Compliments any Turkey!

OK this is a first for me. A review of beer. In theory this should be easy. I drink more beer than I go on holidays, use new computer utilities and visit Internet sites all of which I have reviewed. That was the theory the reality turned out to be different. The problem is I have no sense of description - I laugh at Jilly Goolden giving her take on the smells and tastes she finds in wines and pretty much came up with the conclusion she must be making them up. I did do a bit of research and even acquired the Dorling Kindersley guide known simply as "Beer" to help me out. But what its going to come down to is not the colour, the fact I can smell chocolates or old socks in it (neither as it turned out) but what the beer taste likes. For me it could look like day old washing up water and still go down well.

So why did I decide to review this beer. Well first off I set a small challenge. I wanted to review and pick the beer that was going to make it onto the table at Christmas. That's right think of this as the X factor of Christmas beers with just one entrant at the moment. Why just one entrant at the moment? Well this is the first one I have come across so far that passes some simple criteria - it has to be designed for Christmas - be it by packaging or name. Secondly it has to have at least a little bit of bite - it has to be able to overpower the sprouts in taste and in strength has to numb me enough to be able play endless bouts of Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit while wearing a ridiculous new jumper. Finally it just has to feel as though its right for a cold winters day - with global warming I may yet be drinking a widget induced Fosters one Christmas Day but hopefully not just yet.

Let me now introduce my first entrant, and as we stand default winner, Rosey Nosey from Batemans. I say default as I have yet to see any other beers that meet the criteria mentioned above - if you have any ideas however poorly linked to Christmas ("Wizard of Oz ale"?) please leave them in my comments. This brew is only available in November and December and is part of a seasonal range from Batemans that brings up three more beers in Spring, Summer and Autumn. Batemans incidentally is an operation run from a site based on an old windmill overlooking the River Steeping in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire. If you have seen their beer on draft it is more than likely to have been the award winning XB or XXXB. You can also if you wish visit the brewery. As I understand it however Batermans no longer have the facilities to do the bottling and this is actually done by Marstons.

I managed to pick up a couple of 500ml bottles of Rosey Nosey at ALDI during there weekly special buys at £1.39 a go. As far as meeting my Christmas criteria goes it ticks all the boxes. The bottle label features a Christmassy scene - a nice looking snowman and reindeers flying past the moon. The dominating picture however is of a dodgy looking Santa Clause who looks like he has spent too much time on a sun bed. You wouldn't let your kids sit on his knee. Coming in at 4.9% the beer should also have the kick I required.

The beer (according to the label at least) is based on English Goldings hops. However the web site description of the beer goes a bit further adding Challenger and American Liberty hops to the mix. The malt is made from Marris Otter Barley.

So to the tasting. Firstly I know that ales are supposed to be stored at a certain temperature. I am going to be honest and admit to serving the beer at "was in the back of my car all day in November" temperature. It seemed about right anyway.

Firstly the pouring. The beer was a nice clean copper colour. The beer was lively without being overly fizzy. A nice head formed in the glass although this did disappear within a minute. That said the beer itself stayed lively enough. Unfortunately despite the claim on the website that it "compliments any Turkey" I have to admit not having one to hand at this time of year and with my girlfriend out it was a birdless tasting experience. Quite how it would compliment a Turkey is questionable anyway - "You look well" perhaps? Whether this would have affected the outcome of my tasting I cannot say.

The company web site states that Rosey Nosey has "A complex, rich tasting beer with plenty of roast malt character and generous hop flavour" and I have to come clean and say it must be complex because I didn't really pick any of that up. What I would say is it was a pleasant enough tasting ale that despite the lack of a decent head certainly didnt have a flat taste to it at anytime. Clearly my palette and sniff is not there yet despite my best efforts to learn. For me it didn't have enough bite for a winters ale either.

I have to say a lot of my drinking is done at home by bottle these days and certainly will be on Christmas Day. In my opinion ales do suffer from bottling and maybe this has been the case with Rosey Nosey. It is also available on draught and I would certainly give it a try and encourage you to do so should it be spotted to compare it to the bottled version. I don't dislike this beer in the least, it's pretty nice but I hope it doesn't win the battle to take its place on the Christmas table. I think the Turkey deserves better.