New Year Beer MMXIII - ABV: 4.3%
This one-off seasonal beer is from my local brewery, just a mile or so up the road - Howard Town Brewery in Old Glossop, Derbyshire.
I had no idea that Howard Town had produced a seasonal beer this (last?) year, but we spotted it whilst shopping in one of our favourite places on Glossop High Street, Praze Fine Foods (Twitter: @PrazeFineFoods), so it had to be tried... would've been rude not to!
According to the bottle, this bottle-conditioned ale is "Red, complex and tasty. Ideal for parties". It's certainly lively! I struggled getting all of the contents of the bottle into my glass, the head was that frothy!
The colour is a traditional dark bitter colour and the overriding impression on the nose is of citrusy hops. Mrs BeerBlog reckons it smells of Glossop, but I'm not sure whether that's a compliment to be honest (Hehehe...)...
The flavour is indeed complex. Quite hop-heavy and dry with a lingering bitterness that leaves a pleasing freshness in the mouth that I genuinely didn't expect. Maybe the clean, fresh Glossop air is present here after all?
This is a really lovely beer and without doubt the nicest I've ever had from our brewing guys up the road - highly recommended.
Verdict: 4/5
I had no idea that Howard Town had produced a seasonal beer this (last?) year, but we spotted it whilst shopping in one of our favourite places on Glossop High Street, Praze Fine Foods (Twitter: @PrazeFineFoods), so it had to be tried... would've been rude not to!
According to the bottle, this bottle-conditioned ale is "Red, complex and tasty. Ideal for parties". It's certainly lively! I struggled getting all of the contents of the bottle into my glass, the head was that frothy!
The colour is a traditional dark bitter colour and the overriding impression on the nose is of citrusy hops. Mrs BeerBlog reckons it smells of Glossop, but I'm not sure whether that's a compliment to be honest (Hehehe...)...
The flavour is indeed complex. Quite hop-heavy and dry with a lingering bitterness that leaves a pleasing freshness in the mouth that I genuinely didn't expect. Maybe the clean, fresh Glossop air is present here after all?
This is a really lovely beer and without doubt the nicest I've ever had from our brewing guys up the road - highly recommended.
Verdict: 4/5