Christmas Drinking 2011

With the festive season all too quickly over and the weather in England being its usual bleak mid January self I thought it a good time to reminisce over the magnificent beers I'd stocked for Christmas day. Here they are in all their glory...

Silly Saison, 5.2%

The brewery of Silly is situated south of Brussels on the way to Mons. 16 different beers are produced but it's their Saison that they're really known for. A nutty, caramel beer, spicy and fruity with a balancing citrus finish. Slightly darker than your average Saison. Silly name, serious beer.

Marble Brewery Lagonda IPA 5%

This beer from Manchester based Marble is; quadruple hoped, spicy, peppery, citrusy and includes a very dry finish. Uncomplicated, refreshing and thirst-quenching.

Hardknott Queboid 8%

Hardknott was started in December 2005, it's based in Millom, Cumbria. Their Queboid is an orange amber colour, with lots of American fruity hoppyness in the aroma. Flavour is of citrus, lots of grass and pine and some sugary caramel malt. The addition of Belgian yeast gives an added interesting element to this strong and warming beer.

Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux 9.5%

The Dupont Brewery is located in Leuze-en-Hainaut, Belgium. The current brewery, founded in 1950, is located on a working farm which itself has a rich brewing history dating back to 1759. Their 'Bons Voeux' meaning 'Best Wishes' is their holiday season saison. It's a wonderfully complex beer, spicy and herby with rosemary, sage and coriander notes that are completely captivating. Creamy hops along with Belgian yeast compliment this delicate golden coloured masterpiece with the potency of the alcohol blasting through at the finish.

Gouden Carolus Noël 10.5%

The holiday period wouldn't be complete without the Christmas Carolus. This Belgian strong ale from Brouwerij Het Anker is a lovely deep brown. The nose mixes figs and plums with spices, cloves and nutmeg, the balance is perfect, the aroma intoxicating. The flavours burst out: plum, cinnamon, raisins, anise, dark berries and even a hint of lemon. Each one both intense and delicate. The yeast rounding it all out and keeping the alcohol in check. An excellently rich fireside sipper.

Schneider Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock 12%

To compliment their already popular Schneider Aventinus (8.2%), Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn reintroduced their Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock. Prior to the 1940s the original Aventinus was transported all over Bavaria in containers that didn't have temperature control. This lead poor Aventinus to freeze along the way. Drinkers, unaware that freezing caused the concentration of the liquid by separating it from the water, were delightfully baffled by the unique (and stronger) beer that arrived. The brewmaster at Schneider decided to recreate this marvellous “mistake” and so the Aventinus Eisbock was reborn. The beer itself is sweet, malty, lots of raisin, dried fruit and port. Mistakes should always be like this.

Odell St. Lupulin Extra Pale Ale 6.5%

I suppose this Summer ale was being drunk at the wrong time of the year, however, being a style of beer I adore it was a welcome contrast to some of the strong, dark monsters of early afternoon Christmas Day drinking. Odell Brewing Company, a converted 1915 grain elevator in Colorado opened in 1989, their Lupulin is everything you want in a pale ale. A pleasant new world hoppy beer with pine notes, very floral and fresh.

Schneider Weisse Tap X Mein Nelson Sauvin 7.3%

A German weisse brewed in 2011 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ABT cafés in Holland. The Nelson Sauvin hop, which is an interesting choice for a wheat beer, brings distinctive light vinous, flowery notes to a pleasantly bananary, lightly smoky brew.

Brewdog Hardcore IPA 9.2%

Brewdog need no introduction, their media exploits will have reached all but the most hardened monastic hermit communities. Their Hardcore IPA is true to its name, it's a big bold beer, bitter and sweet, packed full of hops which are only tempered by the extreme alcohol content.

Left Hand Brewing Co Fade to Black Vol.2 7.8%

This American brewery from Longmont, Colorado was founded in 1993 and has since grown to now produce approximately 35,000 barrels of beery goodness a year. Their Fade to Black Vol.2 is a smoked Baltic porter, a black and tan beer inspired by their collaboration with Nørrebro in Denmark. Flavour is of cocoa, smoke, roasted coffee and molasses.

The Kernel Export Stout London 1890 7.1%

The Kernel brewery is tucked away under a railway arch shared with a cheese maker and a salami producer in Bermondsey, just south of the River Thames, London. This beer is based on a recipe from a London Brewery in 1890, it's almost an opaque black with a beige head. Roasted and gloriously rich, flavours are espresso, dark chocolate, leather and coal balanced with a dry, woody finish. A top English stout.

So there you have it, a mighty list from my favourite day of the year, but if like Roy Wood and Wizzard you “Wish it could be Christmas everyday” a visit to the stockist Stirchley Wines, where these were procured, should let you create your own brilliant beer day for yourself.

For readers too far from Stirchley you can also check out Beers of Europe and myBrewerytap.

Meet the... Publican: Alex Marchant

 (Produced for Ales & Tales)

• Name, age, occupation?

Alex Marchant, 26, General Manager – The Beacon Hotel.

• What was your first drink?

I remember my Dad letting me drink the foam of his beer when I was a kid, I couldn't understand how anyone could stand such a foul taste. He said I'd acquire it eventually. He was right. My first pint was Enville Gothic, I was quite underage.

• What are your hobbies and interests?

Other than real ale? Craft beer. I often joke that beer and pubs are my only hobby but it's fairly accurate. I used to be rather pretentious when I was younger and say that I liked fine art, film, new wave fashion and avant-garde hip hop. Now I just like beer and pubs.

• What is your favourite beer?

Hops. I really like bold flavours in beer, über strong hops or really deep malts. I admire brewers who are willing to take a chance and push boundaries with styles, strengths and flavours, even with aspects of the brewing process (Brew Dogs' Sunk Punk for example), I've been drinking a load of craft beers recently, Mikeller's 1000 IBU and Soba Ale; a collaborative beer between Rogue Brewery and Masaharu Morimoto have really stood out. British cask wise I believe that Kinver, Hardknott, Marble and Pictish can do no wrong. I've still got a place in my heart for Black Country bitters even though my tastes may have moved on, I still love Pardoe's Bumblehole. And there's no way I can answer a question about favourite beer without mentioning the Ruby. It's a staple in my diet.

• What is your favourite

-Food?

The restaurant in the Bulls Head, a Holden's pub down the road from the Beacon is my current favourite, really excellent traditional Thai food. I'd eat there every day if possible but it's not open on Sundays.

-Drink that's not Real Ale?

Tea. I drink bucket loads of it.

-Music?

All kinds of crazy stuff.

• How did you get started in the trade?

I started as bar staff at the pub when I was 18, it was a couple of weekends before our first and only beer festival. It was an amazing place to work. I stayed on at the pub while I was studying illustration at Wolverhampton University. About 4 or so years ago, when I was in my second year, I became an assistant manager and became really involved in the pub and the trade in general, then last June I took over as general manager.

• What's the history of your pub?

It was taken over by Sarah Hughes where she began brewing the Dark Ruby in the 20s, after many years of closure the pub still remained in the family. John Hughes, Sarah's grandson, restored the pub back to it's previous Victorian style and décor and in the 80s, after finding the recipe in a cigar tin, started brewing the Ruby again.

• What are your aspirations for the business?

To be the best in the country at least once.

• What's the best and worst thing to happen in the industry in the last 5 years?

-Best

The influx of micro breweries; it's a sign that the demand for real ale is growing, it's an exciting time for our trade and the variety of different beer is as vast as it's ever been. This pleases me greatly.

-Worst

Massive duty increases, ever rising fuel and energy prices, and the stranglehold of pubco's and national breweries.

• How do you feel CAMRA could help you in your business?

CAMRA have done an awful lot for us already, our customers are converted. We're now in a lucky position where with the help of CAMRA, customers and previous management and staff we have a good reputation built up. We now face the hard work of trying to maintain it.

• Which is your favourite pub? (Can be anywhere in the country as long as you don't own it)

I love loads. The Three Kings at Hanley Castle, the Euston Tap, the Craft Brewing Co. and the Greenwich Union in London, the Wagon and Horses in Halesowen, Three Fishes in Shrewsbury, The Baltic Fleet in Liverpool. Basically, all the pubs I can remember ever going in.