Sip Santa's Beard this Christmas

Press release from Brain's Brewery regarding their latest bottled beer.

Santa’s Beard, a Christmas ale brewed by Brains Brewery, will be exclusively available in Tesco supermarkets nationwide over the festive period.

Santa’s Beard will be available in over 250 Tesco supermarkets nationwide in a 500ml amber bottle.

Santa’s Beard is a milk stout brewed with five different malts – pale ale, Munich, crystal, brown and chocolate malts – roasted barley and lactose sugar to create a dark beer with flavours of caramel, burnt toffee and roast coffee.

The recipe was perfected in the Brains Craft Brewery, before being up-scaled to the main Brewery for bottling.

Paul Harvey, Head of Sales, says “We’re delighted to be part of Tesco’s Christmas range with Santa’s Beard, a milk stout. Two years ago we introduced Brains Original Stout into Tesco’s stout range and we hope Santa’s Beard will be just as popular.”

“Christmas is a key period for the Premium Bottled Ale sector, and we think Santa’s Beard is the perfect beer to enjoy over the festive period or to give as a gift.”

Tesco currently stock the Brains range of bottles and cans including Organ Morgan and Jack Black from their Dylan Thomas range and Barry Island IPA and Boilermaker from the Brains Craft Brewery.

Santa's Beard joins three other Christmas ales from Brains - Fir King Good, Secret Santa and I Sea Santa. Fir King Good is the December seasonal available nationwide, Secret Santa will be a small scale beer brewed in the Craft Brewery with treacle and molasses and I Sea Santa has been brewed for Nicholson's by Brains in collaboration with beer writer Melissa Cole and the Nicholson's Cask Masters. I Sea Santa will be available exclusively in Nicholson’s pubs.

TASTING NOTES

Santa’s Beard blends five malts – Pale Ale, Munich, Crystal, Brown and Chocolate malts – with roasted barley to create a dark beer with a rich depth of malty wonderment. With flavours of caramel, burnt toffee and roast coffee balanced by a sweetness from lactose sugars, this is a luxuriously sumptuous sweet milk stout, perfect for Christmas. A great accompaniment to aged cheese or rich, chocolate puddings.

Some tasting notes below of mine which appeared in the South Wales Echo on Friday 29.11.13. Yes my column has moved to a Friday!

Brain's Brewery Santa's Beard, 4.5% ABV, £1.99/500ml bottle available at Tesco.

Since the introduction of their Craft Brewery last year, Brain's have brewed a wider range of beers than they have in the previous 131 years in the history of their brewery. Santa's Beard is based on another beard-themed brew that came out on the smaller scale Craft Brewery earlier this year, it has now been tweaked and upscaled to the main brewing plant and is exclusively available in Tesco for the Christmas Season.

Santa's Beard is black in colour and pours with a rich-foamy brown head. Aromas of sweet coffee and caramel dominate. Roast flavours come through in the initial taste, closely followed by sweet, dark chocolate flavours. The chocolate flavours continue into the aftertaste, together with the roast coffee sweetness. Brewed from a blend of five malts, Pale Ale, Munich, Crystal, Brown and Chocolate, an added ingredient is lactose which is a non-fermentable sweetener, this was used to brew 'Milk Stouts' many years ago.