Day Twelve, Beer Twelve - Brakspear's "Triple"

Today's Beer

Name – Triple

Brewer – Brakspear

Classification – Strong Ale

Strength – 7.2% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Dark oak. That very ancient dark oak which I image High Court Judges prefer their dinner served upon.

On the nose – Sharp fruits and deep malts.

On the tongue – Remarkable. That's lazy writing and very unhelpful, I know. But, nevertheless...

On the subject – Oxford's Brakspear have produced a beer whose complexity of flavour is almost outdone by the complexity of its brewing process. But don't let the science put you off!

On the market – Widely available in the UK. Picked mine up at Sainsbury's.

On the whole – 8.5/10

Full Review

Whoever said beers over 6.5% ABV could never be among the best ales available?

Well.... I did.

Quite embarrassingly recently, as it happens.

Well, I suppose this year of beer sampling was always going to be a learning process.

Can you sense my crude attempt to hide my unrelenting shame?

Anyway, moving rapidly on...

Those of us crying into our ale over the new government proposal to increase tax on all beers over 7.5% ABV can take some comfort that a bottle of this distinguished brew will narrowly miss out on any price rises.

At a mere 7.2%, Brakespear's ludicrously complex 'Triple' just slips under the bar, as will anyone foolish enough to drink more than one bottle in any great hurry.

But let me move swiftly (as swiftly as I'm able after 500ml of this powerful juice) away from the issue of strength, because what this drink does best - is use a clever trick to almost entirely mask its potency. That trick comes in the form of the most wonderfully abundant array of flavour themes of any beer I can recall.

The sheer amount of individual flavour characteristics flourishing in this beer is nothing short of astounding. Its high-end sweetness simultaneously collides and complements its deeply malted base notes, and the myriad flavours found in between these extremities is staggering.

I found sherbet sweetness, playful traces of peach and honey, oats, cola cubes, tobacco, pine needles... the hand written notes I penned eventually decay into a flatline – symbolising the futility of trying to identify every last nuance contained within this brew.

It is, in a word, remarkable.

For a drink experience that will leave you satisfied, quenched, challenged and pleasantly bewildered, look no further than a bottle of this.

If, on the other hand, you require a beer that will see you through an evening – you must simply ignore what this potion's seductive subtleties would try to make you believe – and instead you should trust in me...

If you're having more than one - Triple is not your tipple.

For anyone strong-willed enough to stick with a single - go ahead and simply savour.

Day Eight, Beer Eight - White Horse's "Rudolp The Red Nosed White Horse"

Today's Beer

Name – Rudolph The Red Nosed White Horse – (And, no – I am not lying!)

Brewer – White Horse

Classification – Premium Ale

Strength – 4.8%

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Ruddy, in a welcoming, seasonal sort of way.

On the nose – Mercifully non-experimental. None of that festive 'spice' which can often emerge at this time of year.

On the tongue – Basically, far too good for a novelty, Christmas-themed offering.

On the subject – Be gentle with this horse! With your love, this evolving Oxford enterprise will take control of the universe. Feel free to quote me when that time comes.

On the market – An inexcusable and inexplicable golden handcuff arrangement with one UK supermarket. Bad news for most of us.

On the whole – 8.5/10

Full Review

This is going to sound a little harsh, but I think the White Horse Brewery have messed up.

Selling their soul exclusively to one supermarket chain is one thing, but by also releasing this particular beer as a seasonal novelty, they are effectively denying most beer lovers a very rare treat which they should be able to savour not only everywhere, but also all year round.

Seasonal beers come and go – the concept itself somewhat dictates this fact – but, by and large, it is usually the 'Christmas' themed brews which wind up being the most experimental and, frankly, the most crazy.

But flying in the face of this trend is a drink named 'Rudolph The Red Nosed White Horse' – which has nothing particularly 'seasonal' about it, which is also not even close to being insane, and which is just too good to be disappearing from our shelves on December 26^th.

This is a fabulous drink experience and, as I write this, I'm trying hard to find a good enough reason not to give it the highest rating of any beer I've reviewed so far.

Of course, I don't actually have to look very far to find that good reason. After all, this is a seasonal beer – and a Christmas novelty beer at that – so a chart-topping rating would be inappropriate to say the least. Imagine recommending one beer above all else – one which may never be seen again after less than a month or so on the market.

But what a travesty this beer's imminent withdrawal from sale really is.

This brew manages to be simultaneously warming and refreshing, both to maximum effect – and so very few beers on this planet can genuinely achieve this feat. It's fruity, malty, comforting, rewarding... all manner of things that a good ale should be.

You might argue that a year round beer ought to be a trace more nutty, or have more of a biscuit finish, or some other such quality which the brewer failed to incorporate.

The trouble is – I don't think it lacks a single thing. This beer is a little Christmas miracle, and I think it needs some serious re-branding, and with all possible haste, so it can stay right there on the market where it belongs, and where it will surely become a force to be reckoned with in no time at all.