Sunday 19 December 2010

Santa Claws - It's Christmaaaas

As Noddy Holder once said.....

OK, so the Claws is now ready. It is as thick and black as I had hoped. The first thing you get is spice; cinnamon, cloves and ginger -possibly too much cinnamon. Then there is a dark treacle thing too - sweet but bitter/burned at the same time. Finally, there are lots of hops here. Nice counterpoint, but I was hoping for something sweeter. Letting breath a bit really opens the aroma out, and softens the taste a little - probably because this is the first pint drawn.

With the hops there, this does not feel like a 7% beer, but there is a great vinious feel to the beer, possibly from lactose and alcohol. Could be a winner for next year.

Wednesday 1 December 2010

The Claws - Half way through

Three weeks in, thought I had better crack open the Festive Brew. It started out like the mild; I wondered whether there was an air lock, gave it a shot of gas, and poured a glass of dark evil.

Conscious of what happened last time, I am not so worried about the lumpiness at present. But, man, what a taste. Great thick head, which is retained, but the beer has bits of spicy warmth, plenty of hop balanced by a treacle/fudge sweetness, probably from the brown sugar. No orange that I could taste, and, perhaps too much hop, so I perhaps need to go easy on my hop bill.

But, there are three weeks to go. This can only get mellower, but the warming richness of a beer over 7% should ensure a Merry Christmas!