Ridgeway Pickled Santa

This is a 6.0% ABV bottle-conditioned English Xmas ale brewed with cinnamon, coriander, and nutmeg. They take bags of whole spices and run them over with a forklift, then add them to the brew. The base beer is 100% Maris Otter malted barley and 100% whole Golding hops. It is from Ridgeway Brewing of Oxfordshire, England. They are imported by Shelton Brothers.

The beer pours a gleaming, burnished, orange copper in color. There is a slight and thin head of off-white foam. The aroma is holiday spices, cinnamon, coriander and nutmeg according to the bottle. The taste is a relatively light, malty ale, with caramel and toasted malt notes, light sweet potato, smothered in the holiday spices (but not overwhelmed by them). I’m not generally much for spiced beers, but this one is nicely done, not overwhelming, its spice and beer parts work well together. The ale is medium bodied with a pleasant, tingling carbonation. There is just enough hops on the end to impart a dry and slightly bitter finish. Worth a go.