Beer Advent Calendar Window Eight

Beer Advent Calendar Window Eight - Winterfestbier

There's a point in these calendars where the soul starts to be ripped from your liver. All the beginning good intentions - to give background on the brewery and beer with each post - are ripped from you. Before you've even had chance to send an e-mail with a polite enquiry, you are drinking, writing and reviewing with no background knowledge.

With that, we come to Window Eight and Hohenthanner Schlossbrauerei Winterfestbier. This beer was purchased late last year and is certainly included due to its beautiful Christmas themed label and name.

Apart from that I know next to nothing about this brewery or beer and a non-negotiable website doesn't educate me. I would love to show my journalistic skills in these posts, but I personally like diving into this unknown German entity with no expectations or knowledge. Please stick with this Advent Calendar, if not for the detailed beer information and world class tasting notes then at least the entirely pointless Christmas film quote...

"Aren't we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas? You know ... the birth of Santa."

Hohenthanner Schlossbrauerei - Winterfestbier 5.3%

This is a lovely beer to look at, glazed in your glass like opaque clementines and fizzing away. There's plenty of orange peel on the nose with suggestions of clove and nutmeg. The flavour really brings out that orange along with whole coriander seeds, light liquorice and a little star anise. There's a strong hint of honey wafting through in later stages, next to professionally made marmalade. A little winter spice in a tub of marmalade creates the backbone to this beer. Despite an expected pilsner style, carbonation is low, allowing orange zest to wash over your tongue for a final finish. Forget the RateBeer scores, this is a surprisingly tasty bottle of festive beer.

Mince Pie Rating: 6/10 - a small nibble and those orange flavours really become apparent.

Best paired with: the satsuma everybody should still receive at the bottom of their stocking.

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