Bah Humbug!

I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas! I decided to celebrate Christmas with an ale from Wychwood Breweries of England. Bah Humbug is a seasonal beer, and if Scrooge had had a few of these he might not have had to be visited by the three ghosts. A typical English style ale, dark in colour, I found it very smooth without any bitterness. It was a perfect beer to drink as I celebrated Christmas Eve with family. I am positive that Bob Cratchit and Ebenezer would have enjoyed this ale with their Christmas Goose. Give it a try next year since you’re probably too late for this year. On another note I have reached over 50,000 hits on this blog, when I started it I would have been happy to reach 50 let alone 50,000. Thank you to all of you that have taken the time to check this out. And if I’ve helped any of you in trying a beer then I’ve accomplished my goal. I was recently in the Liquour Store and saw a couple in the specialty beer section mocking the names of some of the beers, Hobgoblin in particular, well if you’re not willing to try something different or going to judge a beer by it’s name, then I suggest sticking to your generic swill such as Budweiser. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas!

8/10

Lava

Iceland is famous for it’s volcano that blanketed Europe with ash. It’s also known for geothermal energy. Lava aside from what flows from a volcano is a Smoked Imperial Stout from the Ölvisholt Brugghús of Iceland. This is my second Icelandic Beer. This beer pours thick and very dark, cola-like in colour, even the head has that dark brown tinge. As for the beer, an almost chocolaty taste, but too bitter. Couldn’t really taste the smoke they promised me, unlike a German smoked beer where you can even smell the smoke, as stouts go this one is kind of average, maybe a little below. Not cheap either. I wouldn’t really recommend trying one unless you just have to try a Smoked Imperial Stout from the land of first names.

5/10

Wychcraft

Wychcraft is a blonde beer from England’s Wychwood brewery. I’ve sampled quite a few from these fine folks, and have enjoyed most, with their unique names they make a good beer. Not sure about a blonde witch, I guess they are the good witches. Prefer mine with a touch of evil myself. On to the beer, cool bottle and label that prominently feature witches including as part of the glass. At first it has a bit of deep yellow almost orange in colour, clear unlike some of the unfiltered styles, ‘thrice hopped for flavour’ they say and it certainly has flavour. Not spiced at all which often can overwhelm a beer’s taste. Not at all like a Belgian blonde, a bit more like a Bavarian style. So give this one a try or one of the others from Wychwood.

8/10

Karlovačko

This is my second beer from Croatia, I found my first pretty good. I guess it’s true you always remember your first. Karlovačko is very typical Eastern European style pilsner. A nice straw colour, with that full bodied taste you would expect, slight hint of bitterness, but overall a pretty good beer. The best in this style, no, but none the less a beer worth a try. This ones pretty popular in Croatia, so if you don’t want to listen to me then you can listen to the people of Croatia (Republika Hrvatska).  The label features the red and white checked pattern reminiscent of their flag and Coat of Arms. First time I’ve seen this one so don’t hestitate and give one a try, unless you have a trip planned to Croatia in the future.

7.5/10