Day 22, Beer 22 - Oldershaw's "Hollydaze"

Today's Beer

Name – Hollydaze

Brewer – Oldershaw

Classification – Pale Seasonal Ale

Strength – 4.1% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – A head scratch-inducing (though perfectly gorgeous) bright sunshine glow.

On the nose – All freshness and youthful vitality. Just like me. A while ago.

On the tongue – Hop-tastic! With the faintest of biscuit treats on the finish. Clever.

On the subject – Responding to punters who were looking for a lower strength Christmas alternative to their very popular 'Yuletide' – those fine Oldershaw brains went straight to work. And how!

On the market – On tap at their growing number of pub outlets, but there might yet be time for a delivery – you could always drop them a line!

On the whole – 7/10

Full Review

This wittily labelled brew might well have been named 'Hoppy-daze'.

'Generously trippled-hopped' is the claim they make, and even the tiniest of slurps leaves you in no doubt whatsoever about that claim.

That same tiny slurp will leave you feeling pretty perky too. It really is a jolly old brew, with enough lively spirit to bring some serious cheer to even the most Scrooge-like soul.

This being said, I'm quite sure I'd like to be getting my hands on some of this spirited merriment at some point somewhat closer to summertime, rather than here in the gloomy depths of winter.

After a few (very welcome) sips, I happened to cast a casual glance outside at the extensively frost bound lawn, and felt for a moment like I'd been time-warped from the middle of August, such is this ale's energising vibrancy and thirst quenching appeal.

Don't misunderstand, at this festive time of year this is a beer more than capable of imparting some top drawer good cheer – it really is quite lovely – but it's the kind of good cheer I'd usually associate with a very different 'season' to the one which its marketing is inevitably restricting it to.

So, to the folks at Oldershaw I'd say this... 

Might there be any chance of a sneaky bit of re-branding? Because I reckon I could happily see myself through the Hollydaze with copious amounts of this easy drinking delight.

The summer Hollydaze, that is.