Advent Calendar Window 16 - Santa Paws and Hoppy Christmas

"Jessica Biel and Megan Fox

Wearing nothing but their socks

Is all I really want for Christmas this year"

Christmas has many pairings. Cheese and crackers. Turkey and trimmings. Christmas beer and anarchy. It must be difficult for punks to really embrace this particular season. After all, non-conformists can't possibly embrace a time of year that is mainly made of joy, smiles and shit television adverts. But, Brewdog are trying to run a business here and a successful one at that. So, it seems only right that they jump on the Christmas beer bandwagon.

Of course, these beers have existed in previous years and Brewdog did make an appearance in last year's calendar with their delicious Paradox Christmas. I had one of the two beers reviewed here - and yes there are two beers in today's Window - on keg in 2012 and found it nothing to do with Christmas. But let us see what we think here.

Brewdog Christmas beers

Santa Paws - 4.5%

Malts, malts, malts. I know this was intended to be malty with eight different varieties used in the brewing, but this really is thick with it. This is a Scotch Ale with a huge toasty and cashew nut background. There's hints of rum-soaked raisins, a tingle of coffee at the back and a sweet-pastry aftertaste. But there's just so much maltiness fighting over everything they've made here that you would think this was a collaboration with Timothy Taylor. The brewing is solid like you'd expect and the big body feels more than it's strength. Yet, I have issue with the term Scotch Ale as this is certainly a porter. Not Christmassy enough.

Hoppy Christmas - 7.2%

Where the Santa Paws was a festival of malts, this is a parade of hops. As soon as you begin to pour this, the room is filled with so much grapefruit and mango that I get a little anxious taking the picture as I want to taste it. This would have been criticised in previous calendars for not being remotely festive, but it's so delicious I don't even mind. It's not bitterly sharp and overpowering. The grapefruit, mango and tangerine flavours are perfectly balanced with a gentle toast background that makes this beautifully drinkable and so flavoursome. This might be one of the best Pale Ales Brewdog have created. A marvellous display of Simcoe hops that doesn't burn your teeth out.

Christmas Spirit Rating: 45% I'd rather that Hoppy Christmas was called Hoppy Sunshine.

Comments

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...

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...

Advent Calendar Window 14 - La Goudale de Noel

"Keep my distance, but you still catch my eye, Tell me, baby, do you recognise me? Well, it’s been a year, that doesn’t surprise me" La Goudale is an interesting French enigma. I searched for this under the label Brassee a L’Ancienne believing this to be the name of the brewery. After some fruitless searching, I learnt that this is not the name of a brewer, but rather a French saying that, roughly translated, means “Brewed in a Traditional way.” La Goudale is actually from the Brewery Gayant based in Douai, North-east France that aleso houses other well-nown brews such as Amadeus and La Biere Du Demon. The real reason I find them an enigma though is for the discovery the other day that two of their beers – the Abbey and Wit – are sold in Aldi. They are in 750ml bottles and are £2.49 and £1.99 respectively. Housed here, the repugnant snob in me thinks they look cheap and unappetising on these shelves and managed to slightly put me off my La Goudale...

Beer Compurgation

Search This Blog