BrewDog Santa Paws

 

Way back in 2016, I was delighted to find a deliciously dark ruby tinged ale inside the bottle of Santa Paws, BrewDog's Christmas Scotch ale.  It has a large frothy beige head that is quite loose but does leave a thin foam layer when it disperses.

The aroma has a lovely cinnamon spiciness to it that reminded me of Coca Cola and it's a lovely blend of malt, dark fruit and caramel with a hint of winter spice.  The aroma transfers to the flavour and it's a delicious blend of chocolate, malt and coffee with a treacle or slightly burnt toffee aftertaste, perhaps from the heather honey that is included in the brew.  

Well carbonated, it gives my tongue a good tingling but the body is rather thin.  It's only 4.5% and it feels quite light to drink so it goes down very nicely indeed.

I do like a scotch ale now and again as a lighter alternative to stout or porter, and Santa Paws is a lovely subtle, easy drinking scotch ale.  If it's brewed again, Ale Be Seeing You!

Brewed by BrewDog Brewery, Ellon, Aberdeenshire

4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

Morland Old Golden Hen

You can't really go wrong with Morland's (now Greene King) Hen range so I thought I'd give award winning Old Golden Hen a try.  Just look at that beautiful golden pint - it's like sunshine in a glass!  It's a deep golden beer with a loose, frothy cream coloured head.  The head doesn't last long, although what is there does cling to the side of the glass.

The aroma is very hoppy with hints of tropical fruit, along with some malty biscuit and caramel once it settles in the glass.  It's so hoppy at first that the aroma wafts out of the bottle as soon as it is opened.

Unsurprisingly, with such a strong hoppy aroma, it tastes deliciously hoppy with a hint of fruit drizzled with caramel.  It's very crisp dry and refreshing with medium body and an abundance of hop filled bubbles that fizz around your mouth with each sip.

Although I felt like I should be enjoying it in a beer garden on a sunny day, it can also bring the sunshine indoors on a grey day.  Old Golden Hen is a lovely golden beer that Ale Be Seeing again.

Brewed by Morland Brewing, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
4.1% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Morland Brewing

Original Stormtrooper Galactic Pale Ale

May the force be with you

My second beer review for Star Wars Day is this Galactic Pale Ale from The Original Stormtrooper.  I bought this one from the amazing House of Trembling madness in York before I picked up the gift pack with glass from B&M.

This pale ale pours a traditional deep golden yellow colour with a tight off-white head.  The head holds surprisingly well for a while before dispersing to a thin foam.  The aroma isn't terribly strong but it is mainly hops, biscuit and straw with a hint of orange citrus and honey.

Moving on to the taste which disappointingly isn't that strong either.  I could only really taste hops and honey before getting a dry and bitter aftertaste.  A weak taste coupled with soft carbonation and a thin almost watery body meant it wasn't an out of this world experience at all.  It took me a while to drink it and I found that the flavour does develop slightly over time into more of a bitter which I liked.

I honestly thought I would have preferred the Galactic Pale Ale to the Lightspeed Pilsner but the pale ale was just a bit too weak on flavour for me.  Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad beer but it only just scrapes a 4 pint rating, sitting right on the fence with a score of 3.5 out of 5.

Brewed by St Peter's Brewery, Suffolk
4.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5

Find out more at The Original Stormtrooper

St Austell Proper Job

A traditional looking IPA; deep golden yellow with a slightly off-white frothy head.  There is a bit of sediment in the bottle so you have to pour it slowly and carefully to get a lovely clear ale.  The head is amazingly robust and lasts right down to the last drop.

There isn't a strong aroma but what comes through are yellow fruits; predominantly lemon, grapefruit and pineapple.  As you know, I'm not a fan of the very citrussy beers so this is nice and subtle and not off-putting at all.

I was really surprised with the taste as it is a lot sweeter than I expected.  It's an IPA so it is citrussy but the sweetness takes the edge off it perfectly.  The aftertaste is also quite pleasant; it's bitter as expected but is more juicy grapefruit than lemon squeezy washing up liquid, so that gets a thumbs up from me.  It's quite fizzy in the mouth; tickling the tongue like sherbet.

It's not often I really enjoy an IPA but I really liked this one.  As St Austell have used American hops instead of the traditional Citra hops, the sweetness counteracts the bitterness and blends perfectly to create a very palatable drink for this dark ale lover.

Brewed by St. Austell Brewery, Cornwall

5.5% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at St. Austell Brewery