Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale 2009, 7%
The thing I like about Shepherd Neame’s Christmas Ale is that it is not – how shall I put it? – too Christmassy. Yes, it’s a full-bodied, strong ale that slips down well at this time of year, but I’m pleased that it doesn’t try too hard to be festive.
That’s something you start to appreciate with the first glance: the colour is paler than you would expect, shining a bright copper-amber in the glass.
Then confirmation comes in the taste, where the flavours major on malt and hops and don’t fall foul of essences of spice or fruit that often make beers smell like an American shopping mall in December. This is a good, satisfying, slightly warming ale – end of story.
With enough malt (along with maltose syrup) thrown in to provide sufficient sugar to lift the strength to 7%, it would be easy for this beer to topple over into cloying sweetness. But it doesn’t.
Tangy, bitter, almost liquorice notes from the Phoenix and Pilgrim hops pull it back from the edge and then stop short of swamping the palate, so leaving room for delicate pear drop and crystallized fruit notes – from the fermentation process and the late-added Golding hops – to waft around the tongue.
Hops finally clinch the deal in the finish as those liquorice suggestions linger on and on.
Every year that the Shep’s guys release this Christmas Ale, they add a date to the label, so I thought it would be interesting to compare last year’s offering with the new arrival. This is perhaps unfair, considering they don’t set out to make a vintage ale that can wow punters in a vertical tasting, but it was worth the experiment just to see how the flavours change over time.
The 2008 bottle I opened looked pretty much the same (even the label) but, from aroma through to finish, it was a markedly different experience. All that is down to time in the bottle, as the recipe last year was the same as used this year.
Most noticeably lacking were the fresh resin-like aromas from the hops, leaving the malt in pole position. But this, too, had changed. Instead of dealing out sweet, barley sugar flavours, it had become deeper and more toffee-like, with a raisin note coming through.
After a year in storage, the beer had become mellower and more heavy, even hinting at sherry in places.
I have to say that both beers delivered the goods, although, because of its freshness, I would always favour the younger brew. If you want to find it fresh, the Co-op and Booths are currently the major stockists.
That’s something you start to appreciate with the first glance: the colour is paler than you would expect, shining a bright copper-amber in the glass. Then confirmation comes in the taste, where the flavours major on malt and hops and don’t fall foul of essences of spice or fruit that often make beers smell like an American shopping mall in December. This is a good, satisfying, slightly warming ale – end of story.
With enough malt (along with maltose syrup) thrown in to provide sufficient sugar to lift the strength to 7%, it would be easy for this beer to topple over into cloying sweetness. But it doesn’t.
Tangy, bitter, almost liquorice notes from the Phoenix and Pilgrim hops pull it back from the edge and then stop short of swamping the palate, so leaving room for delicate pear drop and crystallized fruit notes – from the fermentation process and the late-added Golding hops – to waft around the tongue.
Hops finally clinch the deal in the finish as those liquorice suggestions linger on and on.
Every year that the Shep’s guys release this Christmas Ale, they add a date to the label, so I thought it would be interesting to compare last year’s offering with the new arrival. This is perhaps unfair, considering they don’t set out to make a vintage ale that can wow punters in a vertical tasting, but it was worth the experiment just to see how the flavours change over time.
The 2008 bottle I opened looked pretty much the same (even the label) but, from aroma through to finish, it was a markedly different experience. All that is down to time in the bottle, as the recipe last year was the same as used this year.
Most noticeably lacking were the fresh resin-like aromas from the hops, leaving the malt in pole position. But this, too, had changed. Instead of dealing out sweet, barley sugar flavours, it had become deeper and more toffee-like, with a raisin note coming through.
After a year in storage, the beer had become mellower and more heavy, even hinting at sherry in places.
I have to say that both beers delivered the goods, although, because of its freshness, I would always favour the younger brew. If you want to find it fresh, the Co-op and Booths are currently the major stockists.
