In part one of our visit to Sullivan’s, we chat with head brewer Dave Shaw about how brewing in a tourist destination effects his menu of beers, before heading over to Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland.
Anchor Brewing Company,San Francisco,California, has been brewing these special Christmas ales since 1975 with a unique (and secret) recipe and a different tree on the label each year. You can view all of the previous labels on their web site and commemorative holiday pint glasses are available as well. We bought a magnum of the 2008 ale for our own holiday celebration this year. Here’s what we thought:
SALLY: Each year the recipe for the Christmas Ale differs a bit from the year before. We tested the 2008 in a magnum bottle. The color was a deep reddish brown with a thick taupe head with excellent and lasting lacing. I was expecting a richer mouthfeel, but while it didn’t quite have the legs I expected, it was nicely moderate with excellent spice notes at the front, and smooth, clean end notes. Slightly dry. It was slightly reminiscent of the spices in gluwein: allspice and mace.
MICHAEL: Rich, dark brown with red highlights and a tan head that leaves plenty of lacing. An earthy smell of molasses and chocolate. Nice medium-thick mouthfeel and a hint of malty sweetness followed by a lingering touch of spices. Chocolate is there in the flavor, too. The finish is fairly dry but not bitter. Overall a very pleasant companion on a winter’s night. Good thing, too, ’cause the bottle is freakin’ huge.
Sally’s rating: 8
Michael’s rating: 8 Ratings are 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest
Brewed by Ridgeway Brewing, Oxfordshire, England and imported by Shelton Brothers. A note on the label assures us that Santa’s “Butt” refers to a “certain barrel used in brewing — a very large barrel, in fact, holding 108 imperial gallons”. So there you go. As if there were any other explanation. It’s a 6% ABV Winter Porter that we sampled on Christmas Eve 2008. Our thoughts:
SALLY: This porter is as dark and rich as a char-broiled steak cooked to perfection. The head is a creamy off-white with decent but not overly exuberant lacing. The mouth feel is rich with subtle notes of nutmeg and other seasonal spices. It falls a little more on the malty side than I generally go for in a brew, but it is certainly a great choice for a cold winter night. I recommend pairing this with a steaming bowl of chili, and because of that excellent pairing, my rating is a tad higher than it might be on another day.
MICHAEL: Pours a cola-like color with very little head. A malty aroma with hints of coffee. It tastes a little thin and borders on being watery. The carbonation is mild — almost like a nitrogenized beer. Chocolate and some smokey aspects to the flavor. Not as rich as I tend to expect from a porter. Kind of what no-name colas are to Coke or Pepsi, this beer is to a true porter. I seem to keep coming back to that cola reference as there is something that reminds me of a grocery store brand cola in a 2-liter plastic bottle. I guess you’re buying Santa’s Butt for the name and the novelty and, as a novelty, it could be far worse. In fact, I’ll put this just above the average line but (no pun intended) given the name I have to say I was expecting it to fall far below. Not something you’d drink year ’round — but then who would order a Santa’s Butt in July? As a once a year conversation piece, it won’t make you suffer. Not bad… just not great.
Sally’s rating: 7.5
Michael’s rating: 5.5 Ratings are 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest
