Tuesday, November 27, 2007

A Collection of Christmas Beers from Ridgeway Brewing

In my effort to try as many new and different Christmas beers as possible I like trying to find sampler packs from brewery's. So imagine my delight when at my local Spec's I see a collection of four Christmas beers from Ridgeway Brewing. I posted about Ridgeway's elfish beers recently, but this collection was a different sort.
Santa's Butt Porter: This is the beer that got Ridgeway into all sorts of trouble as people thought that if children saw Santa on a beer they would rush to drink it. For a while it was even banned in certain states. Alas not Texas thankfully. This is a Winter Porter and weighs in at 6% abv. It pours a pitch black with a nice tan head, a nose full of raisins and roasted malts. The mouth full of bitter chocolate, coco powder, raisins and a bit of burnt coffee. Very good, smooth aftertaste and highly drinkable, I'll give it a B+. 90% of the folks at BA give it the old thumbs up.
Warm Welcome Nut Browned Ale: Yet another offering with ole Santa on the label. Again this one weighs in at a mild 6&. It pours a golden amber color, which was definitely not as dark as I expected. Nice white head, malty and yeasty on the nose. The mouth was light, fruity with an underlying nuttiness, mild hops and smooth. Not as good as the previous and I'd give it a B-. Over at BA you still see 90% of the folks like it.
Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout: I love stouts so I was excited to see this one in the collection. It weighs in at a heftier 8%. Dark, very dark, with a small head on it that quickly dissipates. The nose is rich and chocolatey, with roasted malts, espresso, burnt coffee. The mouth is creamy, with very little alcohol and those same notes of espresso and burnt coffee. There is definitely that sense of chocolate covered espresso beans that I like so much in certain stouts. Very nice, this one gets an A- from me, however only 84% of the folks at BA give it the thumbs up.
Reindeer Revolt English Christmas Ale: The last of the bunch and boy was I sorry to see them go. This beer weighs in at 6% abv. It pours a golden amber with a quarter inch head. Hoppy, pale malts float on the nose. The mouth is almost buttery, with some earthy hoppy flavors, minerally maybe. Again a very smooth very drinkable beer. This one gets a B from me. Still waiting for enough folks at BA to weigh in on this one for the final outcome.

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