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Beer Spotlight – Scaldis Noel

It’s Christmas time if you haven’t noticed.  By now have seen a host of Christmas and winter seasonals on tap and bottle.   While there are many good options out there, I thought I would spotlight one (perhaps a few more Continue Reading →

Smuttynose Winter Ale

Selling really well in Atlanta right now is Smuttynose Winter Ale.   Smuttynose hails from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, founded in 2004.

Winter Ale is a Belgian Dubbel.  Dubbel  literally means “Double” and it’s a naming convention used by Trappist beer brewers.   The Continue Reading →

Posted in Ridgeway Brewing, Uncategorized

Beer Spotlight – Bad Elf Series by Ridgeway Brewing

Bad ElfWell, it’s the week of Christmas, so I thought I would highlight a couple of cool beers for the season.  Remember, you can drink these anytime you like, you don’t have to wait until now.   These beers I speak of are the “Bad Elf” series from Ridgeway Brewing.

Ridgeway Brewing was founded by Peter Scholey, master brewer from now defunct Brakspear  Brewery in south England.   Brakspear has been a very famous bitter since 1779.  Setting out on his own, Scholey founded Ridgeway, a short distance from Brakspear and began brewing.  Ridgeway is named for one of the oldest roads in England, built by Englands oldest inhabitants, the Druids.

Ridgeway produces quite a few Christmas themed beers — but the most well known among beer drinkers is the “Bad Elf” series.  The series starts with Bad Elf, and continues through Criminally Bad Elf.  Each beer is a little different in style, and stronger in ABV.

Without further ado, here is the list —

Bad Elf — English IPA, 6% ABV.  Light IPA, with earth tones.

Very Bad Elf — English Pale Ale, 7.5% ABV.  Sweet & malty.  Fresh taste, mild hop flavors.

Seriously Bad Elf — English Strong Ale, 9% ABV.  Malty & Fruity.  Alcohol gets more pronounced.

Criminally Bad Elf — English Barleywine, 10.5% ABV.   Caramel malts, alcohol.  Slight fruit tones.

Insanely Bad Elf — English Strong Ale, 11.2% ABV.   Alcohol tones, spices.  Complexity to aroma.

I see these beers year —round, but definitely this time of year. The Elf series are the beers of the week at Hop City, and also available at Tower, Greens, and Total Wine also.   The bottles are available in singles, but to buy the entire line, expect to spend close to 25 dollars.  Ridgeway also makes offerings such as – Reindeer’s Revolt, Pickled Santa, Reindeer Droppings, and Lump of Coal.

Quick Fact — The  Ridgeway road in south England predates the first road built by the Romans.  Romans adopted the idea, then paved them.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Uncategorized

Beer Spotlight – Scaldis Noel

Scaldis NoelIt’s Christmas time if you haven’t noticed.  By now have seen a host of Christmas and winter seasonals on tap and bottle.   While there are many good options out there, I thought I would spotlight one (perhaps a few more in the future) that you need to try.   Bring this one to a party this season, and you can score some beer geek cred.   This beer I speak of?  Scaldis Noel.

Scaldis Noel is a Belgian strong ale brewed by Brasserie Dubuisson in Belgium.   The brewery was founded in 1769 by a farmer Joseph Leroy.  For a long time, the beer was only sold to the inhabitants of Pipaux, the small town where Leroy was brewing.  The Dubuisson family (decendants of Joseph Leroy) took over the brewery in 1931 and still own and operate it.

Scaldis Noel packs a punch.  12% ABV.  Its brewed in small batches to be consumed at the end of the year.  You’ll find a lot of caramel malts in this beer.   It is also surprisingly sweet, and fruity.   Noel is very drinkable, and might I add quite festive.

The bottles are usually sold individually, and are only 8.48 oz but worth every drop.   Typically, Noel is about 4.99 a bottle.  Scaldis Noel scored very high among beer reviewers, and as long as you enjoy high gravity beers, you’ll love it too.

Quick Fact — This beer and other offerings by Dubuisson Brewery are sold in other countries at Bush not Scaldis.  The Bush name hasn’t been trademarked in the US, so it is sold as “Scaldis”  instead.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Smuttynose Brewing, Uncategorized

Smuttynose Winter Ale

Smuttynose WinterSelling really well in Atlanta right now is Smuttynose Winter Ale.   Smuttynose hails from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, founded in 2004.

Winter Ale is a Belgian Dubbel.  Dubbel  literally means “Double” and it’s a naming convention used by Trappist beer brewers.   The first dubbel was brewed by Westmalle, a Trappist brewer, in 1856.  The term “Trappist” refers to beer brewed under the control of Trappist Monks.  Trappist yeast gives beer a fruity flavor.  Long story short, Westmalle brewed a brown ale.   The brown ale was reformulated again to be stronger years later, Dubbel or double the strength.

Smuttynose Winter is brewed in the trappist style, minus the high abv.  Winter is an amber ale brewed with Trappist yeast.  Fruity aromas are present from the yeast.   Crystal hops were used.   Dubbels focus more on the malty flavors in beer, hops being an afterthought, so expect malty/fruity goodness.

Available from late October until the end of January.   Limited draft offerings in Atlanta.

4.8% ABV

by Reid Ramsay