definitely there, I enjoyed it, 7/10.

Emma says: ‘mocca, cocoa smell, weird consistency of hot chocolate but taste like a bitter ale, not for me’

Orkney Skullsplitter, 8.5%

I have had this beer before at the Halloween Ale Fest in Wandworth earlier this year, unwisely on that occasion as my first beer of the day at 1.30pm not a wise decision at 8.5%! I enjoyed it then so I was hoping I would enjoy it bottled too. There is a very light whisky/spirit edge to a fruity aroma, taste is spicy, caramel with the alcohol giving it a punch, very warming and leaves a nice finish, 7.5/10.

Emma says: ‘almost no smell, whiskyish with a bitter finish’

Blue Monkey Infinity, 4.6%

My second tasting of a Blue Monkey brewery ale after the excellent Guerilla I tried a few weeks ago (my review is here). The Infinity is an American Pale Ale style using Citra hops, which are excellent throughout. There is a good frothy head and an aromatic citrus aroma, bitter citrus flavours to start followed by a sweeter juicy tropicalness with a lingering mild bitter finish, one of my favourite beers I’ve had all year, 9/10.

Emma says: ‘peach and apricots and then bitter’