Blog Tracker
31-12-2023, 22:00
Visit the Paul Bailey's Beer Blog site (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-true-taste-of-christmas.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mV2Hj4rAJTn-E0rv-0iQm00Ii-pmIlaQ0Pp4qsd2v8woMk9z4rO1KKhthQhqAjN5wLpfqvUWWGOt mWkb9oK1K8xrTXNChTFc92WfpGlbqKYvN5ApsyD-1z255z8N3YtObJGEKfuaUWGH4-jF6_ft9nL5G2JAuTR9sikc9XcN69ngG4tZ9hZOJeNqyEA/w229-h400/Chistmas%20Ale%20Harveys.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mV2Hj4rAJTn-E0rv-0iQm00Ii-pmIlaQ0Pp4qsd2v8woMk9z4rO1KKhthQhqAjN5wLpfqvUWWGOt mWkb9oK1K8xrTXNChTFc92WfpGlbqKYvN5ApsyD-1z255z8N3YtObJGEKfuaUWGH4-jF6_ft9nL5G2JAuTR9sikc9XcN69ngG4tZ9hZOJeNqyEA/s3114/Chistmas%20Ale%20Harveys.jpg)
Here’s a short post, not just to round off 2023, but also totake the total for the year above that of last year. In addition, I promise, itwill be the last article to mention Christmas, unless something particularlyenlightening or relevant turns up prior to next year’s festive “celebrations.” Right, here we go, and I want to launch straight in to the often-thornysubject of “Christmas Ales.” Now I’ve published several articles over the years,the most recent being two years ago (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2021/12/we-dont-do-christmas-ales-properly-in.html), about what constitutes a decent Christmasbeer, and what constitutes a fake – a cheap, marketing gimmick of taking abog-standard BBB (Boring Brown Bitter), shoving a fancy label on it, and givingit a festive sounding name, that often incorporates the most cringe worthy punsimaginable.
You know the sort I mean - Good Elf, Rocking Rudolph, TinselTop, Merry X-Moose, Santa’s Sack (don’t even go there!), the list goes on, andso does the awfulness. It doesn’t have to be this way, but backing up what I wrotetwo years ago, a proper Christmas Ale, should be brewed to a decent strength tobegin with, ideally something at around 6.0% or stronger. I also like myChristmas ale to be dark in colour (preferably darker thanruby), full-bodied and well-hopped.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0uunXTPH3uQo-gwjWDUbDrJFSIgZ6x-ktAgj62wIbzrYncp6WbzmqurlaIW8DMe661FQG8HXqZBptY_MK iPfjEE-21kJaIGMZKcz6TDJVPJV-x0RYjVtPMZwYN8uSrzdYfst5Cl_IbmQS_Go3C9ogURdU76LcaB XCm_16w9HCZ804Sa6cgbCecjEZ-Q/w400-h221/Christmas%20Ale%20Harvey.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0uunXTPH3uQo-gwjWDUbDrJFSIgZ6x-ktAgj62wIbzrYncp6WbzmqurlaIW8DMe661FQG8HXqZBptY_MK iPfjEE-21kJaIGMZKcz6TDJVPJV-x0RYjVtPMZwYN8uSrzdYfst5Cl_IbmQS_Go3C9ogURdU76LcaB XCm_16w9HCZ804Sa6cgbCecjEZ-Q/s3808/Christmas%20Ale%20Harvey.jpg)
For this reason, I have deliberately avoided those uninspiring,malt-led, brownish bitters in the 4.0 – 5.0% strength bracket, as thereis nothing Christmassy about them. Even worse are those festiveofferings that are pale in colour, and sometimes even golden! Low in strengthand low on taste, the only connection with Christmas that these beers have isthe name on the pump clip, or bottle label.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSSco4QFYp7nDEeRsqAtajn3KRHQON-7YNuzJ_JtBwkQJJ1RBqrLmbBhYJkrBltOD8x0kzXiLbzZv-Ss0S5DowAzZzoyBcUQRqgzGuFuVvG9rX_JCG7sHCgzyekFlQcC wXFrNwgPpl-Y6FobAZsfQRK6hH70QBzeScXOB6D45jDjFV2VyBpFTCqWlsjo/w208-h400/Bernardus%20Christmas%20Ale.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSSco4QFYp7nDEeRsqAtajn3KRHQON-7YNuzJ_JtBwkQJJ1RBqrLmbBhYJkrBltOD8x0kzXiLbzZv-Ss0S5DowAzZzoyBcUQRqgzGuFuVvG9rX_JCG7sHCgzyekFlQcC wXFrNwgPpl-Y6FobAZsfQRK6hH70QBzeScXOB6D45jDjFV2VyBpFTCqWlsjo/s3967/Bernardus%20Christmas%20Ale.jpg)
Fortunately, I’ve enjoyed quite a few “proper” Christmas alesover the years, and this year has been no exception. Even better is the factthat one of the very best of these beers, is brewed just 30 miles down the road,from my home. There are no surprises for guessing which brewery and beer I amtalking about, but before revealing all, I want to say the following.Lots of Christmas ales claim to contain the "spirit ofChristmas", and perhaps some do more than others, but until I cracked open this500 ml bottle of Harvey’s delectable Christmas Ale on Christmas afternoon, Ithought they were all missing something. This followed hot on the heels of abottle of St Bernardus Christmas Ale, which despitethe claims on the bottle was something of a disappointment.
Not so with this bottle from Harvey’s with a BBE date ofDecember 2023, the beer had if anything improved as it aged in the bottle. Iknow some will maintain this isn’t possible in a bottled beer stabilised by filtrationand pasteurisation, but despite this treatment, there will always be a fewviable yeast cells that make it through the aforementioned processes.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJ55GqbSZO6O1d0GTQ9w7UDD3SbFzVLuKuH5lIrwBaV 60HxZrYgTtNO24MIkv_qIYBjHmI2TXo2mPJqAZWn40PCk8ZlCt Lp8ftDpJ5Tt7b5Zi-GYqQdJelILRLTN2hjizolkiWVyjbTMrLafE1MElfHrYfTPJnQN Mikp7dGlT_RqO-27dhBwQPCCM4FE/w145-h400/Christmas%20-%20344%20x%20938.png (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJ55GqbSZO6O1d0GTQ9w7UDD3SbFzVLuKuH5lIrwBaV 60HxZrYgTtNO24MIkv_qIYBjHmI2TXo2mPJqAZWn40PCk8ZlCt Lp8ftDpJ5Tt7b5Zi-GYqQdJelILRLTN2hjizolkiWVyjbTMrLafE1MElfHrYfTPJnQN Mikp7dGlT_RqO-27dhBwQPCCM4FE/s900/Christmas%20-%20344%20x%20938.png)
Harvey’s delectable Christmas Ale has a respectable 7.5% abv,and basically is a strong, dark, barely wine reminiscent of the strong “stockales” drunk during the 18th and 19th centuries. Consumedover two sittings, given it strength and volume, this particular bottlecontained the real essence of Christmas, far more than the St Bernardusversion. Without going all Jilly Goolden, in last Monday’s bottle Ifound notes of pine needles, spices, oranges, dates, raisins and other vinefruit. The pine needles were reminiscent of Christmas trees, whilst the other componentsembodied the true essence of Christmas, by literally warming the soul. An award-winningbeer which is definitely, pure class in a glass. I have consumed more than afew glasses of cask Christmas Ale as well as the occasional bottle, but somehowthat aged, bottled version tasted even better. I scored it at 4.75 on Untappd, but with hindsight it was adefinite 5.0. If you are lucky enough to come across this beer, either inbottle or cask, then don’t pass up on the chance of missing one of the finest,and most authentic Christmas ale around.
In the meantime, given the timing of this post, I’d like towish all followers and readers of this blog, along with friends and family, ahappy, peaceful, prosperous, and above all healthy 2024, and thank you for yoursupport over the year just gone.
Follow Blog via EmailClick to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
More... (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-true-taste-of-christmas.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mV2Hj4rAJTn-E0rv-0iQm00Ii-pmIlaQ0Pp4qsd2v8woMk9z4rO1KKhthQhqAjN5wLpfqvUWWGOt mWkb9oK1K8xrTXNChTFc92WfpGlbqKYvN5ApsyD-1z255z8N3YtObJGEKfuaUWGH4-jF6_ft9nL5G2JAuTR9sikc9XcN69ngG4tZ9hZOJeNqyEA/w229-h400/Chistmas%20Ale%20Harveys.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mV2Hj4rAJTn-E0rv-0iQm00Ii-pmIlaQ0Pp4qsd2v8woMk9z4rO1KKhthQhqAjN5wLpfqvUWWGOt mWkb9oK1K8xrTXNChTFc92WfpGlbqKYvN5ApsyD-1z255z8N3YtObJGEKfuaUWGH4-jF6_ft9nL5G2JAuTR9sikc9XcN69ngG4tZ9hZOJeNqyEA/s3114/Chistmas%20Ale%20Harveys.jpg)
Here’s a short post, not just to round off 2023, but also totake the total for the year above that of last year. In addition, I promise, itwill be the last article to mention Christmas, unless something particularlyenlightening or relevant turns up prior to next year’s festive “celebrations.” Right, here we go, and I want to launch straight in to the often-thornysubject of “Christmas Ales.” Now I’ve published several articles over the years,the most recent being two years ago (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2021/12/we-dont-do-christmas-ales-properly-in.html), about what constitutes a decent Christmasbeer, and what constitutes a fake – a cheap, marketing gimmick of taking abog-standard BBB (Boring Brown Bitter), shoving a fancy label on it, and givingit a festive sounding name, that often incorporates the most cringe worthy punsimaginable.
You know the sort I mean - Good Elf, Rocking Rudolph, TinselTop, Merry X-Moose, Santa’s Sack (don’t even go there!), the list goes on, andso does the awfulness. It doesn’t have to be this way, but backing up what I wrotetwo years ago, a proper Christmas Ale, should be brewed to a decent strength tobegin with, ideally something at around 6.0% or stronger. I also like myChristmas ale to be dark in colour (preferably darker thanruby), full-bodied and well-hopped.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0uunXTPH3uQo-gwjWDUbDrJFSIgZ6x-ktAgj62wIbzrYncp6WbzmqurlaIW8DMe661FQG8HXqZBptY_MK iPfjEE-21kJaIGMZKcz6TDJVPJV-x0RYjVtPMZwYN8uSrzdYfst5Cl_IbmQS_Go3C9ogURdU76LcaB XCm_16w9HCZ804Sa6cgbCecjEZ-Q/w400-h221/Christmas%20Ale%20Harvey.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0uunXTPH3uQo-gwjWDUbDrJFSIgZ6x-ktAgj62wIbzrYncp6WbzmqurlaIW8DMe661FQG8HXqZBptY_MK iPfjEE-21kJaIGMZKcz6TDJVPJV-x0RYjVtPMZwYN8uSrzdYfst5Cl_IbmQS_Go3C9ogURdU76LcaB XCm_16w9HCZ804Sa6cgbCecjEZ-Q/s3808/Christmas%20Ale%20Harvey.jpg)
For this reason, I have deliberately avoided those uninspiring,malt-led, brownish bitters in the 4.0 – 5.0% strength bracket, as thereis nothing Christmassy about them. Even worse are those festiveofferings that are pale in colour, and sometimes even golden! Low in strengthand low on taste, the only connection with Christmas that these beers have isthe name on the pump clip, or bottle label.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSSco4QFYp7nDEeRsqAtajn3KRHQON-7YNuzJ_JtBwkQJJ1RBqrLmbBhYJkrBltOD8x0kzXiLbzZv-Ss0S5DowAzZzoyBcUQRqgzGuFuVvG9rX_JCG7sHCgzyekFlQcC wXFrNwgPpl-Y6FobAZsfQRK6hH70QBzeScXOB6D45jDjFV2VyBpFTCqWlsjo/w208-h400/Bernardus%20Christmas%20Ale.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSSco4QFYp7nDEeRsqAtajn3KRHQON-7YNuzJ_JtBwkQJJ1RBqrLmbBhYJkrBltOD8x0kzXiLbzZv-Ss0S5DowAzZzoyBcUQRqgzGuFuVvG9rX_JCG7sHCgzyekFlQcC wXFrNwgPpl-Y6FobAZsfQRK6hH70QBzeScXOB6D45jDjFV2VyBpFTCqWlsjo/s3967/Bernardus%20Christmas%20Ale.jpg)
Fortunately, I’ve enjoyed quite a few “proper” Christmas alesover the years, and this year has been no exception. Even better is the factthat one of the very best of these beers, is brewed just 30 miles down the road,from my home. There are no surprises for guessing which brewery and beer I amtalking about, but before revealing all, I want to say the following.Lots of Christmas ales claim to contain the "spirit ofChristmas", and perhaps some do more than others, but until I cracked open this500 ml bottle of Harvey’s delectable Christmas Ale on Christmas afternoon, Ithought they were all missing something. This followed hot on the heels of abottle of St Bernardus Christmas Ale, which despitethe claims on the bottle was something of a disappointment.
Not so with this bottle from Harvey’s with a BBE date ofDecember 2023, the beer had if anything improved as it aged in the bottle. Iknow some will maintain this isn’t possible in a bottled beer stabilised by filtrationand pasteurisation, but despite this treatment, there will always be a fewviable yeast cells that make it through the aforementioned processes.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJ55GqbSZO6O1d0GTQ9w7UDD3SbFzVLuKuH5lIrwBaV 60HxZrYgTtNO24MIkv_qIYBjHmI2TXo2mPJqAZWn40PCk8ZlCt Lp8ftDpJ5Tt7b5Zi-GYqQdJelILRLTN2hjizolkiWVyjbTMrLafE1MElfHrYfTPJnQN Mikp7dGlT_RqO-27dhBwQPCCM4FE/w145-h400/Christmas%20-%20344%20x%20938.png (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJ55GqbSZO6O1d0GTQ9w7UDD3SbFzVLuKuH5lIrwBaV 60HxZrYgTtNO24MIkv_qIYBjHmI2TXo2mPJqAZWn40PCk8ZlCt Lp8ftDpJ5Tt7b5Zi-GYqQdJelILRLTN2hjizolkiWVyjbTMrLafE1MElfHrYfTPJnQN Mikp7dGlT_RqO-27dhBwQPCCM4FE/s900/Christmas%20-%20344%20x%20938.png)
Harvey’s delectable Christmas Ale has a respectable 7.5% abv,and basically is a strong, dark, barely wine reminiscent of the strong “stockales” drunk during the 18th and 19th centuries. Consumedover two sittings, given it strength and volume, this particular bottlecontained the real essence of Christmas, far more than the St Bernardusversion. Without going all Jilly Goolden, in last Monday’s bottle Ifound notes of pine needles, spices, oranges, dates, raisins and other vinefruit. The pine needles were reminiscent of Christmas trees, whilst the other componentsembodied the true essence of Christmas, by literally warming the soul. An award-winningbeer which is definitely, pure class in a glass. I have consumed more than afew glasses of cask Christmas Ale as well as the occasional bottle, but somehowthat aged, bottled version tasted even better. I scored it at 4.75 on Untappd, but with hindsight it was adefinite 5.0. If you are lucky enough to come across this beer, either inbottle or cask, then don’t pass up on the chance of missing one of the finest,and most authentic Christmas ale around.
In the meantime, given the timing of this post, I’d like towish all followers and readers of this blog, along with friends and family, ahappy, peaceful, prosperous, and above all healthy 2024, and thank you for yoursupport over the year just gone.
Follow Blog via EmailClick to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
More... (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-true-taste-of-christmas.html)