Skip to main content

Advent Calendar Window 19 - White Christmas

"Everyone is singing, 
I hear those sleigh bells ringing
Santa, won't you bring me the one I really need?  
Won't you please bring my baby to me? 

Perhaps a sign of my (rapidly ending) youth, but Saltaire Brewery feel like they've been around forever. Perhaps the fact that they opened the year I moved to Leeds, 2005 - and were frequently available there - has something to do with this. Based in Saltaire, just outside of Bradford, for a long time this brewery was synonymous with my introduction to the Cascade hop, as well as their excellent Raspberry Blonde.

Obviously, Saltaire are adapting with the times and are now doing kegged beers and styles such as Black IPAs. But, for me, they are masters aof the 4-5% cask ale. 

So, Christmas is rapidly approaching and thanks to the masses who spray deodorant directly into the O-Zone layer and drop petrol into the atmosphere (as is my understanding) we're unlikely to get a white Christmas this year or any after this. This Saltaire beer behind Window 19 in my Beer Advent Calendar is about as close as I'm going to ge to  a White Christmas


"Light hop flavours enhanced with coriander seeds and orange peel added to the final boil" 

Light amber with swiftly failing head, this beer is much maltier on the nose than the colour suggests. There's lots of caramel, sweet esters and a large toast backbone. The initial flavour evokes shortbread, fudge and  large yeastiness. It's very "Saltaire" in flavour, with the spine of this beer similar to their Blonde and Pride, something I'm okay with. The hopping is subtle and not bitter, with caramel malts driving everything along. The finish is where those coriander seeds create a grittiness, but I thought more of tarragon than coriander. It's another beer that just... was and didn't make me turn away in disgust or find excitement. I think I had already assumed what this beer was going to be prior to drinking it which is the reason for my disappointment. Orange and coriander flavours amde me think of wheat beer and the colour suggested it was going to be more hoppy. In the end, we have a beer that doesn't have a WOW factor and isn't particularly festive. A White Christmas that didn't make anybody sing. 

Christmas Spirit Rating: 30%. It's not going to snow tonight.

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...