Got my first two for storing until the Saturnalia festivities....

Gordon's Xmas Ale. 8.8% ABV, a strong dark brown ale.
Shepherd Neame Winter Hop Ale 7% ABV, an amber Kentish ale

Hope I can keep my grubby little paws off them until I have enough different ones for my own little beer festival....

Got a half dozen of the Shepherd Neame 'Winter Hop Ale' so I thought I'd try one. Cool from the beer cellar (garage). 'A rich strong Kent ale' it says on the label. 7%ABV, it is very reminiscent of their bottled '1698' beer. The head is adequate, the beer pours with a pleasing fizz and is an amber brown colour. It is a bottled strong bitter. Nice hops in the mouth with a surprising mellow malt taste. A clean woody aroma with a hint of spice somewhere in there. A full taste before the swallow with a satisfying tangy finish. It's nice, more refreshing than I'd expect a winter ale to be mind you. I tend to expect very malty dark ales with a sweet taste. Actually this is very good. I'd be tempted to drink more than is good for me, so I'd better get a few more in. It's £1.32 for a 500ml bottle from ASDA - btw Shepherd Neame brew ASDA's own brand bottled ales - the ASDA version of Bishop's Finger is called Gentleman Jack and is only £1 a bottle at the moment. Cheers comrades!

was in wetherspoons last night (the coronet in holloway rd after the arsenal v wigan game) had an 8% one from Belgium (corulas or something similar!) and a coffee porter from meantime brewery in greenwich - both fab!

Had the coffee porter. They do a chocolate porter as well. Same brewery - the one you had is the better of the two...

i do like the meantime brewery, they have their own pub in (funnily enough) Greenwich, that i try and go to when in that area.

also want to try some other wetherspoons before the fest finishes to see what they've got.

had old toms chocolate beer in montagu pyke wetherspoons in soho last night - not bad

GeordieLes wrote:

- the ASDA version of Bishop's Finger is called Gentleman Jack and is only £1 a bottle at the moment. Cheers comrades!

LIDL have "real" Bishop's Finger for £1 a bottle just now - at least the Leith branch did at the weekend. I don't know if they set their prices locally or nationally. The fact that a new ASDA just opened a short distance away might be a factor if they set them locally.

Only the labels are different. The ASDA ones even have Shepherd Neame bottle caps.

GeordieLes wrote:

Only the labels are different. The ASDA ones even have Shepherd Neame bottle caps.

Good to know. Thanks Les.

nearly had the bottled xmas pud ale in a youngs pub the other night but as i had drank quite a lot, thought better of it.

but i will go back (or look out for it in the shops, as i do like ales like that)

Bad Elf, Winter's Ale 4.5% ABV from the Ridgeway Brewery in Oxfordshire.
This beer is brewed especially for the USA export market and you can tell straight away from the style of beer. It's a clear sparkling pale ale with a lively body and a thick foamy head. It has a full on hoppy bitter taste reminiscent of the better English pale ales such as Marston's Empire and the likes of Sierra Nevada from the States. Delicate lace work on the glass as it's supped, the head dropping down the glass like a Boxing Day snow fall. But this is no Xmas Ale, it's sharp, refreshing and robust tasting. I'd feel at home drinking this in a country pub's beer garden in May. There are spice notes at the back of the mouth but these are ravished by the hops and left gasping in a sea of astringent bitterness. A touch gassy but a good example of a typical Pale Ale. I must say it's not what I was expecting, completely mislead by the labelling of the bottle!

Titanic Brewery Christmas Ale - Liquid Christmas Cake 7.6% ABV and a native of Stoke on Trent. This is more like it! Pours dark brown into the glass with a feeble head that dies away to virtually nothing. Smells of figs and yeast. Aroma of a fortified wine and tastes of liquorice. I remember a strong ale from long ago, Banks and Taylors Black Bat. This could be a replica. We're talking about an old fashioned winter warmer/old ale. Youngs used to do one (years ago) as well. Heavy alcohol fumes accompany the second sip, coffee and dark chocolate, vine fruits and molasses.
The ale fills the mouth and demands to be treated with respect. A sipping ale. Now this one ticks all the boxes when I think of a Christmas brew. A definite hint of marzipan. Honestly. And maybe walnuts! There's so much going on in this beer. Perfect for the holiday period, sat by the fire on a cold night listening to the wind howling round the snow capped fir trees.....

Poetry Les, pure Poetry.

First Zim (with the poetry), now you...!

Sounds like a lovely ale.

Thanks Nick. And Blyth Spartans beat Bournemouth 1-0.

What a result! Crack open another bottle of Liquid Christmas Cake for me!