BeerCast #26 – Christmas Special 2008

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas from all at the BeerCast! To celebrate what is traditionally a time for hefty drinking we have put together a seasonal podcast – and following on from last year’s spectacular we have ramped up the festive factor. This time we try no less than SIX Christmas and Winter Ales, the drinking order chosen at random by panellists MrB and Grooben. First beer in front of the fearsome foursome is BOCQ Christmas (8.1%) from the Brasserie du Bocq in central Belgium. Following our strongest beer of the night (which had to come out first) we move back to the UK and BeerCast favourite Hop Back, for their seasonal offering Pickled Santa (6.0%). The next beer in front of the panel is one we were all looking forward to – Anchor’s Special Ale 2008 (5.5%), bearing in mind their 2006 Ale is our reigning Beer of the Year. It’s a tough act to follow, but the fourth beer that gamely tries is Shepherd Neame’s Christmas Ale (7.0%) from Kent. Next on the mammoth podcast lineup is a seasonal porter from Burton Bridge in Staffordshire (4.5%). Eventually we bring the Christmas special to a close with the festively titled Rudolph’s Revenge (4.6%) from the Cropton Brewery in Yorkshire. Also on the panel with drink selectors MrB and Grooben were Shovels and Richard. Alongside our usual scoring system, we also judged each beer critically on the Christmassy nature of the label – we’re nothing if not getting into the spirit…

1. BOCQ Christmas (8.1%abv)
La Brasserie du Bocq, Purnode, Wallonia, Belgium
330ml glass bottle

In 1858 Belgian landowner Martin Berlot decided his farmhands needed some gainful employment during the long winter months, so he put together a brewery – the Brasserie du Bocq. Starting locally, they expanded after the end of World War I with the help of a strong brown ale called La Gauloise. In 1967 they produced their first Christmas beer – called simply BOCQ Christmas. A typically strong Belgian festive ale, it’s the strongest of the night for the panel – but the random beer selector throws it up first…

What They Say – “BOCQ Christmas is dark in colour and has a rich flair with a scent of coriander and liquorice. It is full mouthed and heady, with a pleasant aroma. A typical beer for the end of the year to taste together with family or friends.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – Strong, full in the mouth, tastes of pontefract cake 7
Richard – Classic standard brown beer with Christmas sweetness 5
Grooben – Hides the alcohol well, but is cloyingly sweet 4
MrB – It’s too sweet and it tastes of bum 3

Label Christmas Rating – 9

2. Hop Back Pickled Santa (6.0%abv)
Hop Back Brewery, Salisbury, Wiltshire
500ml glass bottle

Wiltshire’s Hop Back Brewery began life in 1986 in the basement of the Wyndham Arms pub on the outskirts of Salisbury, and have risen to become one of the UK’s most-awarded producers. Currently their tremendous Summer Lightning tops the BeerCast rankings – so possibly another gong awaits. We’re sure they’ll be clearing a space on the label just in case. Pickled Santa is their seasonal offering proving they offer more than just hoppy session beers.

What They Say – “Chestnut in colour, strong in flavour, hints of cinnamon, coriander and nutmeg.” [Label Tasting Notes] “In the mouth it is initially malty, but the spices soon take over. A syrupy sweetness is offset by some hop bitterness, and there is a little caramel and treacle, especially towards the finish. It leaves a strange aftertaste of peppery malt, with lingering cinnamon and nutmeg.” [Oxford Bottled Beer Database]

What We Say…
Shovels – Unlike most Christmas beers I’d order this in a pub 7½
Richard – Tastes like the nutmeg from on top of custard tarts 7
MrB – Smells Christmassy, the more I drink of it the less I like it 5
Grooben – It’s intriguing, you can’t really taste the alcohol 5

Label Christmas Rating – 7

3. Anchor Special Ale 2008 (5.5%abv)
Anchor Brewery, San Francisco, CA
355ml glass bottle

San Francisco’s Anchor are one of the giants of the American craft brewing industry, and have a wide range of beers in their armory. Every November they put out a festive beer for the season, and every year it’s different. Since 1975 their head brewers have been constructing subtly different offerings for the lucky public – their 2006 Special Ale is our current BeerCast Beer of the Year, for example. Their 2007 Special Ale also went down well during the same BOTY edition – but what will the 2008 vintage bring?

What They Say – Anchor never reveal the exact ingredients of their Special Ales, but speculation on the RateBeer forum is that the 2008 contains hints of citrus and circus peanuts (whatever they are), but also that it’s one of their nicest and is similar to the 2007, but not the 2006.

What We Say…
Shovels – Not as full-bodied as the 2006 but still bloody tasty 8½
MrB – They may all pale into comparison with the 2006 7½
Grooben – Made specially for Christmas which sets it apart 7½
Richard – Sweeter than the 06/07, not as good as either 7

Label Christmas Rating – 6

4. Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale (7.0%abv)
Shepherd Neame Brewery, Faversham, Kent
500ml glass bottle

If there’s anyone who should know about producing warming hoppy liquids it will be Shepherd Neame – their oft-repeated claim is that they are Britain’s oldest brewery. There may be some debate as to whether or not they actually started in 1698, but they certainly have a long and varied production history. We’ve featured their wares on the BeerCast before – Bishop’s Finger made a decent impression back in BeerCast #4. But their 7% Christmas Ale is another story, and has yet to pass the panel’s attention.

What They Say – “Our Christmas Ale is a glowing amber winter ale with a beady, fruity nose. Crystallised winter fruits combine with festive spicy hops on a platform of smooth warming alcoholic notes, leaving a refreshing cleansing hop finish.” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
MrB – It’s lager and lime only with ale, has a warming finish 7
Grooben – The beer tastes normal, the label screams Christmas 7
Richard – Smells like lime cordial, tastes only reasonable 6½
Shovels – For me it’s just not Christmassy enough 5

Label Christmas Rating – 9

5. Burton Festive Porter (4.5%abv)
Burton Bridge Brewery, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire
500ml glass bottle

If you stop to think about brewing in the UK, the small town of Burton has to feature. The inhabitants of the monastery of Saint Mowden and Burton Abbey laid the beery foundations, only for later generations to discover a local water source high in gypsum salts. As a result, more hops could be added to Burton-area beer and they could be stored and transported for longer, and by the 1880’s there were thirty breweries there. An astonishing one quarter of all beer drunk in Britain came from this small Staffordshire town. Burton currently has five producers – one of them being the Burton Bridge Brewery which was established in 1982 in the Fox and Goose pub. By 1990 it had won Brewpub of the Year according to the Good Pub Guide.

What They Say – “Very dark brown fruity porter with a distinctive bitter after palate. Target and Challenger hops combine with pale, crystal and chocolate malts.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – Swill it round and all you taste is stewed apples 4
Grooben – Smells very yeasty and really tastes of nothing 3
Richard – It’s not Christmassy and it’s not a porter 3
MrB – Even the Santa on the label isn’t drinking it 3

Label Christmas Rating – 9

6. Rudolph’s Revenge Winter Ale (4.6%abv)
Cropton Brewery, Cropton, N Yorkshire
500ml glass bottle

Happen we ‘ad to ‘ave a Yorkshire beer in t’podcast – and Cropton’s Rudolph’s Revenge comes in a particularly festive bottle. Established in the cellars of the New Inn, the Cropton brewery began in 1984 solely to supply the pub. But when their debut Two Pints Bitter was so well-received, they started to supply other outlets. In 1996 a 100 barrel per week facility was opened in the grounds of the Inn and production increased rapidly. Their festive offering is Rudolph’s Revenge, a bottle-conditioned bitter…but is it festive enough?

What They Say – “A dark bitter, using finest Cascade and Styrian Goldings hops and English malt, providing a unique hoppy beer with a fruity aftertaste.” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
MrB – It’s almost too fruity but is a tasty tasty beer 7
Shovels – This one goes hopsFRUIT!!! 7
Richard – This is hoppy like none of the others tonight 6
Grooben – Doesn’t taste Christmassy but crucially it tastes nice 6

Label Christmas Rating – 8

BeerCast panel verdict
Anchor Our Special Ale 2008 (30/40)
Rudolph’s Revenge Winter Ale (26/40)
Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale (25½/40)
Hop Back Pickled Santa (24½/40)
BOCQ Christmas (19/40)
Burton Festive Porter (13/40)

Panellists – (from top left) Shovles, MrB, Grooben, Richard

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #26 – Christmas Special 2008
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed

We’ll be back in the first week of 2009 with our biggest podcast of the year – our second annual BeerCast Beer of the Year episode. Join our greatly enlarged panel for a sampling of the four highest-scoring beers reviewed during 2008, as we gather together to pick a winner. See below for the contenders. Until the new year then, Merry Christmas from all at the BeerCast, and have a happy new year. As ever, please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!

BOTY finalists – Hop Back Summer Lightning, Thwaites Double Century, Theakston’s XB, BrewDog Hardcore IPA