Beer Viking

Getting near the end of the Christmas Beer tasting and will try to do a wrapup.

The label on this one is pretty cool with a Viking (Olde English) tale about where the word Wassail came from.

This was a conditioned bottle bought from the well stocked Middle Farm in East Sussex.  I was also able to pick up a 07 and 08 of the Old Bounder Series, an annual Barley Wine that is launched with a beer walk in early December.

This poured with no head (so quite reminiscent of all the British Christmas Ales I tried) and was a reddy/caramel in colour.

Taste wise, the label promised a strong, full bodied fruity beer with underlying hoppiness and this probably got my expectation up.

Still, I thought the taste was a nice chewy malt with some of the hop bitterness I yearn for.

In the end, at 6% and with the taste footprint, I wouldn’t classify this as a Christmas Beer (and I don’t think Ballards does either). I’d put it down as a well rounded winter ale and one worth trying and having again but personally, I would go for something new on the pumps before trying again.

15/20.