Corsendonk Agnus

Agnus is a lovely deep golden slightly hazy Belgian Tripel with a tight frothy off-white head.  It's quite lively on opening so it needs a slow and steady pour to get it out of the bottle in one go.  The head lasts well and laces the glass.

The aroma isn't strong but it has hints of honey, caramel, hops, biscuit and sweet fruit.  The overall smell reminds me of bananas drizzled in honey.

It really twanged my taste buds when I had my first sip.  Lashings of caramel over ripe banana provide a big hit of sweetness followed by tangy hops and a slight spiciness before finishing with a lovely dry lingering bitterness.  It's pretty fizzy with champagne-like prickly, tingly bubbles and has a medium body.

It's a very refreshing, fruity and well-balanced ale, especially if you have a sweet tooth as it leans more towards the sweet side of the scale and it seems to get sweeter as you drink it.  With the distinctive hoppy, spicy tang of a Belgian Tripel, it's very moreish but at 7.5% ABV you can't glug it too quickly.

Another one that's cracking value, purchased for £6.99 for 4 from Lidl.  You can't go wrong for £1.75 a bottle and it's a quality Belgian ale to boot.  Look out for these hitting the shelves again and Ale Be Seeing You!

Brewed by Corsendonk Brewery, Belgium
7.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Corsendonk Brewery

Brasserie D'Achouffe La Chouffe

 

I'd wanted to try La Chouffe for quite some time as I couldn't resist the cute elf on the label so I added one to my BeerWulf order.  There are quite a few Chouffe beers to collect, each with the own individual named elf on the label, but La Chouffe Blonde (with Marcel the elf on the label) seems to be a good one to start with.

This stunning blonde ale pours a delicious golden colour with a frothy and tight off-white head.  It's well carbonated as evidenced by the abundance of bubbles rushing to the surface to maintain the head, which leaves excellent lacing on the glass.

What a mouthwatering aroma it has.  It has the most amazing smell of fruit such as pineapple, banana, mango and citrus along with an underlying aroma of hops and a hint of spiciness.  The flavour is equally amazing and surprisingly complex with notes of straw, biscuit, caramel and hops as well as floral and spicy hints followed by a slightly bitter citrus finish.  I was so impressed that there wasn't even a hint of raw alcohol in the taste despite it's relatively high ABV of 8%.  It's absolutely delicious!

This award winning, full bodied, strong blonde ale is definitely a top Belgian beer and it's one I'd consider a staple in my beer stash.  Ale Be Seeing You again, La Chouffe.

Brewed by Brasserie D'Achouffe, Belgium
8% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.5/5

Find out more at Brasserie D'Achouffe

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

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

Brains The Rev. James Rye

There is an amazing malty treacle smell as this tasty-looking ruby ale is poured.  Added to the fabulous ruby colour is a thick beige head that doesn't lose any of its body at all.  It is the closest I've ever seen to a Guinness style head.

Sadly, the taste is not what I imagined at all; it has an unexpected bitter and slightly metallic taste with a strong grapefruity aftertaste that lingers a bit too long for my liking.  The head is simply amazing though and what head that does disperse actually sticks to the side of the glass.

Thumbs up for the head and aroma but let down by the unexpectedly bitter and metallic taste.

My rating:

Find out more at Brains Brewery

Wold Top Wold Gold

Wold Gold is, not surprisingly, a deep golden coloured ale with an unusual but enticing spicy aroma that reminded me of Christmas. Eager bubbles burst to the surface where a thick, brilliant white head awaits them.  A head that appears to be for life, not just for Christmas.

There is perhaps a slight bitter aftertaste but it has a delicious spicy hint followed by a hint of oranges.  It is surprisingly smooth despite the voracious bubbles.

I've been really impressed with all of the Wold Top ales I have tried so far and Ale definitely Be Seeing Wold Gold Again.

Brewed by Wold Top, Yorkshire

4.8% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Wold Top Brewery

Badger Tanglefoot

This is a lovely golden/light amber colour with a striking white head, although it disappears quite quickly.  It is very fizzy and smells of fruit and hops.  It has a very sweet fruity and slightly spicy taste, making it very easily drinkable.  It has a pleasant bitter aftertaste and is a nice English Pale Ale.

Brewed by Hall and Woodhouse, Dorset

5% ABV

Find out more at Hall and Woodhouse

Wentworth Snowman's Revenge

I admit I didn't really expect much from this as it was only 99p but as the season of goodwill is approaching I thought it time to sample Snowman's Revenge.  It's a lovely dark amber colour but pours with only a little head.  It may have been my imagination, but I think this smells of Christmas cake, particularly mixed spice and brandy.

It has quite a weird taste that I can only describe as slightly sludgy and thin.  It has almost a dark chocolate bitter slightly spicy aftertaste.  I suppose it is like Christmas pudding, you either like it or you don't.

The head disappears quite quickly and the ale looks quite flat, although it does have a bit of fizz on the tongue.  I didn't dislike it, but unfortunately Ale not be seeing it again.

Brewed by Wentworth Brewery, Rotherham

4.1% ABV

Find out more at Wentworth Brewery