The BeerCast

Merry Christmas from the BeerCast to all of our readers and listeners! Our fifth annual Christmas Special podcast is another festive frenzy, as we review six seasonal beers and give our thoughts – both on the contents of the bottle and the ‘Christmassy Factor’ of the label (i.e. whether looking at it puts us in the festive mood). Our first beer brings the seasonal puns straight away – Cotleigh Red Nose Reinbeer (5.0%), from Somerset. We then head to Belgium and sample Het Anker Gouden Carolus Christmas (10.5%), before dealing with the litre growler containing Williams Brothers Nollaig (7.0%). Our fourth beer is another Scottish entrant – Sinclair Atlas Clootie Dumpling (4.3%), named after a traditional Orcadian pudding. After that, it’s back to the continent for De Ranke Père Noël (7.0%), and we finish on a traditional note with the 2011 vintage of Anchor Special Ale (5.5%) – which we taste every year on our Christmas BeerCast. The festive panel this time are Richard, Grooben and Shovels.

1. Red Nose Reinbeer (5.0%abv)
Cotleigh Brewery, Wiveliscombe, Somerset.
500ml glass bottle

Cotleigh began as a five-barrel startup in an old farmhouse near Tiverton in Devon. Their first beer was Tawny Owl Bitter, debuting in 1979. Success came quickly enough for them to relocate from the Cotleigh Farmhouse to Wiveliscombe in Somerset within the year. Having expanded since, they produce a range of beers – the majority named after birds of prey. Having celebrated thirty years of brewing in 2009, they continue to support the Hawk and Owl Trust with charitable donations. Their Christmas beer might not feature an owl – but it does have a robin on the label, perched on the antlers of the maniacal reindeer…

What They Say -
“Guaranteed to give you a nice red glow like Rudolph, this is a highly recommended drink. A smooth long lasting finish with chocolate, toffee and nuts. Pale, Crystal and Chocolate malts; Goldings, Fuggles and Northdown hops.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – I like it – toffee aroma, nice bit of roast, some fruit 7
Grooben – Doesn’t have that thick Christmassy thing going on 6
Shovels – Smoky aroma, slightly pruney, not my cup of tea 5

Label Christmas Rating
8/10 I bet that’s the reindeer Santa breaks out when he has to go through the Gorbals (Grooben)

2. Gouden Carolus Christmas (10.5%abv)
Brouwerij Het Anker, Mechelen, Belgium.
330ml glass bottle

In 1471 a community of Beguines (a Catholic lay religious order) began a brewery in the Flanders town of Mechelen. Four hundred and one years later, the facility was acquired by Louis Van Breedam – who changed the name to Het Anker (the Anchor brewery). Fast-forward to 1960 and Het Anker produced a range of beer, owned a brasserie, and a local hotel. Their main line of beers these days are Gouden Carolus – named after the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (who was born in Mechelen; to a man titled ‘Philip the Handsome‘). Today we sample their festive Christmas beer.

What They Say -
“A strong, dark ruby red beer with character, it contains an alcohol percentage of 10.5 % VOL. Brewed in August, the beer rests a few months to reach an optimal balance. Three kinds of hops and six different kinds of herbs and spices define the rich taste of this Christmas beer. Top-class!” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – That’s cracking – an awesomely Christmassy beer 9
Richard – Star anise flavour, more herby than spicy, great 8½
Grooben – Sweet but not cloying, this really is top class 8

Label Christmas Rating
10/10 – I don’t think you can get much more Christmassy than that (Richard)

3. Nollaig (7.0%abv)
Williams Brothers Brewery, Alloa, Scotland.
1 litre glass bottle

BeerCast fans will need little introduction to the beers from Alloa’s Williams Brothers Brewery. One of Scotland’s most prolific producers, the company began life in the Glasgow homebrew shop operated by siblings Bruce and Scott. Having an interest in historical recipes, their Heather Ales range includes the flagship Fraoch heather ale, Kelpie seaweed ale, and Alba – a 7.5% spruce beer we sampled in BeerCast #61. Today we try a brand new release (literally; it appeared the day before our recording) – Nollaig – a 7% beer brewed ‘with Christmas trees’.

What They Say -
“We have brewed this special festive ale using malted barley, a variety of high impact specialist hops and hand picked spruce tips which are only ripe for picking during a two week window in the spring. The resiny sweetness of the spruce and malt is countered by a huge hop character, which is just delicious. Limited batch of 800 bottles.” [Label tasting notes]

What We Say…
Grooben – Unusual and really sweet, it’s definitely been crafted 8
Shovels – Sweet, piney, sprucey, slightly bitter, it’s a cracker 8
Richard – Like drinking a Christmas tree – the hops make a difference, there’s other things to it 8

Label Christmas Rating
7/10 It’s like a no-frills present (Shovels) Without the tinsel it would be nothing, but it’s a good package (Grooben)

4. Clootie Dumpling (4.3%abv)
Sinclair Orkney Brewery, Quoyloo, Scotland.
500ml glass bottle

Founded by Roger White in 1988, the award-winning Orkney brewery started in untypical surroundings – an old school house in Sandwick. In June 2004 they merged with the Atlas Brewery of Kinlochleven, to form Highland and Islands Breweries – which in turn was taken over by the Sinclair Brewery Ltd in 2006. Recently we sampled the punchy Skull Splitter as part of our big abv protest BeerCast #64, but today it’s their session-strength Christmas Beer. BeerCaster Grooben – who was raised on Orkney – confirms that a Clootie Dumpling is a traditional steamed suet pudding.

What They Say -
“A light tawny beer. It has an aroma of spiced fruits and dried fruits, with hints of smooth roasted malt. Clootie Dumpling has a soft rounded palate, with flavours of dried fruits, citrus fruits and spices.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – I don’t mind the additions but it needs more body 6½
Richard – Inoffensively spiced, but nice and gingerish 6
Grooben – It falls into the “let’s put spices into a beer” trap 5

Label Christmas Rating
4/10 It looks like a Christmas pudding, that’s Christmassy (Richard)

5. Père Noël (7.0%abv)
Brouwerij De Ranke, Wevelgem, Belgium.
330ml glass bottle

In 1994, a Belgian by the name of Nino Bacelle – who came from a lemonade manufacturing background – began brewing at the Deca brewery in Woesten. Two years later, and with partner Guido Devos on board, Brouwerij Nino Bacelle became Brewery De Ranke. In 2008, they opened their own facility in Dottignies, producing 2,000hl of beer annually (60% of which was for export). Nino’s original 1994 beer is still going – Guldenberg – but they have several more, including a festive Christmas brew called (and with a label featuring) Père Noël.

What They Say -
“A fantastic Christmas beer, but one that defies the universal custom of a stronger, spicier beer for the holiday season. It combines a fine balance of malt and hops, complex character, a refreshing dryness, and a gorgeous cellar aroma – but is distinguished by its festive copper colour.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – No huge departure here from Belgian beer in general 7½
Shovels – For a Belgian, it’s not bad. I prefer the spruce beer 7
Grooben – It’s a good beer, decent amount of alcohol 7

Label Christmas Rating
7/10 – It’s a bit half-assed – a badly drawn Santa hugging a beer (Grooben)

6. Anchor Special Ale 2011 (5.5%abv)
Anchor Brewery, San Francisco.
535ml 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 2011 vintage is the 37th 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, before a dip over the last years with the 2009 and 2010. 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 -
“Created in the style of a dark and malty, strong scotch ale, with the addition of selected seasonal spices to compliment the festive season.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – Not as junipery as before, the sweetness comes out 8½
Richard – More sprucey than other Anchors, but more balanced 8
Grooben – Backs up the aroma with flavour better than the previous couple of years 8

Label Christmas Rating
8/10 It is just a tree, but to us this beer is now synonymous with Christmas (Shovels)

Panellists – (clockwise from top left) Shovels, Grooben, Richard

BeerCast panel verdict
Het Anker Gouden Carolus Christmas 26/30
Anchor Our Special Ale 2011 24½/30
Williams Brothers Nollaig 24/30
De Ranke Père Noël 21½/30
Cotleigh Red Nose Reinbeer 18/30
Sinclair Orkney Clootie Dumpling 17½/30

• Listen to the episode on Soundcloud here:

• Or here if you’re on iPhone/iPad: BeerCast #66 – Christmas Special 2011
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our Site Feed

Keep those comments and emails coming in – many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to comment on our website this year. Our next podcast is the big one – our fifth annual BeerCast Beer of the Year show. We’ll have the five highest scoring beers from our podcasts this year, sampled by a specially extended panel. Stay tuned for a BOTY preview…

As a phrase, ‘Battle of the Brewers’ conjures images of notable beer producers charging around the course of Total Wipeout, while beer bloggers aim jets of Pale Ale at them, and poke them with mashing forks. Whilst that would liven up any Saturday night schedule, in reality any conflict between brewers usually takes place in more relaxed surroundings (insert topical joke about Sam Smiths/Cropton here). A Brew-off is a great way for people to sample beer – a blind tasting of each product, with a free vote on which was nicer.

Last night at the Queen’s Arms, Stewart Brewing hosted such an event, having challenged their good friends Williams Brothers Brewing. The rules – each were to formulate a 5% cask summer ale, and both would go on sale alongside each other. The winner would receive nothing but kudos – and the chance for a spot of banter, no doubt. All proceeds were to be donated to Maggie’s Cancer Centre. Throw in a few raffle prizes, and the whole thing turns into a great idea – and no Richard Hammond in sight, either.

The beers – branded X and Y – were served at the same time, and both poured a very similar golden colour. Having had more than my fair share of beers from each of the participants, I (and this is not meant boastfully) picked which was which after a single sip – as did the others sat around our table. X had a certain crispness to it, whereas Y had an almost caramel sweetness, that built into the aftertaste. The hops were there in both, but the yeasty edge of Y made it harder going – and less summery – than the bitter crispness of X.

After casting our votes – and winning a prize in the raffle (which we didn’t allow ourselves to be influenced by, obviously), there was a show of hands as to who in the pub thought were behind the beers. Most people seemed to follow our thinking, although there were plenty that had gone the other way – such is the beauty of a blind tasting. Beer X certainly had that characteristic Stewart Brewing hop profile – so I for one was extremely relieved when it was revealed that it was indeed from their brewery (BeerCast integrity intact for another few days, at least). Y reminded me instantly of Williams Bros Joker – which, as it turned out, was more than a co-incidence.

The overall voting reflected the thoughts of our table – when the slips of paper were counted, Beer X wound out a comfortable winner – 77 votes to 49. It was certainly more summery, and as the weather was unseasonably warm for an Edinburgh summer (i.e. actually warm), it went down a treat. Stewart took the win then, and are apparently looking for another brewer to challenge (Westvleteren?). The best news of all was that around £1,000 was raised for Maggies, which was fantastic. Cheers to Steve Stewart, Bruce Williams, and their respective teams for the hard work that went into the Battle. If they fancy a shot on the Total Wipeout course, I can always email the BBC…

Stewart Brewing’s Summer Ale should appear in a few Edinburgh pubs over the next few weeks – and if you’re reading this at the end of July, both beers are still on at the Queen’s Arms…

Beer is one of the oldest creations of mankind, stretching back thousands of years to when the properties (if not the exact science) of fermentation were discovered. Whether a happy accident or not, crude recipes were devised to create drinks that made people feel bolder, more relaxed, or just forget about themselves for a few hours (or days). Fast forward to current times and some of these ancient styles are enjoying a renaissance at the hands of creative modern brewers. In our latest BeerCast, we sample four of these Beers of Yesteryear (title inspired by this article written by Mark Dredge on the subject).

We begin this podcast with Daleside Morocco Ale (5.5%), which dates back to Elizabethan times. We then move back 2,700 years to a tomb in Turkey, where the recipe for Dogfish Head Midas Touch (9.0%) was discovered. The Vikings are up next, as we sample the pine and spruce ale Alba (7.5%), resurrected by Heather Ales – the traditional arm of Alloa’s Williams Brothers. We finish on the mighty Thornbridge Bracia, a 10% old ale loosely based on an indigenous British beer from Celtic times. Buckling up on this Bill and Ted style adventure are Richard, Shovels and BeerCast debutant Blair…

1. Daleside Morocco Ale (5.5%abv)
Daleside Brewery, Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
500ml glass bottle

Back in the mid-19th Century feasts were all the rage amongst British landowners and the wealthy elite. Levens Hall in Cumbria hosted a shindig in May of every year – at which they served a beer that had been brewed and left to mature for 21 years. At the time, Charles II had married Catherine of Breganza – who brought with her as part of her dowry the city state of Tangiers. Things Moorish became popular, so this dark, spicy ale was named Morocco Ale. When originally served at Leven’s Hall guests were required to stand on one leg, drain a large glass and then recite “Luck to Levens whilst t’Kent flows”. With this version, recreated by Harrogate’s Daleside Brewery, our panellists merely have to score it out of ten…

What They Say -
“This is a very dark, rich and mysterious ale brewed to an ancient recipe dating back to Elizabethan times. Full bodied, malty with spicy overtones this complex beer is only brewed occasionally.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – Slightly spicy, like a milder Old Peculier 7
Richard – Fruity but missing alcohol oomph 6½
Blair – Watery and sessionable, I’m looking for more 6

2. Midas Touch Golden Elixir (9.0%abv)
Dogfish Head, Milton, Delaware.
355ml glass bottle

One of the kings of the American Craft Beer movement, Dogfish Head pride themselves on their pioneering spirit. With that (and ignoring the oxymoron) they have turned to the past for inspiration. With the collaboration of molecular archaeologist Dr Patrick McGovern (a world expert on ancient beverages) they established a line of historical beers. One of these is Midas Touch, based on an ancient Turkish recipe developed from the residue found on drinking vessels recovered from the tomb of King Midas. Will it turn to gold in the hands of our panel?

What They Say -
“Our recipe highlights the known ingredients of barley, white Muscat grapes, honey and saffron. Somewhere between a beer, wine and mead, this smooth, dry ale will please Chardonnay or I.P.A. drinker alike.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Blair – To hit as many home runs as them you take a couple misses 6½
Richard – Tastes like Battenberg cake, sweet and flat 5
Shovels – Well-balanced but I’d not want a lot of it 4

3. Heather Ales Alba (7.5%abv)
Williams Brothers, Alloa, Scotland.
330ml glass bottle

Our third ancient ale predates the arrival of the mighty hop on British shores. Back in the day, people who wanted to make beer flavoured it with the natural ingredients they could find around them – herbs, spices, plant extracts. The Vikings (who liked to work up a thirst) added spruce and pine to their alcohol, and as these ingredients are endemic to Scotland that type of beer was soon copied here. Shetland spruce ale was said to “stimulate animal instincts”, and if women drank it they would give birth to twins. With the podcasters on board today, anything could happen…

What They Say -
“Alba is a triple style ale brewed to a traditional Highland recipe from Scots pine and spruce shoots pickled during early spring. A tawny brown strong ale with spruce aroma, it has a rich malt texture, complex wood flavour and lingering finish.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – Resinous sappy flavour, I quite like it 7
Blair – I get a lot of raspberry jam from this 7
Shovels – Sweet, caramelly, quite interesting, bit too sweet 5

4. Bracia (10.0%abv)
Thornbridge Brewery, Bakewell, Derbyshire.
750ml glass bottle

The first Thornbridge beer to make it onto one of our BeerCasts (although we have featured them on the website before), Bracia is a powerhouse of flavour containing six malts, four hops, roasted barley and Italian Chestnut honey. The original recipe vanished into the mists of time with the ancient Iron Age Celts (reference to Bracia was found in name only, inscribed by Romans at a Derbyshire fort). A honey beer high in alcohol, Thornbridge have recreated it pretty much from scratch, head brewer Stefano Cossi sourcing the honey from the Alps himself (possibly using elephants, we aren’t sure)

What They Say -
“Aromas are of chestnut, honey, cappuccino, white chocolate, dark fruits, vibrant fresh peel. The mouthfeel is velvety and rich, with notes of coffee, chocolate, liquorice and hazelnuts with warming alcohol, cocoa and a little peat in the finish Bracia can be cellared for up to one year, maybe longer.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Blair – Big bodied, the alcohol comes out well, really good 8
Richard – Every sip gives something different, just lovely 8
Shovels – Quite medicinal, really complex aftertaste 7½

Panellists – (clockwise from top left) Shovels, Blair, Richard

BeerCast panel verdict
Thornbridge Bracia 23½/30
Daleside Morocco Ale 19½/30
Heather Ales Alba 19/30
Dogfish Head Midas Touch Golden Elixir 15½/30

Please keep those comments and emails coming in, and check back in a couple of weeks for our next podcast. We have two brewery showcases lined up – our Northern panel sample four beers produced by the Hardknott microbrewery in Cumbria, and our London crew tackle the beers of Robert Knops…

The arrival of tailbacks on the roads and wasps in the parks can mean only one thing – Spring is here. After enduring months of snow, sleet, winds and haar (something we say every year, only this time it actually happened) the weather is taking a turn for the better. Here in Scotland that means average highs in the mid-teens Celsius. So while we all rush to reveal that pale flesh and stick another white pudding on the barbie, beer sales traditionally rocket.

So what to drink? Clearly, avoiding macrolager is the only decent option. But there are so many alternatives out there, it can be something of a muddle. That’s why we’ve compiled another BeerCast guide – to the best of the Spring/Summer seasonals. Just because it’s time to rush to the nearest beer garden/park/roadside verge, doesn’t mean there can’t be a good beer involved somewhere along the line. So put down that oak-aged imperial blackcurrant porter, and pick up a golden session ale. (Whisper it) – it’s not always about the abv…

Cask
If you manage to get yourself into that rarest of things – a sunny Scottish beer garden – then what should you select after wandering, blinking, into the pub (which will still have a roaring open fire)? Light, golden beer has a great tradition north of the border, stretching back to the days of Edinburgh Pale Ale and beyond. There are plenty of modern-day equivalents, such as the peerless Fyne Ales Avalanche. Hoppy, refreshing and unbelievably drinkable – it’s the perfect beer garden pint.

Along the same lines, Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted is another corker – one of only two beers from Scotland to win Champion Beer of Britain. A very rare sighting on cask, but Williams Brothers Ceilidh is tremendous when served this way, the slight spicy edge from the bottle mellowing really well on cask. Other great quenchers include Strathaven Summer Glow, Deeside Nechtan and Stewart Brewing Forth Mist – a really underrated wheat beer.

Bottle
The beauty of bottles is of course the fact that they are portable. Until Scotland truly embraces the canned beer revolution that (if you look very, very hard) is taking place, then the bottle is the best option. Alfresco drinking here usually involves either one of Scotland’s great exports to the world – Irn Bru – or one of the big imports – Buckfast. But if beer is on your wishlist, then dig out that opener and wander along to the nearest green space, with a clinking carrier bag of…

Cairngorm Trade Winds, which has a touch of elderflower to give it that distinctive summery flavour – in my humble opinion it’s one of the few beers that tastes just as good from a bottle as on cask. Inveralmond Ossian is another golden thirstbuster, as is Williams Brothers Harvest Sun. We adore Fyne Ales Jarl here on the BeerCast – but stablemate Hurricane Jack was also bottled for the first time recently, and is just as good. Finally, to rival Trade Winds – what about a bottle of Tryst Blathan? Another zesty elderflower beer that translates as ‘little blossom’ – what could be more Springlike?

Keg
Yikes. Keg beer. Well, the majority are pretty much made for good weather – easy drinking, crisp and refreshing, high carbonation. Obviously we’re not going to recommend drinking Fosters, but if something cold is on your radar then what about the two kings of Scottish kegged lager – Harviestoun Schiehallion and Black Isle Organic Blonde? Either would be much more preferable, surely.

Also on the cooler, fizzier side of things we have Stewart Brewing Edinburgh Gold, which has made recent appearances in the capital on keg. Heading along the M8, WEST Hefeweizen is a clovey, banana delight – particularly when drunk outside the Templeton brewery watching the ‘goings on’ in Glasgow Green. Finally, keg fans would be foaming (artificially) at the mouth if we didn’t mention BrewDog – their re-styled, reduced but much improved Punk IPA would make any sunny afternoon much the better.

So what are your ideal summer thirst quenchers? As we move into Easter long weekends and Royal Wedding holidays, what will you be reaching for? South of the border there are many great golden-esque ales that fit the bill – Pictish Brewer’s Gold, York Guzzler, Thornbridge Kipling, Purity Pure Gold, St Peter’s Golden Ale, Ossett Pale Gold etc etc

So many beers…so little sunshine. Drink up!

On Friday there was further good news for Loanhead’s Stewart Brewing, as their 5% pale ale Hollyrood was named Champion bottled beer of Scotland. It will now go on to the national SIBA finals in February to take on the other regional champs from around the UK. MrB and myself were in attendance for the judging, having secured a couple of invitations for the BeerCast to take part. Alva’s Williams Brothers were also the day’s big winners, securing Golds in three of the five categories, and taking overall Silver for Midnight Sun and Bronze for 7 Giraffes.

Having taken part in the judging for last year’s Champion Beer of Scotland I was looking forward to the competition. The beers had been divided into categories, and the judges were allocated two each for the afternoon’s tastings. MrB was put into the ‘Bitters under 5%’ and then ‘Bitters 5% and over’ sections, meaning he got through a lot of golden session beers, whereas I was selected for the ‘Speciality’ and ‘Milds, Stouts, Old Ales and Porters’ categories.

The Speciality tag can mean pretty much anything (as you can see from the colours in the photo above), and it was interesting to judge an oak-aged porter against a Finnish-recipe juniper ale. Of course, the judging is done blind so you can only go on your senses – although it’s human nature to try and guess what it is you’re drinking. Only afterwards when the identities of the beers are released do those guesses prove to be wildly inaccurate. The standout for me were Harviestoun’s Ola Dubh 40 (that oak-aged porter) and Stewart Brewing’s Hefeweizen (which we identified immediately, there not being many bottled Scottish weissbiers).

After a short interlude and the swapping of stories – MrB asking for second helpings of Fyne Ales Avalanche, for example – it was back for the next category. Where speciality beers were varied, the stouts and porters were much harder to differentiate between. Six dark malty offerings later, and our scoresheets were heading back to be collated. In that category there was only one winner for me – Highland’s awesome Orkney Porter got the highest score on my sheet, although there were so many dark beers that it didn’t make it into the final reckoning.

So the overall winners were announced as Williams Brothers Cock o’ the Walk (Bitters over 4.1%), Stewart Brewing Hollyrood (Bitters 5% and over), Colonsay IPA (Gold beers), Williams Brothers 7 Giraffes (Speciality) and Williams Brothers Midnight Sun. These were all re-tasted in the final, with Stewart Brewing’s offering coming out on top – and only five months after it won best pale ale at the 2010 World Beer Awards – congratulations to Steve, Jo and all the team.

In a few weeks the national SIBA finals takes place, and amongst the cask (and for the first time, keg) competitions are the national bottled beer awards. Hollyrood will face stiff competition from the other regions, as Thornbridge’s peerless Kipling is representing the Midlands and Kernel Export Stout 1890 will be there for the South East. We won’t be able to make it to Nottingham for the finals, but we’ll let you know how Scotland’s entrants do against the rest of Britain.

SIBA Official Website