Brewery: Shepherd Neame
Location: Faversham, England
ABV: 7.0%
Version: 330ml bottle
Source: Sainsburys

The shops are decked out with gaudily coloured trees and decorations, and incessantly pumping out really annoying seasonal tunes from their sound systems, so it must be Christmas already. As a bit of respite from all the madness that tends to blossom at this time of year, we can always settle down with a bottle or two of whatever Christmas beer the breweries have unleashed upon on us. I've got a couple in already so why wait until the day, I'll start on them early.

As noted above the bottle I sampled is the 330ml version, packaged in a cardboard presentation box, and not the 500ml boxless bottle I spotted recently in my local Co-Op, but I'm sure it tastes the same. It's dark amber in colour with a fruity aroma and a touch of caramel and spices. First impressions on tasting were of warm malts and alcohol, with an element of sugary sweetness and just a hint of hops. Some bitterness comes through in the finish. Despite the relatively high alcohol content it's not overpowering or cloying, coming across quite well balanced. Initially it's fairly easy drinking, but it soon becomes apparent that it's really quite heavy and deserves to be taken slowly. A reasonably respectable start to the seasonal ale tasting, I'll probably pick up the bigger bottle as comparison to see how it fares over a slightly longer tasting session.

Related posts:

1. Tasting Notes: Anchor Christmas Ale 2008
2. Tasting Notes: Shepherd Neame Canterbury Jack
3. Tasting Notes: Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper 2008
4. Quick catch-up #1: 2008 Holiday Beers
5. Tasting Notes: Rosey Nosey