Tonight, the Santa's Butt, a Winter Porter (6% ABV) brewed by Ridgeway Brewing in Oxfordshire, England made its merry way into our glasses. These guys do an entire Christmas themed series (Bad Elf, Reindeer Droppings, Very Bad Elf, Criminally Bad Elf...) I have enjoyed the ales this brewery produces but the porter in this bottle failed to live up to the novelty factor of the label art.
With typical porter colour (shout out to the King's English), the beer poured up with rather modest head, maybe 1/4" which dissipated quickly. The smell was slightly licorice with a bit of sharpness to it. First flavours are malty with some slight toasted barley to it. Midway has some Pilsner-style graininess to it. Finishes with a lingering caramel note. Body is very thin throughout.
This beer could have used a bit more toastiness and carbonation to approach a better porter rendition.
Bottomline: Enjoy the bottle art when you see this on the shelf, hell take a picture if you like. There are much better porters out there to spend your effort on. 4 out of 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment