Craft Beer by Jim Flash Gordon of Revolution & Oskars

It was like Santa arrived at Revolution & Oskars last Thursday. Our Delivery of Christmas Beers arrived, tastier and better than last year. It’s a Tough job tasting new arrivals, but someone has to do it, it may as well be me. All decent companies are now producing a Christmas Beer, some with spices, seasonal hops or Pine Needles…. And here’s my judgement

 

Hoppy Christmas – Brewdog – 7.2% (2nd place)

This Christmas, wish for a green Christmas. Where flurries of hop flakes blanket the world like you’ve never seen it before. And crunching through crisp, sparkling drifts releases billows of pineapple, citrus and papaya with every step. The reign of the snow angel is over. Long live the hop angel where parks and playgrounds become adorned with the outlines of celestial beings that fell to Earth from angry looking emerald clouds. Tune in to breakfast TV to find life’s on hold for 24 hours as this ’hop day’ demands you rocket down a hill on the back of a baking tray. Or simply raise a glass of this festive IPA as we wish you a very hoppy Christmas.

Beautiful bouquet with tropical fruit aromas. Pours copper red with a small, lasting head. I found the aroma was more inviting than the taste but it still was a very good drop with a great kick off hop bitterness. It’s clean, crisp and fruity but without being sickly. Lovely!

 

Santa Paws – Brewdog – 8.2% (last place)

A fairly average beer from Brewdog here, although that might be a good thing when one considers it is a Christmas beer There was some roasted malts, earthy flavours and sweetness but nothing that was all that enjoyable or interesting when it comes down to it. Not the best and not the worst but certainly average, try it yourself and see.

 

Mikkeller Hoppy Lovin’ Christmas 7.8% (1st place)

Took a shot in the dark on this. I hadn’t heard of it before, but I know the boys at Mikkiller never fail to make excellent beer. This one is an India Pale Ale brewed with Ginger and Pine Needles – sounds promising!

Pours a slightly hazy orange with a whitehead and lots of lacing. It has a strong aroma of hoppy pine, resin, and plenty of ginger. The flavour is strong hops and resin up front, with a hoppy backbone and strong hop and ginger candy finish. I LOVE IT!

 

Molotov Cocktail – Evil Twin Brewing – 13% (ouch) (Joint Second place)

id you like Before During and after Christmas, maybe you thought it poured brilliantly, the alcohol was admirable well hidden and you loved how the arrogant amounts of hops numbed your mouth. This beer will knock your tongue off – it’s a tour de force in hoppiness and by far one the craziest beer ever made by Evil Twin Brewing.

Scary… in a very good way. Somehow you don’t taste the big ABV, probably because your face is melting a bit from the grapefruit/citrus hops paired with subtle but solid caramel malt back. There’s a sherbet tingle on the front of the tongue and a fair few hops if you wait for the alcohol to dissipate. It’s an interesting experiment but one is more than enough. Proof of how important balance is in a beer.

That’s part one of tasting for Christmas – you hardly thought I could try all the Christmas beers in one sitting! Call into Revolution or Oskars for a taste, leave the car at home and put ur feet up! Happy Drinking!