The 2-4 Beers of Christmas Day 19: Central City, Red Racer Gingerhead Stout

Beer # 267 Gingerhead Gingerbread Stout

Central City Brewing Company

Surrey, British Columbia
Independent Microbrewery
Flavoured Stout 6.0 % ABV 
Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml.
$5.95 (Canadian) At the LCBO

Twitter: @CentralCityBrew

Picking up another new brewery (new to me!) Tonight we head to Canada's West coast for Surrey's Central City Brewing Company. Tonight's offering is a gingerbread stout... perfect for my 2-4 Beers of Christmas List.

Let's give it a shot...

Pours a opaque black/brown with a light tan head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is vanilla, baking, molasses, and cinnamon. Taste is very malty  with hints of artificial vanilla. ginger is very light and cinnamon is deep in the background. Overly sweet with notes of coffee and char. Aeration is gives us some creaminess, stale ginger hints of chemical.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 4/6 PASS
Re-Order:  0/6  FAIL
Experience:  0/6 FAIL
Christmas Cheer: 0/6 FAIL

Final Thoughts:


This beer smells artificial, does not even resemble gingerbread and has a chemical aftertaste. In 5+ years I have been doing this Blog I have only been unable to finish and have poured out one other beer. This Beer became the second recipient of the #DrainAward. Avoid.

Cheers

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas: Day 6 Bah! Humbug

Beer # 169 Bah! Humbug 

Wychwood Brewery

Witney, Oxfordshire, England
Owned by Marston's PLC
Spiced Ale 5.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml.
$2.95 (Canadian) At the LCBO
Twitter: @Hobgoblin_Beer

Tonight's offering is a cinnamon spiced ale from Wychwood Brewery in England. Certainly I think of baking spices at this time of year... in fact it is time for me to start my holiday baking. There is puddings and truffles, and chocolates, and cookies to do... Wait a minute. Am I off track already. Sorry. We have visited Wychwood a couple of times. Most Recently their Scarecrow Golden Pale Ale. Which I think you can still get in the LCBO in a gift pack packaged with this beer.

Onto the Humbugging...

Pours a medium coloured amber with an off tan head made up of small bubbles. The nose is apples and cinnamon, like baked apples The first sip gives up a slightly hot, tingly, cinnamon burst. Slightly tart with some green apple. Aeration gives us a shot of cinnamon up inside the back of the nose. Malts a light and subtle and play a nice supporting role to the cinnamon. The cinnamon is from an extract so it is strong, and unyielding. Finish is light herbal hops deeply buried under cinnamon, and of course the long lingering cinnamon itself... with a slight mouth-pricking heat.



Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 



Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 4/6 PASS
Re-Order:  2/6 SO-SO
Experience:  3/6 SO-SO
Christmas Spirit 4/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

Cinnamon is not my favourite flavour.. saying than this is not bad. I would think that a blend of spices would have been nicer some cinnamon and allspice and maybe some nutmeg and while I understand the need for consistency in large batches of beer, I would have preferred to see real spices instead of extracts.

Cheers And Beery Christmas


CJT


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