Skip to main content

Advent Calendar Window 18 - Santa Paws (Wolf)



"What can I give him? Poor as I am, 
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb." 

The real challenge today is to prove to myself that I have a flair or talent for the written word. That will come if I manage to make it through this review without using phrases along the lines of “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” or “The Boy who cried wolf.” I promise nothing.

Wolf Brewery are a 19-year-old set-up from East Anglia who began life on an old Gaymers Cider site before outgrowing their current location and moving in 2006. Wolf are passionately fierceful about their town of Attleborough, their county of Norfolk and their borough of East Anglia. A bit of local pride is not a sin and their expansion and success would suggest Wolf Brewery are doing a lot right.

Having said that, in my deepest honesty I would say that the beer behind Advent Window 18 was one I was least looking forward to. Perhaps it’s a rather distasteful, unintentional, subliminal view of breweries that aren’t considered “craft” that makes me hate myself. Maybe it’s the rather plain description of this beer as being “full bodied with a malt aroma.” Maybe it’s the strange cartoon, beagle-like dog dressed as Father Christmas that brings the branding down a few steps and is the least threatening canine drawn since Snoopy. I’m not here to give out free marketing tips – BUT if I were, then scrap the little cartoons on the front of each bottle Wolf Brewery. The underlying design is pretty firm but this makes a mockery of it. Anyway, the beer...


A burnt sienna colour with lots of carbonation, Santa Paws is everything I thought it’d be and all I hoped it wouldn’t. A nose dominated by oaky malts with the gentlest sprinkling of winter berries starts things in the direction I assumed it would. The taste is a rather simple mixture of more intense maltiness, oak-chip nuttiness and a finish of sharp, chewy doughiness. This is all brought together by a far too forceful carbonation that bubbles away pilsner-style and a body that is anything but “full.” Hints of berries in the aftertaste add at least part of another dimension, but they taste artificially sweet. I may be catching up on these posts and in the four days since it was consumed, I’ve all but forgotten this beer ever existed, minus these brief tasting notes. This is not a Wolf in shee... oh wait, no. Here is one boy who doesn’t want to cry Wo... oh God. Basically, it’s disappointing. 

Christmas Spirit Rating: 18%. Here’s some festive joy! And whilst we’re at it, how about a punch in the jaw?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Pubs of Stalybridge Part One: The Stalybridge Seven.

And a touch more ...  Rififi Nightclub - once the town's cinema - has stood empty and unused for four and a half years This is the continuation of my posts of regular pub crawls to try and get myself in more pubs and discover more. Whilst I grew up in an old hamlet that most were quick to distance themselves from, my address clearly stated that we belonged to Stalybridge. However distant the town centre felt I was a Stalybridger, a Stalybridgian, a Stalyian: you know I don’t think I’ve ever heard us given a name before. I’m going with Stalyian. After a few moves around the country and through various relationships, I didn’t expect to find myself still local to the town in 2017. Whilst my address hasn’t stated Stalybridge for 3 years, I still spend plenty of time in the town – not least as it houses my “local.” To many in the north-west, it is famous for its nickname of Staly Vegas , that came about (as far as I’m aware) through its late Nighties-through-to-N...

WHEN CELEBRITIES DIE - THE INFINITY OF PUBS

    Recently I was stood outside Huddersfield Railway Station waiting for my Replacement Bus Service. I was eating much needed food from a nearby fast food outlet and contemplating my next move. Other match-goers had gone home but I had over 50 minutes to wait for my bus. We’d already been to a few of our post-match regular spots and so I was contemplating somewhere new or different to pass the time now.   I stood in St George’s Square, behind the statue of Harold Wilson, and pondered where I should waste my next hour. And pondered and pondered. After deliberation that ate into much of my allotted time, I walked down to the familiar setting of The Sportsman, realising that there wasn’t anywhere different to go at all.   But whilst I deliberated, I cast my eye over the currently scaffold-covered George hotel opposite the station; a place I had been in once with my Dad. It’s downstairs public bar had stood as a firm and available option to match-goers fo...

Ten Reasons Why I Hate Brewdog

There was a time when I thought beer was subjective, when I believed it was there to be interpreted and commented on from a personal perspective. I used to form my own opinions about beer, pubs and breweries and sometimes I’d even write them in this little blog. Brewdog were no exception; I was happy to praise them when they did right and criticise when I felt they were wrong. Of course I now have seen that I was wrong to do this. You see, it’s not about opinions or personal preferences; it’s about following the crowd, doing what’s cool and avoiding controversy. At present it’s not cool to like Brewdog. Despite the fact that I still really enjoy their beers and bars, people keep telling me why I should hate them. You probably already do, as you are well “in” on what’s hot and what’s not. I wasn’t aware of this, the e-mail never landed in my inbox, but not wanting to fall out of the loop I’ve presented a list of reasons why we should all hate Brewdog so I can fit in with this g...