A Good Thing Too

I've been in Manchester a fair bit over the last week due to meeting various mates for Christmas drinks. One thing has been noticeable in the pubs I've been in. That is the relative absence of silly named Christmas beers. There have been one or two for sure, but on the whole, not so many.

Why this somewhat curmudgeonly stance? Just that last time I wrote about these, they were not particularly in the spirit of special brews for seasonal purposes, but ordinary beers with a daft name.

I'd rather do without these frankly, though something traditional and warming would be fine.

More of the Same

The dodgy Christmas beer list continues with a texted contribution from Tyson, which woke me up at 00.43 this morning. Cheers Mate. He advises thus: "2 more 4 ur list. Blakemere xmas cracker shld read xmas crapper and u wld hav 2b a pudding 2 enjoy old bear xmas pudding"

So that's Blakemere and Old Bear added to the list of dishonour. I can chip in some more too. Allgates Samhain was certainly not an ordinary beer, but it was very difficult to drink. Goodness knows what was in it, bramble stems or raw cranberries maybe? Either way its sheer harshness didn't appeal to me. Three B's Santa's Skinful was a very nice beer, but as Christmassy as a barmitzvah, while Hawkshead Jingle Fells, a blend of Brodie's and Red, was excellent in every way, but its claim to taste like "Liquid Christmas Pudding" is, shall we say, stretching it a bit. And the bloody stuff ran out after one delicious but non Christmassy pint.

There was one jewel in the crown though. One of my local breweries, Greenfield, had Rudolph's Tipple. Dark, five per cent and subtly tinged with cake spices, it hit all the right notes. Seasonal, warming and delicious. Well done Peter and the lads - you are one of the few.

PS. A comment has just arrived from Tyson. Wonder if he's forgotten that text?

"Blakemere Xmas Cracker-it wasn't. And Old Bear Xmas Pudding-you'd have to be a pudding to enjoy this copper coloured xmas disaster. Basically two dodgy beers from two dodgy breweries."