Nicholsons Christmas Beer – Sleigh Driver
Christmas. One inevitable facet of the year-end festivities is that they bring people together. Families. Elbow-jousting shoppers. Baileys-fuelled office party-goers. Whether you like it or not, groups get together at Christmas, and (more likely as not) turn to drink. Quite obviously, the best place to be when this human urge to congregate occurs is in the pub – that very British gift to the world. To cater for this uplift in seasonal sales, many (if not most) breweries put out a festive special; something dark, spiced or otherwise. To allow for ample conditioning time and logistics, these decisions are made around the time the clocks go back; brewing manuals are thumbed and contact details of spice wholesalers Googled.
Pubs, too, realise the importance of providing a distinctive alternative to the mainstream at Christmas. Operating companies like Mitchells & Butlers know that alongside the general December rush, people who have a genuine interest in cask ale will be watching to see what arrives on their local taps. As such, they have, for the last couple of years, put out a special festive series of beers through the Nicholson’s chain, giving their drinkers something to sample once the afternoons become dark and sleet-flecked. For this year, Nicholson’s decided to involve their Cask Masters in the process – the 77 men and women tasked with looking after the cask ales served in their pubs up and down the UK.
At the same time, I was also asked to be involved, alongside fellow beer writers Melissa Cole and Ben McFarland. Each of us were paired with a geographical group of Cask Masters, and then dispatched to a local brewery for a day to formulate a recipe for the Christmas beer. Ben went to Adnams with his group, Mel to Brains with hers, and I made the short trip up the Forth to Alva, and Harviestoun Brewery. Other than the abv of the beer, everything was at the discretion of the brewery and the Cask Masters, and it was up to yours truly to keep everything flowing in the general direction of something festive and drinkable.
The Masters at Harviestoun (which sounds like it should be a prog-rock band) had made the trip from all parts of Scotland, plus Northern Ireland, Yorkshire, Lancashire and even as far afield as Birmingham (necessitating 4am starts, in some cases). The ideas – as well as the beer – began flowing almost immediately. Collaborating on projects is one of the best things about the brewing industry – it underlines the sense of respect and mutual appreciation that exists between people involved with all facets of producing, transporting and selling beer. Certainly, the Cask Masters I spoke to afterwards appreciated getting the chance to design a festive beer, from start to finish.
On the day, the brewing team at Harviestoun (led by Amy Phizacklea) had come up with a fantastic idea; showcasing our native hops by producing a purely British-hopped brew. Of all the points discussed during the brainstorming, agreement for this was unanimous. From that point, bags of hops were passed around, rubbed and sniffed, and a consensus reached. The beer would be dark, but not pitch black. It would be well hopped, but not overtly so. It would have orangey notes from the Admiral, with a good burst of herbal spice from the Challenger and Pilot (First Gold and Fuggles were also added).
Don’t take my word for it, though – Harviestoun Sleigh Driver is on now at Nicholson’s pubs across Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England, and as a (winning) guest ale in Nicholson’s pubs in the other two regional zones. Head along and please let me know what you think of it. Alternatively, you can win a case of 330ml bottles of Sleigh Driver for your very own self, dispatched direct from the Harviestoun brewery. Enter either through the Harviestoun website, or through the Nicholson’s pubs Facebook page. Best of luck, and here’s hoping our entrant comes out on top in the Nicholsons Christmas Beer taste test.
Many thanks to all at Harviestoun for hosting, and to those at Nicholson’s and Mitchells & Butlers. Full disclosure My attendance at the brewday brainstorming was paid for by M&B.
