Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale

Brewed by Shepherd Neame
Style: English Strong Ale
Faversham, England

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Bottle from Systembolaget. Pours copper with a slight head that settles as a vail on the beer. Nice looking, very christmasy. The aroma is jackpot: dried fruit, pipe tobacco and chocolate powder, sweetness and spice blended. I have to say, this beer has the most attractive and delicious aroma I have come across. The taste is more in the spicy department, from the hops. The sweetness in shape of dried fruits and chocolate plays supporting actors while the spicy hops strolls across the tongue. This is a truly fantastic beer. I will buy it and have one with my father on xmas eve.

Very nice, good Hartley taste. Nice fruity taste good strong after taste. Reccomrnded for a true drinker.

Spicy and complex beer. Fruity and nutty character. Roasted malt. Wintery caramel sweet with herbal touch. Appealing dark orange color. Medium and enjoyable carbonation. Lightly dry and hoppy bitter aftertaste.

Aroma: The smell has distinct hoppy, grassy notes., but also some bread, grain and sweetness.
Appearance: The beer has a copper toned amber color, an off-white head that leaves some lacing., and has curtains.
Taste: The taste is initially sweet and malty, sweet newly baked bread, oat cereals with brown sugar and syrup, oranges and garden fruits, a nice round bitterness as the finale.
Palate: Medium low carbonation, lively small bubbles, a good body, smooth and nice texture. A dry finish.
Overall: Shepherd Neame continues to deliver good Christmas Ales.
Note: Serving type: bottle Reviewed 2010-12-22.

UPDATED: JUN 2, 2009 Bottled 50cl. It pours a beautiful amber beer with nicely remaining tanned head. A lot of amazing tiny bubbles rising fast from the bottom of the glass. It looks like a snowstorm. Earthy hops, berries, caramel and marmite in the aromas - A strong and full nose with hints of melon and wild strawberries. The taste is wonderfully smooth. Hints of hay, melon, bread, caramel and cinnamon. Earthy hops. Medium to full bodied. Decently spicy with Christstollen-like elements. Berries. Nice lacing. Good balance, quite hoppy. The finish is strong with hints of melon... Nice fruity, flowery elements balanced by cinnamon. A pleasant surprise. Rerate: Not quite that good actually....

0,5l bottle as Christmas gift! Clear, dark amber color with medium, creamy, pillowy, off-white head. Malty, fruity and a bit spicy aroma, some caramel appears of course. The alcohol can be felt, but doesn’t desturb: perfect! Dry, medium bitter taste, pure and mature. Creamy texture, light to medium body, average carbonation. Fruity, grainy, spicy finish. Excellent, well balanced beer. Delicious fruity one. Good choise to the Christmas mood.

Bottle. Pours clear leather red with medium white head. Aroma is caramel, toffee, hazel nuts, linseeds, sour apples and wheat bread. Taste is medium bitter and light sweet in excellent balance. Body is light oily and very dry. Finish is medium long with notes of nuts, bitter grapefruit, cranberries and bread. Excellent beer but not especially Christmassy.

500ml bottle from Caskj & Glass in Tonbridge. Pasteurised I guess as no mention on BCA. Very attractive winter scene on label of oast house in snow. Amber, thin beige head. Plenty of the promised crystallised citrus fruits. Its better than the 2007, less heavy, more of the crystallised fruit. Some Xmas cake spice. More of a Belgian tripel but without the yeast. Malts are more toffeeish. Faint Sheps yeast aroma. Crystallised clementines, satsuma and mandarins. Toasty aroma. Some pasteurisation evident on the candy sugar empty malts. Alcohol is never evident. REally drinkable. Lovely fruit and strong hop presence on finish. Yep one to have again
Earlier Rating: 12/27/2007 Total Score: 3.6
500ml bottle at King’s Head, Wye. Copper no head. Some yeast, lots of citrus on the aroma. Lots of hops for a Sheps beer. Bit of fine carbonation, some toffee flavour in mouth. Rich, Xmas cake aroma, then orangey citrus and heavy hit of hops. Another decent Sheps Christmas beer.

bought in lucerne switzerland in the drinks of the world shop at railwaystation reddish glowing copper with a rather quickly dissapearing head smells malty and hoppy and some dried fruit tasts malty hoppy and fruity and some caramel aftertaste has some good bitterness but fruityness too i like it a beerwho has both in it fruityness

Appearance: copper color. Great head, dense, very lasting and some rocky. Good adherence to glass. Pretty. Aroma: to caramel malts; intensive floral-hoppy and fruit’s smells like apples, peache, quince and nuts. Roast sugar, butter and old rum’s reminiscences. Flavor: ephemeral candy malt start, that progress to a ripe and slightly-dry fruitiness similar to stone-peaches, peel-red apple, and candy-orange. Enough nutty. Other reminiscences like butterscotch and toasty almonds. Medium dry-hoppy, floral and very lasting. Some sweet-herbal final touch comparable to camomile. Palate: medium body and slight oily texture. Medium carbonated. For my, a very pleasant beer. Nice lasting hoppyness, fruitiness and nutty taste. Balanced in sweetness, dryness and alcoholic-degree.