Beer In Review: Christmas Beer!
Well, 2006 is almost done. This is the time of year when people do some kind of "best of" or "top 10 stories" lists. I'm not. That would require alot of work that I have no interest in doing. I could opine about the deaths of James Brown and Gerald Ford but Mike did a good job of that already. Predictions for 2007? Nah. That's been done too. So, I'll just stick with beer.
Both of this entry's picks are from Ridgeway Brewing in Oxforshire, England. Shelton Brothers of Belchertown, Massachusettes (No, I'm not making that up) handles the importation of their brews. Ridgeway was founded by the former master brewer of Brakspear brewery, which shut its doors in 2002 after 223 years of brewing.
Ridgeway has gained a bit of notoriety for running afoul of censors here in the Northeast. Their Bad Elf line was accused of enticing kids into drinking beer. It's a lame argument which hasn't held up in court, afaik. Maine and New York have done likewise. Fortunately, Connecticut gave up on its battle last year. Yes, folks. The government is worse than your mother.
So while it's still legal, let me discuss Santa's Butt Porter. Yes, the double entendres are flowing. In beer terms, the "butt" refers to an 108 imperial gallon barrel or cask. Get it? As for the beer itself, it provides a decent head and a mild malty aroma. It has a very dark brown color and provides 6% ABV. Hops take a back seat here, but the malt isn't strong like Gonzo. This is a mild porter. It's a good beer, but it's not a great beer.
The other beer up for review is Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout. The byline boasts "Much More Than You Deserve for Xmas This Year." Ridgeway can't be accused of pulling any punches with their advertizing.
From the name, I expected this ale to be pitch black, but a little light manages to eek through shallow portions. Gonzo is darker. Don't get me wrong, it's still dark. There's ample head and a malty aroma. Hops take a back seat again as chocolate malt and a bit of smoke are the prominent flavors. I enjoyed this 8% ABV stout with, appropriately enough, the remaining petits fours that survived the in-laws Christmas night. Yummy.
Both beers come in 500 ml (about half a quart) bottles and retail in my neck of the woods for $3.50 each, iirc. That's a little steep to be enjoyed regularly, though it makes for a nice treat from time to time. I'll stick to domestic craft brews. And speaking of which, my complaint about a dearth of porters has ended. I've found a few to review for January.
Happy New Year!
\_/
DED
Both of this entry's picks are from Ridgeway Brewing in Oxforshire, England. Shelton Brothers of Belchertown, Massachusettes (No, I'm not making that up) handles the importation of their brews. Ridgeway was founded by the former master brewer of Brakspear brewery, which shut its doors in 2002 after 223 years of brewing.Ridgeway has gained a bit of notoriety for running afoul of censors here in the Northeast. Their Bad Elf line was accused of enticing kids into drinking beer. It's a lame argument which hasn't held up in court, afaik. Maine and New York have done likewise. Fortunately, Connecticut gave up on its battle last year. Yes, folks. The government is worse than your mother.
So while it's still legal, let me discuss Santa's Butt Porter. Yes, the double entendres are flowing. In beer terms, the "butt" refers to an 108 imperial gallon barrel or cask. Get it? As for the beer itself, it provides a decent head and a mild malty aroma. It has a very dark brown color and provides 6% ABV. Hops take a back seat here, but the malt isn't strong like Gonzo. This is a mild porter. It's a good beer, but it's not a great beer.
The other beer up for review is Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout. The byline boasts "Much More Than You Deserve for Xmas This Year." Ridgeway can't be accused of pulling any punches with their advertizing.From the name, I expected this ale to be pitch black, but a little light manages to eek through shallow portions. Gonzo is darker. Don't get me wrong, it's still dark. There's ample head and a malty aroma. Hops take a back seat again as chocolate malt and a bit of smoke are the prominent flavors. I enjoyed this 8% ABV stout with, appropriately enough, the remaining petits fours that survived the in-laws Christmas night. Yummy.
Both beers come in 500 ml (about half a quart) bottles and retail in my neck of the woods for $3.50 each, iirc. That's a little steep to be enjoyed regularly, though it makes for a nice treat from time to time. I'll stick to domestic craft brews. And speaking of which, my complaint about a dearth of porters has ended. I've found a few to review for January.
Happy New Year!
\_/
DED
Labels: beer
posted by DED at 1:19 PM
5 Comments:
Lump of Coal sounds promising enough.
I may give it a whirl if I see it.
xmas beer, now yer talkin'.
I need to get to Criminally Bad Elf this weekend. I was extremely underwhelmed by Seriously Bad Elf, and if your description of Santa's Butt is on the mark (which I'm sure it is) then I might have to black-list these guys. I get very aggravated when brewers spend more time on clever names and marketing than they do on nailing a good recipe.
CBE review is up. As I feared, not great.
Yeah, it was your review of Seriously Bad Elf that prompted me to steer clear of the elves and move right to my favorite styles of beer on their line.
I have to agree with you that more effort went into clever marketing than the beer itself. Their notoriety has done more for their sales than their beer itself.
Post a Comment
<< Home