Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale 2002 - 2005

Formerly brewed at Shepherd Neame
Style: English Strong Ale
Faversham, England

Bottle (vintage 2004): Light amber coloured, small foamy layer; fruity nose (oranges, raisins) accompanied by a light herbal hoppiness with a metallic tinge; sweetish bitter flavour, medium bodied; sweet fruity (again oranges, sultanas) finish with a drier hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste. No great sensation, but a well drinkable brew...

Bottled. 2005. Pours gorgeous: ruby amber (darker than the whiskey-esque photo to the left) with a dense, sudsy white head that hangs around a bit. The clear glass bottle was probably not such a hot idea, though, for people like me who didn’t get the light-blocking cardboard box as part of the package; the hops aren’t smelling so fresh anymore. Definite skunk, though not too bad at this early date. The attack has nice high-carb, medium-body assertiveness, and there’s malty sweetness there. The mid-palate carries caramel and some toffee along, but, unfortunately, there’s soap and aluminum in the finish. Gotta say for Shepherd Neame’s sake that this is a well-above-average beer that’s just been a little too long on the road to the shores of Puget Sound.

Bottle. Vintage 2004. Dark amber colour with a long lasting off-white head. Malty aroma with some hints of caramel snd hops. Malty fruity flavor a little thin. Some citrus notes aswell. Slightly sweet finish with some bitterness.

Aroma/Malty-bread light, Appearance Head/size small, Head/Color white, Body/Hue-yellow, Initial Flavor-bitter light, Finish Flavor-bitter light, Palate/Body-light to medium, OK beer

Aroma: balanced hops, honey, cucumis melon, citrus, malt, fudge, passion fruit, vanilliacly noble, whisky cask Appearance: orange, clear, white head (towards the brown), Belgian Flavor: chemically bitter, a bit burnt, not so big, towards lager Palate: fizzy, boring, a little slimy additional notes: smells very good does not taste very good the two together=good!

2003 vintage: A dark amber beer with a light effevescence. The nose is of light hops and some citrusy tones in the finish. The taste is dry, hoppiness with hints of citrus fruit again. The finish is dry and surprisingly light for a beer of its strength. (Bottle).

500ml bottle from Franglais, Calais, 2005 vintage. Coppercolour with beige head. Spicey toffe aroma, some yeast. Bit of boiled sweet. Spicey hop, not sure what to make of it. Not awful but not very accomplished. Eventually I am not sure that all of the parts are distinctive enough. More of every thing really except the boiled sweet is needed.

Sweet floral hop aroma with malt. Cloudy amber red colour with good head and lacing. Strong malt flavour with fruit and flowers. Smooth palate.