The BeerCast

Ho Ho Ho, and Merry Christmas from all at the BeerCast! As with any other time of year, there are no shortage of seasonal ales that can be used to celebrate the festive period, so we’ve collected several for our Christmas Special. This episode is actually our third festive outing, and as with last year we celebrated by ramping up the number of beers. We begin with Naylor’s Santa’s Choice Winter Warmer (4.9%) from Yorkshire, and then move down to Suffolk for St. Peter’s Winter Ale (6.5%). Our third beer follows BeerCast tradition - Anchor’s Our Special Ale 2009 (5.5%), following on from the three previous Christmas vintages that have featured in our podcasts. Next up we sample Bad Elf (6.0%) from the Ridgeway Brewery, before finishing on Goose Island Christmas 2009 (7.0%) from the Chicago-area producers. On the panel for our festive special are Richard, Grooben, and the returning MrB.

1. Santa’s Choice Winter Warmer (4.9%abv)
Naylor’s Brewery, Keighley, West Yorkshire.
500ml glass bottle

Keighley’s Naylor Brewery were founded in 2005 by two long-time friends who decided to purchase and renovate a local pub, the Old White Bear. As their success grew, they outgrew the homely surroundings in Crosshills and had to open a bespoke brewery to keep up with demand. They produce beers under the Naylor’s name, and also a range of Pinnacle beers, named after a local pointy landmark. We sampled their Ginger Beer in BeerCast #23, our unusual ingredient special. Their festive offering might weigh in at under 5%abv, but it’s a self-styled ‘winter warmer’.

What They Say - “Chestnut in colour, with a hint of Christmas fruit and spice. This traditional ale is a real winter warmer” [Official Website]

Label Christmas Rating - 8/10

What We Say…
Grooben - I fail to see how it’s a winter warmer at all 5
Richard - Too watery to be warming, it tastes like a shandy 4
MrB - Santa on the label has a beer - I bet it’s not this one 4

2. St Peter’s Winter Ale (6.5%abv)
St Peter’s Brewery, Bungay, Suffolk.
500ml glass bottle

The small East Anglian village of Bungay used to be renowned for tales of a sinister feral dog called Black Shuck that terrorised it’s medieval inhabitants – but these days thankfully it’s a brewer that has put it back on the map. St Peter’s produce a wide range of beers from their Suffolk base, and supply a single – but outstanding – pub in London, the Jerusalem Tavern (link for our visit). We’ve also featured the brewery on the BeerCast, tasting their Golden Ale in a summery-themed show last year, BeerCast #19. This time we take on their Winter Ale, and see how it compares to others that have also been brewed for the season.

What They Say - “A deep, ruby red strong ale with an excellent balance of malt sweetness and hop bitterness. A classic example of a ‘winter warmer’; high in alcohol and rich in taste.” [Official Website]

Label Christmas Rating - 0/10

What We Say…
Richard - Dark, deep and rich, but cloyingly sweet 6
Grooben - That’s some malty business, not for the faint-hearted 5
MrB - Too fizzy, and I don’t associate liquorice with winter 3

3. Our Special Ale 2009 (5.5%abv)
Anchor Brewery, San Francisco, California.
355ml glass bottle

It wouldn’t be a BeerCast Christmas Special without the latest special festive ale from Anchor. Each year they produce a highly secret recipe, slightly different from all previous years – the 2009 vintage is the 35th in the series. The 2006 edition topped our beer rankings for a long time, and was eventually crowned beer of the year in our 2007 Beer of the Year show, (during which we also tasted the 2007 one). The 2008 version also scored well last year, so as ever we have high hopes for the 2009. There are never any tasting notes as the San Francisco concern keep the exact ingredients classified, but expect spices, piney freshness and all kinds of winter flavours.

What They Say - “The Ale’s recipe is different every year—as is the tree on the label—but the intent with which we offer it remains the same.” [Official Website]

Label Christmas Rating - 3/10

What We Say…
Richard - No cloves or spice, it just tastes of juniper 7
MrB - Very bitter – lemon-juice bitter, not hop bitter 7
Grooben - I would have like a bit more warming spice, I’ve got a vague sense of disappointment 6

4. Bad Elf (6.0%abv)
Ridgeway Brewery, South Stoke, Oxfordshire.
500ml glass bottle

Ridgeway can be loosely pushed into two pigeonholes – as a phoenix brewery, and a cuckoo brewery. They were founded from the ashes of a defunct producer, as ex-Brakspear head brewer Peter Scholey left and managed to start up another company in his own right. He named the new operation Ridgeway, after the ancient upland pathway that meanders along the South Downs, first trod by the Druids. They contract brew, so Peter leases time from brewers with the capacity to spare, most commonly Sussex’s Hepworth. They export a lot of their beers to North America, and revel in the use of elf puns, increasing in strength from Bad Elf through Very Bad Elf, to Insanely Bad Elf.

What They Say - “Olde England meets the New World in this strong, warming golden ale. A generous amount of famous English malt is masterfully balanced with an astounding 45 ounces of fresh hops – including English Cascade – per barrel.” [Official Website]

Label Christmas Rating - 3/10

What We Say…
Grooben - Not a Christmas beer, but it’s the kind of beer I like 7
Richard - Hoppy at the start, then the taste vanishes 6½
MrB - A smoky IPA, smokier than an American pale ale 6

5. Goose Island Christmas 2009 (7.0%abv)
Goose Island Brewing Company, Chicago, Illinois.
750ml glass bottle

Anchor aren’t the only American craft brewer that produce a seasonal beer with slightly varying recipes each year. Chicago veterans Goose Island also put out a festive ale along those lines, and we’re really pleased to have finally tracked down a bottle. The company started off based in a Chicago brewpub, one of the first in the United States, but like Naylor’s Brewery they became too successful for their fledgling space, and had to open larger premises. We delighted in their amazing India Pale Ale (5.9%) in BeerCast #36, our IPA special. In fact, before we started our Christmas Special the IPA was in our top four beers of the year, and heading for the Beer of the Year Show.

What They Say - “Specialty Belgian malts create a deep garnet color and a truly rich old European flavour in our classic Christmas Ale. And the generous amount of crystal hops adds that extra spicy aroma to your pint, perfect for a wintry night.” [Official Website]

Label Christmas Rating - 7/10

What We Say…
MrB - It’s like a special Goose Island IPA, sooo good 9
Richard - Hoppy, bittersweet, smooth, warming, fantastic 8
Grooben - Anchor’s more of a seasonal beer, but this is nicer 8

Panellists - (clockwise from top left) Richard, MrB, Grooben

BeerCast panel verdict
Goose Island Christmas 2009 (25/30)
Anchor Christmas Ale 2009 (20/30)
Ridgeway Bad Elf (19½/30)
St Peter’s Winter Ale (14/30)
Naylor’s Winter Warmer (13/30)

As that concludes our 2009 BeerCast season, stay tuned for the announcement on which four beers have made it through to our Beer of the Year Show in early January. Reigning champion and 2008 BOTY Hop Back Summer Lightning will be displaced…but by what…?

If you want to get down to the very basics, beer should only really have four ingredients - the near-mythical German Reinheitsgebot purity laws state our favourite drink can only contain water, barley and hops (yeast became the final part of the foursome only when it was discovered). But as anyone who’s stood bemused in an off-licence can tell you, these days there are all kinds of different things in beers. Fruit is a very common (and not entirely unpleasant) addition to ale - whether a Belgian framboise or a pint of the fantastic St. Peter’s Grapefruit Beer. But increasingly, other things are added to the brew to give some interesing results - and some aren’t exactly new ideas, either. Today on the BeerCast we taste four traditional beers with an extra, non-fruit, ingredient. Our first of these is the rather herby Brother Anthony’s Rievaulx Abbey Ale, from Suddaby’s in Malton, North Yorkshire. We then move to Scotland and try two of the Williams Brother’s historical range - Froach Heather Ale, and Kelpie Seaweed Ale. Finally we return to Yorkshire for Naylor’s Ginger Beer, proving once again that you don’t need to have a modern style of beer if you’ve got the right ingredients. On the panel this week with Richard and Shovels is the returning Andy, of Andy & Jess.

 

1. Brother Anthony’s Rievaulx Abbey Ale (4.0%abv)
Suddaby’s (by Brown Cow Brewery, Selby, N Yorks).
500ml glass bottle

The Suddaby family name has gone hand in hand with the North Yorkshire market town of Malton for over a century - Suddabys having been voted “Rural Pub of the Year” by Scarborough CAMRA eight times in nine years. The Suddbay beers, however, are produced under license by the Brown Cow Brewery in Selby, as there are no production facilities in Malton. We sampled their 6% bruiser Old Bob in BeerCast #17, and it brought back a lot of bad memories for panellist Shovels.

Added Ingredient(s) - Honey, Lavender, Lemon Balm

What They Say - “Brother Anthony’s Rievaulx Abbey Ale is brewed with the finest English malt, hops, borage honey, and yeast with a subtle hint of herbs. It marks the 875th anniversary of the founding of the famous Rievaulx Abbey” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
Andy - I would recommend it to people with a sweet tooth 7
Shovels - As far as honey beers go it’s not bad, down the middle 5
Richard - Smells like cream soda, the herbs are far too subtle 3

2. Fraoch Heather Ale (5.0%abv)
Williams Bros, Alloa Scotland.
500ml glass bottle

In 1986 a Gaelic-speaking man wandered into Bruce Williams’ homebrew shop in Glasgow and began telling him about a recipe for traditional heather ale - “Leann fraoich”. Once the Mr Miyagi/Yoda character had left, Bruce took up the challenge and revived this ancient Scottish beer, testing the results on the visitors to his shop - calling the concoction ‘Fraoch Heather Ale’ (Fraoch being Gaelic for heather). Once he started a brewery with brother Scott, it was an obvious choice for the first product. Heather Ale Ltd eventually became the Williams Bros Brewery - we tried their wonderful Williams Gold way back in BeerCast #2 - but how does this ancient drink compare?

Added Ingredient(s) - Heather

What They Say - “Fraoch has a floral peaty aroma, full malt body, a spicy herbal flavour and a dry wine like finish” [Label Tasting Notes]; “The unique taste of heather flowers is very noticeable in this beer. A fine floral aroma and spicy taste give character to this drinkable speciality beer” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
Richard - Beer then heather comes at you from all directions 6
Shovels - Tastes like a wheat beer mixed with something else 5
Andy - Strong flavour but not a strong character 4

3. Kelpie Seaweed Ale (4.4%abv)
Williams Bros, Alloa Scotland.
500ml glass bottle

The third of the Williams Bros Historic Ales to feature on the BeerCast (as BeerCast #2 also featured Ebulum Elderberry ale) is Kelpie. Named after a mischievously deadly water spirit fond of taking the form of a beautiful white horse, the inventive Alloa siblings mash seaweed into the malted barley. This has some historical significance, as Scottish coastal farmers traditionally planted their crops in seaweed beds, giving an unusual taste to the resultant beer they produced. But will we like it?

Added Ingredient(s) - Argyll seaweed

What They Say - “Kelpie is a rich chocolate ale which has an aroma of fresh seabreeze and a distinctive malty texture” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
Richard - It’s very nice but you just can’t taste the seaweed 7
Shovels - Smokey, chocolatey, gets better as it warms up 7
Andy - Fantastic colour, it’s more coffeeish than seaweedish 6

4. Naylor’s Ginger Beer (4.4%abv)
Naylor’s Brewery, Keighley, West Yorks.
500ml glass bottle

The old Yorkshire textile town of Keighley is known in beery circles as being the home of the hugely successful Timothy Taylor brewery, but there are others nearby too. The Naylor’s Brewery are based in the nearby village of Crosshills, having started in 2005. They recently launched a range of six beers called Pinnacle, named after a local landmark which features on the label. Their traditional ginger beer isn’t one of these - but the tower still appears on the bottle. It’s a classic British drink, but what does a proper ginger beer taste like?

Added Ingredient(s) - Root Ginger

What They Say - “A mid amber beer, our brewer’s choice Ginger Beer has the addition of fresh ginger root to give a subtle spice flavour” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
Andy - Would be a great cleansing after dinner drink 7½
Shovels - Subtle ginger spicyness at the end, it’s summery 6½
Richard - Nice but not sure how many of these you could drink 5

BeerCast panel verdict
Kelpie Seaweed Ale (20/30)
Naylor’s Ginger Beer (19/30)
Fraoch Heather Ale (15/30)
Brother Anthony’s Rievaulx Abbey Ale (15/30)

Panellists - (from bottom right) Andy, Richard, Shovels

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #23 - Hold the fruit!
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with our second BeerCast brewery showcase - from the Arran Brewery. Stay tuned for details…and please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!