Hey everyone,
Sorry its been so long since my last post it has been crazy busy few weeks. I had planned to do a 12 beers of Xmas countdown before Xmas but never quite got there, so instead I thought I would give you all a lowdown of some great beers I had over Xmas, ones to look out for next year.
So here it goes starting off with number 5 working our way to the best Xmas beer reviewed over the festive holidays.
Bah Humbug
Brewery: Wychwood Brewery
Abv: 5%
Measure: 500ml
Taste: Malt, Spices, Slight Hops
Odour: Spiced, Malt, Slight Hops, Cinnamon, Cloves
Colour: Light Brown / Red
Quick Summary: Light Beer with the hints of spices that you would expect from a Xmas beer, there are hints of cinnamon and cloves that really sum up those Xmas flavours. This is a refreshing beer that is easy to drink, and not overpowering in flavour, has a nice balance. This beer isn't a real stand out beer but it does tick most of the boxes you would be looking for in a Christmas Beer. Overall not a bad beer but nothing stands out about it either.
Next up is beer number 4 out of my top 5,
Rosey Nosey
Brewery: Bateman's Brewery
Abv: 4.7%
Measure: 500ml
Taste: Slight Bitterness, Smooth, Slight Hops, Malt
Odour: Slight Hops, Malt
Colour: Light Brown / Red
Quick Summary: This is a beer that is smooth and well balanced, with slight bitterness and equally balanced with a slight sweetness. The true flavours of this beer don't come on first taste, they come later after you've swallowed, the flavours start to really develop on your palette. This beer has a very slight spicing to it but not enough for me to really class it as a seasonal beer, however it is still a really easy drinking, smooth and light textured beer that you could drink anytime.
Moving on to Number 3 this is a beer that I have had every year for the last few years and has never let me down,
Merry Xmas & Happy New Year Beer
Brewery: Anchor Brewing Company
Abv: 5.5%
Measure: 335ml
Taste: Heavy Malt, Smooth, Burnt Caramel, Bitter
Odour: Malt, Slight Hops, Fruity, Slight Spicing
Colour: Dark Brown / Black
Quick Summary: This is a really well rounded beer, that I look forward to drinking every year. The recipe on this beer changes slightly every year so the current years doesn't taste like the previous. This beer has a smooth texture with a bitterness to it, giving it s real moreish quality, making you want to go back for more and more. This beer is heavy on the malt, which helps to give it its depth and full flavour. There is also a slight caramel flavour to this beer along with some welcomed spiced notes, giving this beer its seasonal edge. This for me is a great example of a seasonal beer.
The margin between the number 2 beer and number 1 was very close indeed, in the end I went for the following beer at number 2,
La Goudale de Noël
Brewery: Brassée ál 'Ancienne
Abv: 7.2%
Measure: 750ml
Taste: Light, Refreshing, Lightly Spiced, Slight Hops
Odour: Malt, Hops, Fruity, Spiced, Fresh
Colour: Light Brown
Quick Summary: This beer was a real surprise beer for me, this beer is really light and fruity, with slight spiced note. This beer comes in at 7.2%, however it really doesn't taste that strong when your drinking it. This beer is so well balanced and light that you could almost imagine drinking it in the summer months rather than the winter ones, however it has all of the characteristics of a seasonal Christmas beer. It comes in a 750ml bottle perfect for sharing with friends. This was really one of the best beers I had over Xmas and one I would really recommend, this would be perfect for drinking with your Xmas dinner as its light and refreshing rather than heavy and rich. Overall fantastic beer.
Ok so last but no means least, we come to my favourite beer of the Xmas period, this is a really true example of what I would look for in a Xmas beer and would really recommend it for next Xmas.
Santa Paws
Brewery: Brewdog
Abv: 4.5%
Measure: 330ml
Taste: Strong Malt, Bitter, Smooth, Deep Flavours
Odour: Malt, Slight Hops, Chocolate
Colour: Black
Quick Summary: This for me is the perfect example of a seasonal Christmas beer, with its deep, full malt flavours. This is a Scotch ale and has a roasted malt flavour to it giving it a slight chocolate note along with the other flavours you would like from a Xmas beer. This beer is really smooth bursting with bundles of deep rich flavours. This beer is perfect for the winter months as its rich and of flavour giving you that comforting feeling. This beer is not as strong as others above, however you don't miss the higher alcohol content as it is just packed full of flavour. Overall this is really fantastic beer that you will find yourselves wanting to drink many of, this is really a great seasonal beer that I would highly recommend. This for me is my Number 1 beer of Xmas 2013.
This is just a small countdown of 5 great beers that I tried over the Xmas period, there really are so many out there now and ones that you really will want to get your hands on. Just remember this time next year when Xmas is coming around again, that there are some fantastic seasonal beers that will bring joy over the Xmas period.
All of the beers above were purchased at Carry Out Ashtown, I want to say thank you to them for helping me pick the selection I tried over Xmas this year. These beers were all very reasonably priced. They also stock a great selection of craft beer all year round, so make sure you pop in next time your around the area.
I hope you all had a great New Year and look forward to all 2014 brings. There is plenty to look forward to with the Genuine Beer Blog, with more reviews as well as some new features coming real soon.
Thanks For Reading
Shane
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