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

Otter Brewery Otter Claus

I love the otter wearing a Santa hat on the label of Otter Claus, a winter ale from Otter Brewery in Devon; as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to grab a couple of bottles.  Of course, it's what's inside the bottle that counts and this ale is a beautiful deep ruby colour with a very loose, rapidly vanishing cream coloured head.  This definitely looks like my kind of beer!

The aroma is malt, dark fruits, biscuit and toffee with a hint of spiciness and a slight metallic bitterness.  Flavour is malt, toffee, dark fruits and hops followed by a warming spice and a slight bitter finish that builds up as you drink.  As the flavour develops, it's like a liquid Christmas cake as the taste of raisins and warming spice become more noticeable.

It's medium bodied with soft carbonation that gives it a rather flat appearance when the head vanishes, however, it feels very smooth in the mouth and is so easy to drink that it goes down far too quickly.

A lovely winter ale and an absolute steal at a current price of only £2.63 per 500ml bottle direct from Otter Brewery's Online Shop.  I'd be more than happy to drink Otter Claus all year round and Ale definitely Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Otter Brewery, Devon
5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Otter Brewery

Grimbergen Brassin de Noël

 

This is a little beauty, with only 250ml in the bottle it pours a mid-mahogany brown with a beige frothy head that only disperses a little to leave a good layer of tight creamy foam.

Wow the aroma is Christmas cake in a glass: malt, dark fruits, caramel, a sprinkling of sugar and a hint of spice.  Grimbergen should recreate this smell in a scented candle as it really is a delicious Christmas brew (which is the translation of Brassin de Noël).  I could sniff this for hours but I couldn't wait to find out what it tasted like.

Oh hallelujah!  This is perfection in a glass: dark fruits, sweet malts, a hint of liquorice and spice are combined perfectly to produce an outstanding, intensely malty ale.  It has quite a complex aftertaste, what starts as slightly sour and hoppy evolves into more of a spicy and mixed peel bitterness.  It is perfectly carbonated and full bodied and appears to lovingly caress the tongue with every mouthful.

What a little gem!  It might be in a small bottle but it's definitely a case of quality over quantity as Grimbergen Brassin de Noël scored full marks in every category: appearance, aroma, flavour, mouthfeel and overall.  It's far too nice to keep just for Christmas so Ale Be Seeing You whenever I can get my hands on you, Brassin de Noël, and I'll definitely be looking out for the 330ml and the heavenly 750ml bottles.

Brewed by Grimbergen Abbey Brewery, Belgium

6.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 5/5

Find out more at Grimbergen Abbey 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

Hatherwood Winter Warmer

 

As the nights get darker, so does my beer and I love to see all of the spiced ales hitting supermarket shelves in time for the festive season.  Although I find Hatherwood beers a bit hit and miss, it doesn't stop me from trying them!  I guess you get what you pay for and sometimes you get a nice surprise, which is the case with Winter Warmer, brewed for Lidl by Surrey brewers Hogs Back.

This is a lovely dark ale with a red hue and resembles a glass of coke when the head disappears.  It initially has a large frothy beige coloured head which disappears to a thin foam.

The aroma is absolutely superb.  Sweet treacle and spicy cinnamon combine to produce a mouthwatering aroma that again reminds me of coke because of the cinnamon.  I started to wonder if Lidl had ripped me off and sold me a coke in a beer bottle.

Phew!  It's not fizzy enough to be coke; it's very softly carbonated and actually feels a bit flat but the flavour is lovely. It's not strongly flavoured but it has a lovely sweet/bitter balance with added spice.  The taste of sweet malt with the cinnamon spice is amazing and it's followed by a slightly bitter coffee and chocolate aftertaste.

It's very easy to drink and is spot on for a winter ale.  That's one Hatherwood beer to which I can say 'Ale Be Seeing You again'.

Brewed for Lidl by Hogs Back Brewery, Surrey
5.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at Hogs Back Brewery