Festive Ale Focus: Gordon Xmas

A very late addition to the Festive Ale Focus. I never got around to drinking this 8.8% ABV strong brown ale over the Christmas period and had decided to save it for the 2012 festive season. Then I remembered that the Russians celebrated the Eastern Orthodox Christmas only yesterday and therefore felt justified in consuming it tonight. 

This is a Belgian beer but, as its name suggests, it has its origins in Scotland. I bought this for a not inconsiderable sum at The Offie, whose genial proprietor Muree explained the origins of this beer as I handed over my hard-earned cash. According to Muree, this beer was at first brewed in Scotland but became so popular in Belgium that they started making it there as well. He added that production of this beer in Scotland ceased a couple of decades ago, so it’s now only made in Belgium.

Anyway, it’s it’s quite sweet and has a taste that’s possibly reminiscent of Christmas cake. It’s an entirely appropriate ale for the Christmas period. 

Festive Ale Focus: My final festive ale post. Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve Ale is a copper colored ale that is both malty and hoppy at the same time. It has a somewhat bitter aftertaste, which I like. It has an average ABV of 6%. I would have it again, although it’s a little pricey.

Good idea for a series by SteveR.

Festive Ale Focus: SweetWater Festive Ale

SweetWater Brewing Company for the win. I’ll let the visible lacing on the glass and the deep, dark color speak for itself.

8.6% ABV

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Festive Ale Focus: St Feuillien Cuvee de Noel

This ale cost me an arm and two legs but it was well worth it.  It was a delicious ‘dark ruby red colored beer with an intense aroma’.  I really enjoyed this 9% ABV beer.

Festive Ale Focus: Gut Forsting Weihnacht Bier

Weihnacht is the German word for Christmas, and this 5.2% ABV lager is the first German beer to feature in the Festive Ale Focus. Due to the strict rules of the Reinheitsgebot, German brewers cannot add the spices that often feature in Belgian, American and British Christmas beers. What we have here is a superior lager that doesn’t put me in mind of Christmas at all. I like it, I just can’t see that it’s particularly seasonal. I’d happily drink it on a hot summer’s day.

Festive Ale Focus: BrewDog Christmas Porter

This Scottish porter has added “cacao, chilli & festive spices”. I could taste the cacao and there was a faint hint of festive spice, but the chilli must have been present in a homeopathic quantity as I couldn’t detect it at all. Still, I thought this was much better than BrewDog’s other festive beer There Is No Santa. At 6.2% ABV, it’s a decent enough Christmas tipple.

Festive Ale Focus: Blue Moon Spiced Amber Ale

On our first visit to London, we stopped by Rococo Chocolates while shopping on the King’s Road in Chelsea. We were staying in the area and had read that the shop had created the delicacies that Salieri offers to Mozart’s wife in the film Amadeus. After much deliberation, I chose to forgo the titillating Nipples of Venus and decided to purchase Rococo’s delicious Cinnamon Organic Milk Chocolate Artisan Bar instead. Suffice to say this was an excellent choice. The “warm, mildly woody notes of the cinnamon” was a perfect compliment to the brisk day.   

Incidentally, Blue Moon Spiced Amber Ale tastes just like that Rococo chocolate bar. 

5.6% ABV 

Festive Ale Focus: Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale

After drinking this self-professed “Abbey Ale” from the Chimay chalice you see pictured above, I was reminded of the following exchange between Democrat Lloyd Bentsen and Republican Dan Quayle during the 1988 vice-presidential candidate debate.

When asked by moderator Tom Brokaw to defend his qualifications and experience, Senator Quayle claimed to have “as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency.” 

Seizing the opportunity, Senator Bentsen responded with the following: “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”

Senator Bentsen’s scathing response to Quayle’s claims have now become part of the political lexicon as a way to deflate politicians or other individuals perceived as thinking too highly of themselves. 

To that end, I find it hard to believe that the Blue Moon Brewing Company (Coors, actually) is calling this an “abbey ale”. Look, I’ve consumed abbey ales. I know St. Bernardus. Leffe is a friend of mine. Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale, you’re no abbey ale. 

5.6% ABV

Festive Ale Focus: Although LA Chouffe may not be considered a “classic” festive ale, I find myself having this over the holiday season. It’s a lightly spiced Belgium ale (I can taste a hint of clove) that has a wonderful mild taste and a thick white head. It has some sweetness that is countered by a slightly dry after taste. It’s double fermented to an 8.0% ABV, and I recommend it highly.

Festive Ale Focus: Snow Day Winter Ale by New Belgium Brewing. This is a dark malty ale with a strong hop profile. I would classify it as a strong dark IPA. The main malt used is Midnight Wheat, which gives it its dark color and smooth taste. I’ll definitely be buying some of this grain for a black IPA in the future. It is generously hopped with Syrian Golding, Centennial, and Cascade hops. There was a strong Cascade after taste. Unlike a lot of winter ales this is not bitter and has a smooth but hoppy taste. The ABV is 6.2%. I will be purchasing more of this over the weekend, and have no trouble recommending it.