First Attempt

Festive Ale Focus: Gordon Xmas

A very late addition to the Festive Ale Focus. I never got around to drinking this 8.8% ABV strong brown ale over the Christmas period and had decided to save it for the 2012 festive season. Then I remembered that the Russians celebrated the Eastern Orthodox Christmas only yesterday and therefore felt justified in consuming it tonight. 

This is a Belgian beer but, as its name suggests, it has its origins in Scotland. I bought this for a not inconsiderable sum at The Offie, whose genial proprietor Muree explained the origins of this beer as I handed over my hard-earned cash. According to Muree, this beer was at first brewed in Scotland but became so popular in Belgium that they started making it there as well. He added that production of this beer in Scotland ceased a couple of decades ago, so it’s now only made in Belgium.

Anyway, it’s it’s quite sweet and has a taste that’s possibly reminiscent of Christmas cake. It’s an entirely appropriate ale for the Christmas period. 

Festive Ale Focus: Gut Forsting Weihnacht Bier

Weihnacht is the German word for Christmas, and this 5.2% ABV lager is the first German beer to feature in the Festive Ale Focus. Due to the strict rules of the Reinheitsgebot, German brewers cannot add the spices that often feature in Belgian, American and British Christmas beers. What we have here is a superior lager that doesn’t put me in mind of Christmas at all. I like it, I just can’t see that it’s particularly seasonal. I’d happily drink it on a hot summer’s day.

Festive Ale Focus: BrewDog Christmas Porter

This Scottish porter has added “cacao, chilli & festive spices”. I could taste the cacao and there was a faint hint of festive spice, but the chilli must have been present in a homeopathic quantity as I couldn’t detect it at all. Still, I thought this was much better than BrewDog’s other festive beer There Is No Santa. At 6.2% ABV, it’s a decent enough Christmas tipple.

Festive Ale Focus: Anchor Christmas Ale 2011

We put our Christmas tree up today as it would have been absurd to have put it up any sooner. I thought it was fitting to celebrate this occasion with an Anchor Christmas Ale from San Francisco, as the label features a drawing of a tree. The type of tree changes every year, with this year’s tree being a pinus longaeva. It sounds rather rude if you try to say it aloud. 

Anchor Christmas Ale is brewed to a slightly different recipe every year. It’s the first time I’ve tried it so I can’t compare it to previous years, but I thought this 5.5% ABV ale tasted pretty good. There is some Christmas spice flavour in there and possibly some pine, but that may be due to autosuggestion from the picture on the label. I bought it at The Offie, where a small (12oz/350ml) bottle cost me over three quid. I’ll probably not buy it again this year purely on price grounds, but I’ll be interested to try the 2012 version when it comes out.

Festive Ale Focus: McMullen Stronghart

This Hertfordshire ale is described as “liquid Christmas pudding” on its back label, so I have photographed it with the Waitrose own-brand Christmas pudding that JaneR has purchased for us to consume on December 25th. I’m not entirely sure that Stronghart actually tastes of Christmas pud, but it does have a rich fruity flavour that makes it seem quite Christmassy. I also found that it goes very well with a bit of Stilton, which is the standard festive season cheese on this side of the pond.

Stronghart is 7% ABV and costs £2.12 for a 500ml bottle at Sainsburys. This is an excellent Christmas beer and I strongly urge you to try it.

Festive Ale Focus: Skinner’s Jingle Knockers

Cornish brewery Skinner’s has been criticized for allegedly using poor-quality humour when branding its products. You can look at the above details from the label of Jingle Knockers and then make your own judgement as to the merit of these accusations. 

As for the beer, I thought it was pretty good. From its name, I’d guess that this 5.5% ABV beer is a souped-up version of Skinner’s year-round golden ale Cornish Knocker (4.5% ABV). Jingle Knockers is rather tastier and maltier than Cornish Knocker and I’m happy to recommend it despite the crap gags on the label. It’s on sale at Waitrose where it costs £2 for a 500ml bottle. Incidentally, knockers are elf-like creatures from Cornish folklore.

I’m delighted so see that both Rych and Ed have now joined in the Festive Ale Focus fun. This concept is going micro-viral!

Festive Ale Focus: Wychwood Bah Humbug

This sweetish 5% ABV seasonal ale has been “lightly spiced with cinnamon” and also tastes a bit of dried fruit. It is therefore reminiscent of Christmas pudding, or possibly a Christmas cake. I think it’s worth trying, especially as 500ml bottles of the stuff can currently be bought at Morrisons for £1.50 each.

Festive Ale Focus: BrewDog There Is No Santa

According to the label, this “Spiced Christmas Beer” was “brewed with cocoa nibs and ginger stem”. I could taste the ginger but I couldn’t detect the cocoa at all. I can’t say I cared much for this 4.7% ABV stout from Scottish controversialists BrewDog. A small (330ml) bottle cost me very nearly three quid at The Offie. I don’t think I’ll be buying another.

Festive Ale Focus: Bath Ales Festivity

This 5% ABV seasonal porter has a distinct taste of chocolate, although no chocolate has been added to it. There’s also a note of rum in there, too. I usually get through a fair bit of both chocolate and rum at Christmas, so what could be more Christmassy than a beer that tastes of both?

Despite all this talk of chocolate, Festivity is in no way over-sweet. I thought it was an excellent beer and I will be buying a few more bottles of it to imbibe over the festive season.

Bath Ales Festivity costs £2.15 for a 500ml bottle at Waitrose. 

I have not copyrighted the Festive Ale Focus concept so I was happy to see that one of my loyal followers has now been inspired to start a Festive Ale Focus of her own. Anyone else is welcome to do it, too. We could end up with a Tumblr meme on our hands (although we probably won’t).

Festive Ale Focus: Bateman’s Rosey Nosey

As it’s the first of December, I thought it would be a good day to introduce an innovative new feature - the Festive Ale Focus. I’ve never bothered much with Christmas beers before, so I’ve resolved to try a few this year and then offer my incisive opinion on them.

First off is Rosey Nosey, one of the few Christmas beers that I’ve previously tried. Stereotypically, festive beers are high-strength and spiced, but Rosey Nosey is neither of these and I have wondered on what grounds this qualifies as a festive beer. The answer may lie on the back label, where it says that it “goes well with poultry”. This suggests that the Bateman’s people reckon this would complement a turkey Christmas dinner, which in their eyes means it’s a Christmas beer. I can see that it would partner well with turkey, but I successfully paired it with some olives as I’m a poncey, Guardian-reading, public sector-employed, Waitrose-shopping middle-class git.

You can get 500ml bottles of this 4.7% ABV ale for £1.50 each at Morrison’s at the moment. It’s worth a try.