Eagle Winter Warmer Ale

This looks like my kind of beer!  I picked this on up at Sainsbury's when I saw that it was brewed by Eagle Brewery, which also brews the Banana Bread beer that I love.  It states on the bottle to serve it chilled but I drank it at room temperature and I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if it were chilled.

It pours a delicious deep amber colour with ruby red tones and it has a small, cream coloured head that retains a thin layer on dispersal.  It has a light aroma of malt, caramel, treacle and cinnamon spice.

Challenger hops add a generous flavour of dried fruit and a lingering metallic bitterness to the initial taste of malt.  There is a slight hint of spice but it's barely noticeable, which is a little disappointing.  The bitterness lingers a little too long but I do prefer metallic notes over citrus in a dark ale.  It's well carbonated and has a medium body to give a tingly mouthfeel.

Although I wouldn't describe it as a winter warmer ale, it's a decent enough budget dark ale with a lovely malty taste and a lingering metallic finish.  It's worth trying for the price (I can't remember how much I paid for it but it would be less than £2) but Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed for Sainsbury's by Eagle Brewery, Bedfordshire
5.3% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at Eagle Brewery

Three Brothers Brandy Snap

Brandy Snap is a fabulously festive milk stout from Teesside brewers Three Brothers and it's brewed with Challenger hops, eight malts and lactose.

It's a deep mahogany brown colour with a small, loose, tan head that doesn't hang around for long, leaving a flat looking beer that resembles a glass of coke.

It smells very boozy with a big hit of brandy and the delicious sweet undertone of malt.  It's surprisingly lightly flavoured with the lovely taste of sweet malt and a hint of brandy.  It has a medium body and carbonation is very soft so it has a silky smooth mouthfeel.

It's a lovely wintery festive ale that tastes exactly like it says on the can.  I think Three Brothers have got this one spot on as there's just the right amount of brandy flavour to balance perfectly with the malt and hops without overpowering the deliciously smooth stout.

This is definitely one to look out for if it's brewed again and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Three Brothers Brewing Company, Stockton-on-Tees 

6.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Three Brothers Brewing Company

Off Axis Don't Leave Me Stout in the Cold

 

Discount store Home Bargains stock a range of beers brewed exclusively for them under the 'Off Axis Brew Co' banner.  They may be cheap, but they're certainly not nasty and although I haven't scored them particularly highly, they're decent budget beers.

This Off Axis winter stout is brewed with lactose and it's a dark mahogany colour with a small tan head that leaves a patchy layer when it settles.  It has a lovely sweet stout smell of malt, treacle and toffee but I couldn't smell any spice.

The spice flavour is definitely there in the taste; I picked up hints of cinnamon and cloves along with notes of malt and treacle toffee.  It also contains nutmeg, star anise and vanilla to give it a real winter spice taste.  It's well carbonated and surprisingly fizzy with a medium body that feels a little thin for a stout.

It's a nice winter stout and it tastes like you would expect from its description on the can.  Although Ale probably not Be Seeing You again, I would definitely recommend trying it if you see it in Home Bargains.

Brewed exclusively for TJ Morris (Home Bargains), UK
5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

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

Uiltje F*ck The Christmas Tree Is On Fire

 

Dutch brewers, Uiltje have given their festive stout such a brilliant name I just had to grab a bottle from the fabulous online beer shop, BeerWulf.  F*ck The Christmas Tree Is On Fire is an orange and coffee oatmeal stout with a stonking 10% ABV.  Just as well it's only in a 330ml bottle or I'd have been Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.

It's a stout so it's no surprise that it's a very dark brown, almost black coloured ale but the head is so disappointing.  There's almost no head at all, just a tiny bit of froth around the circumference of the beer.

The aroma is exactly what it says on the label: coffee and orange but there's also a hint of spice and a sprinkling of chocolate.  The orange smell is beautiful, it's more like freshly squeezed sweet orange juice than zesty bitter orange peel.

It's a lovely flavoured stout, predominantly coffee and chocolate but the added orange gives a hint of sweetness that balances the bitterness perfectly.  The bitterness comes full circle with a slightly bitter chocolate/coffee finish.  There is also no mistaking the 10% ABV with a hint of raw alcohol in the aftertaste.

With no head from the start, it's has a surprisingly fizzy mouthfeel and it gave my tongue a good tingling.  It has a medium to full body and the oatmeal gives it a creaminess that makes it a little too easy to drink (remember that high ABV!).

It's a very unusual stout; I loved the addition of orange which takes a lot of the bitterness off the coffee and the oatmeal smoothly blends the different flavours.  It's a shame there was no head as the appearance is quite off-putting and although I wouldn't have one again, I'd definitely give it a try if you're a stout lover.

Brewed by Uiltje Brewing Co, Haarlem, the Netherlands

10% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at Uiltje Brewing Co

Black Sheep Blitzen

 

I LOVE Black Sheep beers and ruby is my favourite ale so I was over the moon to get my hands on a bottle of Blitzen, a ruby Christmas ale from my favourite North Yorkshire brewery.

It's a dark ruby coloured ale with the thick, tight beige head that we know and love from Black Sheep.  The aroma is AMAZING, it's very fruitcake-like with treacle, dark fruit and malts combining to create a mouth-watering smell.

My first sip took me to beer heaven.  It is so malty with a hint of sweet treacle at first then there was a layer of liquorice and caramel followed by a dark chocolate and zesty bitter orange finish.  It is exactly like biting into a Christmas cake as each layer of flavour hits your taste buds.

With a medium body, it's so very smooth to drink and I would have guessed it was a Black Sheep ale if I'd drank it with my eyes closed.  The trademark Black Sheep head was even more robust than usual as it clung to my lip and left me with a frothy moustache.

Blitzen is a lovely ruby ale that you could drink all year round as it's not a spicy Christmas ale, it's just a lovely fruity ruby.  I loved it and I can most definitely say Ale Be Seeing You again, Blitzen.

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire

4% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Black Sheep Brewery

Greene King Festive Pudding Ale

  

Festive Pudding Ale from Greene King comes in a clear bottle so you can see the amazing ruby coloured ale inside and it was colour that sold it to me immediately.  It has to be the most perfect ruby coloured ale, although the head is very disappointing; only briefly forming a thin loose layer before rapidly disappearing and leaving a flat headless pint.

The aroma isn't strong but it's malty and fruity; it's not looking bad at all up to this point so I had reasonably high hopes for the taste test.  First sip isn't bad with a sweet malty flavour and a slight hint of treacle but then it has the weirdest aftertaste: Is it biscuit? Perhaps grapefruit? Possibly cardboard?  Maybe even dirty water?  Certainly no taste at all reminiscent of Christmas, never mind Christmas pudding.

The mouthfeel is just as weird; it's thin-medium bodied with decent carbonation but the bubbles are so harsh that my tongue felt like it had been rubbed with wire wool.  My tongue was tingling for ages after drinking it.  Supposedly 6% ABV, it doesn't feel anything like that strong and I would have put it more at around half that.

Apart from the name, there's nothing festive about Greene King's Festive Pudding Ale and other than the perfect ruby colour, it doesn't have much going for it.  I still drank it all, of course!  

I wouldn't recommend this one so Ale not Be Seeing You again, Festive Pudding Ale.

Brewed by Greene King, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3/5

Find out more at Greene King

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