Beer - Ian Nelson

01 December 2006 • 1 min read

No Beer

I've had a couple of queries asking whether I'll be running a sequel to last year's Beer Advent Calendar. Maybe another set of 24 fine ale reviews, or could I be moving onto wine or whisky this year? Well, I

Beer BeerAdventCalendar

24 December 2005 • 1 min read

Beer Advent Calendar - Day Twenty-Four

Hertog Jan Doppio DoubleHertog Jan Doppio Double is the only one of my twenty-four Advent beers to come in a stone cork-stoppered bottle that weighs more than the drink contained within! At 7.3% ABV, it's also the second-strongest drink

BeerAdventCalendar Beer

24 December 2005 • 1 min read

Beer Advent Calendar - Day Twenty-Three

The penultimate beer on my 2005 advent calendar was Ruby Red from the St. Peter's Brewery in Suffolk. I'd been looking forward to this 4.3% ABV red ale, which, like all of the beers from St. Peter's, comes in

BeerAdventCalendar Beer Food

22 December 2005 • 1 min read

Beer Advent Calendar - Day Twenty-Two

Fraoch is a 5% ABV Scottish beer that brings back many happy memories of late nights spent in the bar at the Clachaig Inn. "Fraoch" is the Gaelic for heather, so take a guess what this beer is made from?

Food Beer BeerAdventCalendar

21 December 2005 • 1 min read

Beer Advent Calendar - Day Twenty-One

"Jingle Knockers" isn't exactly a phrase that inspires confidence, but this 5.5% ABV from Skinner's Brewery in Cornwall is really good, definitely on a par with the stuff I've tried from Hambleton Ales and the Harviestoun Brewery. Smooth and

Beer BeerAdventCalendar Food

20 December 2005 • 1 min read

Beer Advent Calendar - Day Twenty

Now, don't get me wrong, there are many great things that have originated from America - not least of all my good lady wife - but I've always thought that "American Beer" is something of an anachronism! Let's face it,

Beer BeerAdventCalendar Food USA

19 December 2005 • 1 min read

Beer Advent Calendar - Day Nineteen

Smuggler's Ale is another bottled beer which found its way into my calendar via an Asda beer competition. It's 5% ABV, with hints of treacle, and is really rather enjoyable. And to paraphrase Forrest Gump, that's all I have to

BeerAdventCalendar Beer Food

18 December 2005 • 1 min read

Beer Advent Calendar - Day Eighteen

There's something a wee bit disappointing about picking up a bottle labelled "MOROCCO ALE" and finding that it is, in fact, from nowhere more distant than Harrogate - the Daleside Brewery to be precise. According to the label: "The recipe

Beer BeerAdventCalendar Food