You can do many things when you're an anarchist. Besides causing anarchy by brewing beers (watch out government) you can also remove the religious aspect from the term "Christmas." 'Cause ain't no men of the cloth going to tell this crazy bunch how to celebrate a commercial holiday.
There's little that irritates me more than anti-religious folk who celebrate Christmas. Heck, just the other day I had a long chat with somebody who believes that all of the world's problems are caused by religion and that anybody with faith is an idiot. A week later, I wander into their house to find it coated in Christmas decorations. Irony level: Master.
Let us not let an anarchist's view of religion judge how we feel about Anarchy Brewery's Xmas Chaos - A rum & raisin porter. I certainly like the beer concept and the branding; a little nod to the chaos that ensues around Black Friday by shoppers who have problems.
This Morpeth based brewery began life in 2012 and have already gone through a large rebranding exercise to create something rather loud but exciting. Their beers also tend to be solid too, if a little on the unspectacular.
"You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!"
Anarchy Brew Co. - Xmas Chaos A Rum & Raisin Porter 4.3%
There's a rather spectacular nose here, with plenty of the raisin present, lots of chocolate maltiness and something of after eight mints in the hum. The taste doesn't quite live up to it though. For some reason I'm mentally convinced this beer should be around 6.9% and the taste shows that it probably should have. There's lots of the roasted chestnuts, some prunes and apricots, a touch of oaky smokiness, crisp frosted grass and a gentle background of fresh sage. It's chewy and refreshing - which isn't what I want it to be. The body and finish are all too short and the beer doesn't go anywhere. It needs a big boozy rum finish to bring the flavours together; as the name suggests. I have no idea why I thought this beer was 6.9%, but it would make a very good 6.9% beer. Here, the body doesn't provide the stage to make the flavours sing. Probably would be better presented on cask as it is.
Of course, the beer fatigue had really started to set in upon drinking this beer so my opinion may have been blighted by this.
Mince Pie Pairing Rating: 5/10 - the beer adds nothing to the pie, the pie adds nothing to the beer
Best paired with: A spiced rum chaser, so you get the booze you were looking for
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