Advent Calendar Window 8 - Santa's Private Reserve

Gush. Gush gush gush. I have to get it out of the way. For, whether it is the long journey it has voyaged, whether it is the age it has sat in my stores, whether it is that it always gushes. half of this Rogue Santa's Private Reserve 2012 6% felt that it should gush over my floor and electrical plugs. Does it need commenting on in the grand scheme of things? Perhaps not, but I have paid plenty of money for a beer that has mostly gone on my floor rather than in my gut and nearly caused a fire. I am venting.

Let us move on from that avoidable catastrophe to focus on another exciting Rogue beer that has a large focus on hops rather than spice. This post is going to seem a little contradictory, close to some American ass-kissing, over my usual thoughts on hop focused Christmas offerings. Certainly, before reading about Santa's Private Reserve I was expecting a dark, sullen, spicy and aromatic experience; perhaps an Imperial Stout like bite with a mash of hops at the end. Research explains that this is actually a variation of Rogue's excellent Saint Rogue Red, but with double the hops. Not what one would usually hope for in a Christmas beverage and usually to my seasonal distaste.

"They said there'd be snow at Christmas

They said there'd be peace on earth

Hallelujah! Noel!

Be it Heaven or Hell!

The Christmas we get we deserve"

The surviving half of this beer is a Christmas crimson with inch snow thick head. With the danger of sounding like a beer raving ignoramus there's a lot of West Coast familiarities here and a lot of Crystal Malt. Well, it wasn't made to be aged a year. What the year in a box has created is a less, aggressively hop-forward ale with mellowed citrus bite and smooth chestnut maltiness that unintentionally creates a spicy festive delight. There's enough brown sugar, light toast and strawberry softness now to control the pine fresh, citrus notes. It becomes all spruces and pine cones leaving a wintry sensation to the tongue. Despite the obvious liveliness on first opening, the medium carbonation is controlled by a full body for such a light ale. The winter fruit finish completes a beer that initially seemed to have suffered from lack of freshness. Not the case. This may be a mulled wine antidote, but is understandably tucked away in Santa's private stores.

Purchased at Beermoth, sometime in mid 2013

Enjoyed alongside a chocolate candle and a ;fughiodfuhbiouvh. Good job Cadbury's for making illusive shapes of chocolate. Maybe the candle melted it into desolation.

Comments

THE STATE OF CASK part 2: The Cask Consumers

In what has become one of the most written about subjects amongst beer communicators for a long while I am going to follow on with my own thoughts about cask beer. Yet these ideas are formulated from potential posts I've been writing the odd paragraph about for around 18 months but never managed to construct into something relevant. I have much to say on the subject; so much so that rather than making this into one enormous read I've split it into three sections regarding the current trends and effects on cask beer as I see it. Today I look at the problem with consumer's and the immunity of one Timothy Taylor's Landlord. Part 1 can be read here . On the first Saturday morning of June 2016 I travelled to Stockport Beer Festival with my Aunt Marie and Uncle David; famously more traditional beer drinkers. They enjoy a day out in Stockport as, coming from Dewsbury way, they don’t actually see much beer from my side of the Pennines, incl...

BEER INDUSTRY PERSONNEL - COME TO DADDY!

Around 7 months ago I started dating a pub manager. It was inevitable in many ways. Amongst the perks that come with being involved with somebody on the other side of the bar, came the dread of how to react in future to the interactions involved in bar work. It isn’t a situation I’ve been in before so it has required adjustment. I’ve never had a partner pull up a chair in the office and stare at me through part of the working day whilst occasionally ordering goods from me. So you don’t want to interfere in your partner’s work whilst still getting to enjoy the pub. You don’t want to suddenly take up a spot on the bar where you make gooey eyes at each other with every pull on a hand pump. You don’t want to be one of those possessive teenagers, watching like a bar hawk and scowling at any intimidatingly handsome pair of arms that makes your other half roar with laughter. You want to separate their work from your social life and allow everything to sti...

National Winter Ales Festival 2013 - A Reasonable Farewell

Perhaps if this had been three years ago I would really have lamented the loss of the National Winter Ales Festival in Manchester . Not only has it long been held in my home city, but it was also my first ever beer festival, signifying a special place in my heart. That first visit was in 2006 and the event was then held in a co–operative building near Victoria station. At the time, my young ale loving mind was rather gobsmacked by the wondrous multi roomed, multi floored experience as barrels and casks of the good stuff stood waiting for me to try at no more than 90p for a generous half pint. Breweries and beer styles I had never heard of were present. It was also where I had my first taste of rauchbier, an encounter I have never regretted. I paid £3 to enter that day as a non CAMRA member. The organisations members that did travel with me on the occasion entered the festival for free (so they say, I’m inclined to believe they paid at least £1.) “They’re not a money making ...

Beer Compurgation

Search This Blog