Enter 2012. The show must go on...

Just like the Queen song, the show must indeed go on. But I'm not complaining, overall it's been a good year for me and certainly no ordinary one. The highlights were obviously moving jobs and hunting beer in Rome. But throw in some great beers, a twissup and an awesome birthday party, one or two beer festivals and many brewing ventures and you get one hell of a year to remember.

To be more conventional I could have done a list of 'greatest beers of the year' or a 'Golden Pint awards 2011' like many others but to be honest my beer hunting this year has been a bit less rigorous. More relaxed you could say (plus I get a good amount of free beer from work). But this time last year I remember doing a slightly less optimistic post. But to say goodbye to 2011 in style I would advise you listen to this track whilst slowly scrolling down the pictures on the page.

 

Happy New Year!

The eleventh beer of Christmas

Williams Brother Nollaig

Gaelic for Christmas, Nollaig is another Williams brothers crazy invention this time incorporating hand picked spruce tips and high impact specialist hops. So kind of like a Christmas tree IPA then. It's very limited edition.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but think along the lines of strong pale ale with a twist and you won't be far wrong. It's aromas bring pine and juicy lychee hop aromatics over hints of fruit cake. Drinking the stuff brings waves of cakey sweet malt and ginger bread countered by resiny pine needles, gooseberries and an underlying pithy hop bitterness. That latter of these seems to build more and more in the finish as you make your way down the bottle as hops and pine reveal themselves a bit more.

It certainly is an interesting beer and at 7% it may well have benefited from a bit of ageing. My advice is its worth seeking out as I'm not sure if the brothers will be ever brewing it again.

The tenth beer of Christmas

St Bernardus Christmas Ale

So here we are, it's Christmas day. But Christmas day wouldn't be Christmas day without a heavy dose of sugars and alcohols would it? Well that's what ths beer packs that's for sure. Sweet fruit cake, candy sugar, raisins and figs all play against a spritzy carbonation here. In the finish you get more winter fruit and sherry.

This truly is a christmas beer. But when that Co2 tires a little, and it warms it tends to mellow out and those warming alcoholic figgy raisin notes really cast a glow on everything (it is 10% after all)  then you get a subtle nutmeg and dark fruit lingering finish. Through and through its a classic Belgian seasonal and definitely worth seeking out for the season.

From Rob's Beer Quest, Merry Christmas to all.

Ho Ho Ho

The ninth beer of Christmas

Mikkeller From Via To (barrel aged edition)

Mikkeller  are a Danish brewer I havn't tried nearly enough given how popular they are amongst beer bloggers. This 8% porter was aged for 8 months in Bourbon barrels. Pours a deep black with a big brown head. The aromas strangely resemble much of the stuff I've given the Elizabeth treatment in my past home brewings (really dry raw woody notes) but with dry cocoa powder, alcohols and hints of citric hops.

This then rolls over into the taste which kind of has a chalky feel to it. Wood, cocoa, big drying fruits, salty notes and dark chocolate lead into big resiny hops struggling to come through in a drying finish that holds a hefty dose of warming fruity alcohols. Overall its damn distinctive, bold and although not instantly lovable it does grows on you to the point that you wish you had a second bottle.

I do love Christmas Eve, probably the ultimate evening to drink specially reserved beers at home before bed. O my present pile looks pretty good this year, and I've already got tucked into some of the stilton. To all RBQ readers, have a good christmas.

The eighth beer of Christmas

Madcap Santa's Madness

It was a while back now when I covered some of the Madcap range. Since then they've expanded to a five barrel plant and gained a range of cask ales (bless). Unlike previous reviews I would have to say this has to be one of the strangest Christmas beers I've come across. The nose brings aromas of licorice, leather and peaty smokey hints. The palate brings more peaty, leather dried fruit and a hint of sourness that brings a certain dryness to the finish. It's certainly interesting.

For some reason I'm getting the impression some unconventional micro organisms have had some influence here (whether intentionally or not) but what it lacks from my other experiences with madcap beers is that volumptious almost syrupy thickness that a lot of high alcohol beer can carry. It may have a rather complex aroma, but it does fall a bit short.