Hook Norton Twelve Days
Review Date 11/30/2007
Try?
Re-buy?
This year, why not give the gift of beer? Christmas beers are all the rage, after all, and not only is it easy to make up a gift of beer for that special someone on your list, it’s a lot of fun, too. After all, the joy of receiving a fruit basket is delving into so many different and tasty pieces of delectable fruit. How much better, then, to receive an assortment of wonderful and flavorful brews? And among them, a bottle of Hook Norton Brewery’s Twelve Days English Christmas Ale.
The Hook Norton Brewery is located in Oxfordshire by the Cotswold Hills, and indeed a pint of this wonderful holiday brew would go quite well with the cheese bearing the name of those hills. The company has been brewing its beer for 150 years, and still uses a steam powered brewhouse to make its beers.
Hook Norton Twelve Days English Christmas Ale pours to a dark brown (but not opaque) color with a light creamy head formation and a soft nutty, lightly fruity, even perfumey floral nose. A sip reveals a beer of full body and slightly creamy mouthfeel. This one is mostly about the malt, and that’s apparent right away-very nutty, slightly chocolaty (almost like Nutella in a glass.); hints of molasses and candied fruit. Buttery yeasty notes poke through a bit as well, adding depth and flavor to the beer. Chewy caramel pokes its head up as well. In the finish, a balancing to slightly dry herbal hoppiness rounds out the brew quite nicely.
I like this one a lot. It’s sort of like Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome, I think, with a little extra zip. The complex dark malty flavors really make it a wonderful holiday treat, though I think it would be welcome most any time of year. Not really a strong ale at 5.5% by volume, though it is bigger than a mild brown. At $3.99 a 16.9 ounce bottle, it’s a fair bargain as well. And the tall, slim bottle is rather attractive to boot.
A welcome component in a gift basket of beers for the beer lover on your Christmas list.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
(G)=Growler
