Adnams Spiced Winter Beer

Brewed by Adnams
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Southwold, England

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

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Half pint, hand pulled in the excellent ‘Castle’ (Cambridge in Nov 2011). The Adnam’s owned pub had 8 different beers of their own available in cask form, so half pints were the order of the day. Ruby or Chestnut like in colour, with a white head that left some good heavy lacing. Malty molasses in the nose, lightly toasted rather than full on burnt or roasted: some wintery type spices around too. The flavours imparted included nutmeg, cinnamon and grapefruit, all sitting in a great tub of maltiness and then watered down a little too much. Adnam’s Old Ale is 4.1% ABV and their other Christmas beer (Yuletide) is 4.5% ABV, this is a lot weaker and it shows in the mouthfeel if not in the initial taste. I would have preferred to have had a stronger spiced brew than this half and half concoction. Disappointed to be honest, nothing wrong with it really, just not what I expected from Adnam’s and it certainly isn’t a Winter Warmer!.

Cask at The Salisbury. I think it was this beer. Amber beer with a nice lasting beige head. Malty bready aroma, fruity, some spices. Malty flavor, cereal, fruity, toffee notes. Only some hops.

Cask at Hamilton Hall, JDW, London. Pours clear, dark amber with a foamy, creamy white head. Cinnamon spice in the aroma. Light to medium sweet flavor, some toasty malts, more cinnamon and other wintery spices, some grassy and leafy bitterness. Light bodied with fine carbonation. There’s some slight imbalance in the finish. The spiciness and grassy bitterness seem to clash a bit. Overall it is a nice beer, though, and the cinnamon and mild sweetness linger pleasantly.

Cask, Slug & Lettuce, Leicester. Copper red brown with a thin head.  Aromas are coriander and ginger with chocolate and damsons.  Very spicy in a festive sense.  Flavours are sweet chocolate and coffee with earthy notes and dark berries.  Ginger and coriander ’burn’ with a clean, peppery finish.  Some citrus zest.  Very festive.

A - light spice A - dark brown with lasting head T - light sour P - mid and soft O - ehhh....

Cask conditioned at Far From the Madding Crowd, Oxford. Amber with white head. Christmas pudding of a beer but on a lighter body. Definitely spicy with cloves and cinnamon to the fore and probably much more. A pint was too much of this really, but ok in itself.

Cask (handpump) @ @ The Bree Louise, 69 Coburg Street, Euston, London, England NW1 2HH.

Clear medium to dark brown amber colour with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, toasted, roasted, caramel, spiced, light cinnamon, soap - ginger notes. Flavor is moderate sweet and bitter with a long to average duration, cinnamon, dusty, moderate spicy. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to flat. [20101228]

Cask at the Prince of Wales, Putney, 6th Jan 2011. Copper brown, small egg white head. Very spicy nose with cinnamon and Christmas spices. Base beer is solid but unspectacular. The wine-loving friend I was drinking with was intrigued.

Cask (gravity) - The Trafford Arms, Norwich. Small though lasting bubbly-creamy white head leaving some scattered lace with a clear, ruddy amber body. Almost Belgian in proile. Spicey, cinnamon & clove character in both aroma and flavour. Some yeasty bitterness and a mild tang on the tongue with a hint of grain. Soft, lightly carbonated, medium body with a lingering spiciness.

Cask (Castle, Cambridge)
6 Simple gentle spices, not too charictured.
4 Rich orange, slightly hazy, tiny head.
6+ Tasty green hops, raw and fresh. Well balanced.
4 Full palate, smooth, carbonation low. Finish a touch roasty but also plenty of sticky buddy hops.
13+ Good solid beer, spice not too silly at all.