McColl's And All Things Nice

And All Things Nice is a triple spiced stout brewed by Bishop Auckland brewers, McColl's.  

It's a lovely velvety black ale with a very loose, rapidly disappearing tan head that vanishes without trace.  It's a shame that it looks very flat and like a glass of coke after a few minutes as it also smells like coke with the warming spices of ginger, nutmeg and cardamom all bursting out of the glass.

All three spices come through in the taste, although the cardamom takes over a little and drowns out the more favourable spices of ginger and nutmeg.  It also has notes of chocolate, caramel and coffee once your palate gets used to the spices.

It has a medium body that feels slightly thin for a stout and it has low. soft carbonation that weirdly makes it feel flat rather than smooth.  

With sweet, bitter and spicy notes, it's a really unusual combination and I love the spicy finish so it's a shame that the cardamom took over.  It's a one-off brew so Ale not Be Seeing You again anyway.

Brewed by McColl's Brewery, Co. Durham
5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at McColl's Brewery

Three Brothers Gingerbread

Now that December is upon us, I'm reviewing all of the Christmas beers I have in my review queue and I'll be posting every other day up to and including Christmas Day.  So keep popping by to check out some great (and not so great) festive brews. 

For me, the smell of Christmas is sweet mince pies and gingerbread so first up is a Gingerbread milk stout from North East brewers, Three Brothers Brewing Co that I bought from the North Tyneside Christmas market in 2018.

It pours a lovely black colour with a ruby tinge and a small, loose beige head that disappears quickly to a thin foam layer.  I have to say that the aroma is AMAZING with mouthwatering notes of treacle, malt, dark chocolate and a definite whiff of ginger spice (the actual ground spice not the Spice Girl, thankfully).

The ginger in the flavour is quite subtle with malt and chocolate flavours being more dominant.  It does have a hint of ginger but before I'd fully experienced it I was hit with a slightly bitter, chocolate aftertaste.  It's quite lightly carbonated and a little on the thin side for a stout, but this gives it a lovely smooth mouthfeel.

Overall, it's a lovely malty stout with a hint of warming ginger spice but I would have preferred a bit more ginger.

Brewed by Three Brothers Brewing Company, Teesside

4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Three Brothers Brewing Company

Badger The Blandford Fly

I love anything with ginger in it so I was really excited to try The Blandford Fly from Dorset brewers, Badger.  As much as I love a ginger ale soft drink, what could be better than a real ginger ale?

This is a beautiful golden ale, that you can see through the clear bottle (oh what a shame, I had to buy two for the photograph), and it pours with a loose and very rapidly disappearing cream coloured head.

As I was pouring there was a very strong smell of hops but as the ale fills up the glass there is a lovely warm spicy aroma of ginger and a hint of toffee too.  With such a lovely ginger aroma, I couldn't wait to dive in for a taste.

Oh heavenly ginger!  Badger have got this one spot on with a lovely sweet and spicy combination that doesn't let the ginger overpower the taste yet remains gingery enough for us ginger lovers.  The initial flavour is sweet toffee followed by a spicy ginger kick and rounded off with a lovely dry finish.  Despite the lack of head, it's well carbonated and has a good medium body for a golden ale.

So very dry and refreshing, The Blandford Fly is definitely one for the ginger lovers!  The ginger spice catches the throat nicely without being too harsh; that's the perfect amount of ginger in my opinion.  I loved it and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Badger Brewery, Dorset
5.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Badger Brewery