Hepworth Christmas Ale

I had this labeled as ’Vintage Christmas Ale’ A mature festive amber glow. Really Christmassy but not too complex. Intense cognac with a range of Christmas pudding aromas. Muscavado sugary, rich comforting flavours Compelling, with the full complement of Christmas flavours. Not too heavy; buoyant. Swollen apetite element and BIG Christmassy booze. Tingly smooth and intensely boozy. Refreshing on the tongue, deep down the throat. Molassesey thickness. Imbued with the delights of the season.

500ml bottle, deep copper with not much head but a pleasing spicy and malty nose. Lots of chewy malt, plenty of hops, citrus and ginger notes, all well balanced by a good alcohol bite. Smooth and drinkable.

Bottled, 500ml many thanks to Sandra. Copper with white head. Very malty beer, lacking character and body. Seemingly spiced, but dry and powdery. not keen at all.

500ml bottle. Not exactly a wonderful appearance is definitely overwhelmed by a really good christmas ale. Fruity orange aroma, smooth palate, final smooth bitter finish. Good drinkability, alcohol well hidden.

Bottle. Aroma is sour. Palate is sour, not in a pleasnt way. Some subtle spice and some dark fruit characters, some orange. Not really pleasant to drink and the alcohol is noticeable.

500 bottle from Cask & Glass, Tonbridge. I saw the previous year’s offering in the clear glass 660 bottle that Chris o had in an off licence in Brighton and wished I bought it, so when I saw this I had to buy it. Reddish copper colour with lasting off white head. It does smell of christmas cake, malty with dried fruits. alcohol and hops (ok hops aren’t in christmas cake), Full in mouth, alcohol kick comes through in the end. Lots of tea and tobacco, more dried/burnt fruit too. I love it. More dry malt and dry peppery hop on finish. The hops, the malt, the alcohol all go to make this one of the best UK beers I’ve had. It is extraordinary. It really does assault the senses.

660 ml bottle. 2005 vintage. In England we usually expect Christmas ales to be dark and rich, so the relatively pale orange/ginger colour (and the clear glass bottle) didn’t look particularly promising. The contents, however, were a pleasant surprise. Poured with no head to speak of and a slight haze (bottle conditioned). Big estery, fruity aroma - bags of orange and tropical fruit - with some yeasty notes. Smooth and spicy on the palate. Lots of sharp, juicy Seville oranges and marmalade. Some late bitterness although the overall mouthfeel is mellow. The alcohol is not too intrusive. A tasty, light but full-flavoured Christmas beer.

<!-- i -->courtesy of fiulijn<!-- /i --> - hazy amber colour with a giant creamy white head; strong fruity hoppy nose with notes of lychees, pear and apricot; solid notes of yeast too; strong malt body and aromatic bitterness; moderately dry finish where the yeast dominates the fruity character - deeply original and a with a strong character