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…?

Gift packs are a relatively new phenomenon in the real ale world - multipacks of beers on a theme for easy purchase in supermarkets. Either several beers showcasing one producer, or a mixed pack giving a selction, they serve as a safe bet for people willing to go above the usual randomly-chosen bottles for that real ale fan. But are they any good? One such gift set is Great British Ales, which consists of two beers from England and one each from Wales and Scotland. Unfortunate for real ale fans in Northern Ireland then - maybe a true British Ales selection could include one from somewhere like the Whitewater Brewery? Anyway, be that as it may, this particular pack features four ales - here’s the BeerCast’s verdict…

Black Dog 3.6%
Elgoods Brewery, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
“Our award-winning dark mild, full of roast malt flavour” says the back of the bottle - and we love an award-winning ale here on the BeerCast. A mild though? Our (admittedly limited) experience of that particular style of beer hasn’t been a good one until now. But Black Dog is really rather good. It is roasty, with a touch of the dreaded caramel and a dark molasses aftertaste - it’s almost like a shandy version of Theakston’s Old Peculier. It certainly has more taste than any of the milds I’ve had before - probably put together.

Fraoch Heather Ale 5.0%
Heather Ales Ltd, Alloa, Scotland
We’re no strangers to Fraoch, indeed it featured in our BeerCast #23 when we looked at beers with unusual added ingredients. It scored 50% that day - we’re immune to accusations of Scottish favoritism here - even though it is produced by the affable Williams Brothers, Bruce and Scott. Pronounced ‘fro-ik’, it has a “floral peaty aroma, full malt body, a spicy herbal flavour and a dry wine like finish” according to the label. There is a dryness there, but it couples with the floral taste from the heather really very well.

Double Dragon Ale 4.2%
Felinfoel Brewery, Llanelli
‘The National Ale of Wales’ according to the boast on the label, Felinfoel’s Double Dragon pours a rich dark brown and has a seriously malty aroma. This continues in the taste - malt malt malt all the way, with a sweetness at the end. It actually gets sweeter the more you have. This is in no way negative - it’s a very good brown ale, and certainly belongs in the pack due to the style. It gets a bonus for being named after a tremendous 80’s computer game, as well.

Spitfire 4.5%
Shepherd Neame, Faversham, Kent
Spitfire is also a British ale in the classic style, so no surprises to see it included in the selection. Amusingly it describes itself as ‘The Bottle of Britain’ - ho ho - yet it actually tastes pretty similar to the Double Dragon. Also a dark nutty brown colour, it has a consistent malty flavour. According to the tasting notes, a ‘generous aroma of tangy malt’ can be detected, and this is imparted on the taste as well - tangy is the word for this one. Average is another. It would be better if it was a bit stronger maybe, but it’s certainly drinkable.

Nothing stomach-churningly awful in the Great British Ales gift pack then - but what would we like to see in a similar set? We’re a British beer website after all. Despite my opening tirade, sadly we’ve yet to taste any beers from Northern Ireland so we’ll follow the country format of the original pack. Here are the BeerCast’s suggestions for a Great British Ales boxed set…

St Peter’s India Pale Ale 5.5%
St Peter’s Brewery, Suffolk
The first thing to package up is an IPA - just one of the many styles of beer we’ve given to the world. Admittedly several other countries have down a lot more with it since, but the 5%-ish India Pale Ale is one of the quintessential British beers. We’d be tempted to rock the boat with something like BrewDog’s Hardcore IPA, but as this is a mass-marketed boxed set, something classic like St Peter’s India Pale Ale, from Bungay in Suffolk. Hopped to survive lengthy voyages, it’s robust and really zesty.

Brains SA Gold 4.7%
Brains Brewery, Cardiff
Our Welsh offering is from the most successful brewery from the country - Brains. Their flagship beer is Brains SA, a dark coppery ale similar to Spitfire or Double Dragon (although none of the parties may appreciate the comparison). But they produce a fantastic golden ale which I enjoyed tremendously during a trip to the Welsh capital last year. Us Brits invented the golden ale - and pioneers like the wonderful Hop Back Summer Lightning and Exmoor’s Exmoor Gold are world-renowned. But they make great golden ales outside of the South West of England, too.

Yorkshire Terrier 4.2%
York Brewery, York
York Brewery was established in 1996 at the site of an old motorcycle showroom inside the city’s famous walls. Any foursome of ales from this part of the world has to include a premium best bitter - and Yorkshire Terrier certainly is that. Named after a small dog that used to be taken to work every day by it’s brewer owner, this one mixes well the lively hops and creamy malt. The Great British Ales set seems to be all about tradition, so there’s no chance we could put one out without a northern English bitter.

Dark Island 4.6%
Sinclair Brewery, Orkney
It would also be unforgivable to put out a best of British selection and not include a porter or a stout - and the very greatest exponent of that style is Sinclair Orkney Dark Island. Twice CAMRA Champion beer of Scotland, it’s an iconic standard bearer for traditional Scottish ales (their words, not mine). They never really refer to it as a porter, only a ‘very dark beer with a ruby tint’ - but however you pigeonhole it, Dark Island is wonderful. Chocolate, figs, dried fruit, it’s warming, malty and moreish, with hops on the finish. It’s at the very top of British beers.

Last year on the BeerCast we highlighted the local gem that is The Wellington in Bennett’s Hill, Birmingham. A real local boozer that values well-kept and varied ales above everything else is a treat wherever you live. On a recent trip to London we ventured to a similarly well-regarded establishment - the Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell. Located down a side street a short walk from Farringdon tube station, the battered narrow front door with peeling paint gives little away as to the interior.

Directly inside is a small boothed area, with the bar halfway up on the right - a glass partition hides it slightly from view. The overall impression though is wood - the Jerusalem is small, quiet, and extremely brown. It almost has the feel of a rustic coach house, with the narrow back room and tiny flight of wooden steps up to a rather cute single elevated table. Apparently the pub takes it’s name from the 12th Century priory of St John of Jerusalem, which used to stand nearby.

But the real treat of course, is the beer. The tavern is the only tied pub in London owned by the St Peter’s Brewery in Suffolk - and as a result gets very busy with loyal followers of the Bungay producer. Only their ales are on offer, served from wooden casks mounted in the back wall of the bar. A well-informed blackboard gives the styles, abv and price, so there’s no excuses here - you really know what you’re in for.

I started off with their classic, St Peter’s Golden Ale (4.1%), which was a very appealing deep orange colour. Dry and hoppy, with a touch of fruit and malt, the hops win out at the end and it becomes a fantastic session bitter. Speaking of which, I then moved on to their Organic Best Bitter (4.7%) - as opposed to their regular Best Bitter - which was darker and more malty, with that lovely Northern-style long bitter finish (to which I am biased, after all…). Finally after having been joined by panellist Andy, we plumped for their Grapefruit Beer (4.7%), which was really quite tremendous - slightly cloudy but with a deep grapefruit smell, the taste was zesty and sharp - this one must be refreshing when drunk in summer, and proves St Peter’s can handle all styles of ale.

‘Glad you could join us’, reads a small sign at the back of the Jeruslam Tavern. I’d be quite happy to re-join them every time I got back to London.

Summer’s here (supposedly), so our panellists are keen to try a range of drinks designed for the season. Giving short shrift to the prospect of drinking cider with ice, we head straight for the Golden Ales - characteristically British hoppy, biscuity ales best served cold for the summer. We begin our sunny podcast with Wagtail’s King Tut Golden Ale (4.0%abv) from Norfolk, then move to the other side of southern England to Dorset for Badger’s peachtastic Golden Glory (4.5%). Our third beer is back in East Anglia with Suffolk’s St Peter’s Golden Ale (4.7%) - featuring a truly distinctive bottle shape - and we finish on the quintessential golden ale - Hop Back’s multi award-winning Summer Lightning (5.0%), from Salisbury in Wiltshire. On the panel this time - Shovels, Richard and Grooben.

1. King Tut Golden Ale (4.0%abv)
Wagtail Brewery, Old Buckenham, Norfolk.
500ml glass bottle

Egyptologist and discoverer of Tutankhamen’s tomb Howard Carter was born and raised in the East Anglian village of Swaffham, just down the road from the Wagtail Brewery. Their golden ale is apparently infused with Egyptian spices, so takes it’s name from the boy king, and features Tut’s spectacular death mask on the label. Wagtail opened in March 2006 and only produce bottle conditioned beers made with Norfolk malts. Before his grisly early demise, Howard Carter made a great discovery - but will King Tut’s Golden Ale be full of wonderful things?

What They Say - “This golden ale is brewed using genuine Egyptian spices and Branthill Farms famous malted barley.” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
Richard - Aftertaste of woody straw lingers, not refreshing at all 5
Grooben - Half beer half lager, with none of the qualities of either 4
Shovels - Fizzy, sharp and bitter - not what I was expecting 4

2. Badger Golden Glory (4.5%abv)
Hall & Woodhouse Ltd, Blandford Forum, Dorset.
500ml glass bottle

Founded in 1777, the Hall&Woodhouse brewery is in the hands of the fifth generation of Woodhouses in the Dorset town of Blandford Forum. Under the Badger name they produce commonly-seen beers like Tanglefoot, Fursty Ferret, and Blandford Fly, and in 2002 they acquired the Horsham brewer Kings&Barnes. However, Badger Golden Glory is a golden ale flavoured with an extract of peach blossom, to give it a refreshing summery aroma. Legend has it that the gift of peach blossom brings good fortune to the recipient - will the panel be giving their thanks?

What They Say - “With an absolutely glorious floral blend of aromatic and bitter hops and a delicate peach and melon aroma, Glory is the ideal ale to accompany duck pate or cheesecake.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Grooben - Peach right up the nose, it’s practically a fruit beer 7
Richard - Smells so nice, yet maybe tastes a bit too sweet 6½
Shovels - As a summer beer it does exactly the job you want 6

3. St Peter’s Golden Ale (4.7%abv)
St Peter’s Brewery, Bungay, Suffolk.
500ml glass bottle

St Peter’s range of beers are unmistakable on the shelves, as they come in a unique flask-shaped bottle based on a Pennsylvanian original dating from 1770. The brewery was established near the Suffolk village of Bungay in 1996, and concentrate mainly on the bottled side of the business - although recently they have been producing more cask ales. They own a single pub - the 18th Century Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell, central London. Their beers are cold fitered and produced with less carbonation than other breweries, to be less gassy.

What They Say - “Amber-coloured, full-bodied, robust ale. A strong hop bouquet leads to a mix of malt and hops combined with a dry, fruity hoppiness. The malt quickly subsides, leaving a creamy bitterness” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
Shovels - Very refreshing and better the warmer it gets 8
Richard - Dry and hoppy, this is a proper golden ale 8
Grooben - A real beer with the complexity you’d expect 7½

4. Summer Lightning (5.0%abv)
Hop Back Brewery, Salisbury, Wiltshire.
500ml glass bottle

One of the most famous of all British beers, Hop Back’s Summer Lightning is the quintessential Golden Ale - indeed the section on that style in the Good Beer Guide names it and Exmoor’s Exmoor Gold as the two pioneers of the type. Hop Back also claim Summer Lightning is the most award-winning beer in the UK, with over seventy gongs for quality - a quite astonishing record. The brewery began in the basement of a pub - the Wyndham Arms in Salisbury - and has since expanded to bespoke facilities. Hop Back’s beers are always a good bet for summer, and with labels featuring the Greek god of wine and ale, can they go wrong?

What They Say - “A pleasureable pale bitter with a good, fresh, hoppy aroma and a malty, hoppy flavour. Finely balanced, it has an intense bitterness leading to a long dry finish. Though strong, it tastes like a session ale.” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
Grooben - This is just what I look for in a beer, very nice indeed 9
Richard - Hoppy and bitter but not too much of each - brilliant 9
Shovels - Subtle and light, this is perfect for summer 9

BeerCast panel verdict

Summer Lightning - 27/30
St Peter’s Golden Ale - 23½/30
Badger Golden Glory - 19½/30
King Tut’s Golden Ale - 13/30

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

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #19 - Golden Summer
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with episode 20, focusing on dark ales from York and Harrogate. Stay tuned for details…and please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!