As it's the festive season the pubs are putting on the Christmas ales, and I've only managed to try a couple so far. Thwaites Good 'Elf is one I sampled recently, and it was really rather good. The aroma can only be described as Christmas, with a lovely spiced scent. It was like holding a liquid Christmas pudding. The taste was very Christmassy as well, the spices not overpowering the bitter hops. Very good indeed. The second festive ale I got my lips round is Fullers Jack Frost, which was nothing special to be honest. It just tasted like a slightly spiced London Pride. Must try harder Fullers! I don't know why I'm saying this as I'm just a lowly beer blogger and I doubt Fullers give a damn about my opinion. To be honest I hardly care about my opinions. But this is a blog so I guess I should shove some ultimately useless opinions in there.
The most notable thing about the Jack Frost was that I had to pay a eye watering £4.05 for a pint. Granted this was in The Hereford Arms in leafy Gloucester Road, an area which is trying to be as posh as nearby South Kensington. The pub was completely unremarkable except for the fact that everything was expensive. Had the ale been a bit cheaper I might have enjoyed my pint a bit more, and maybe bought one extra. Surely pubs that charge such high amounts for a pint are missing out from extra income from the "just one more" crowd? Nobody is going to get a cheeky one in at the end of the night at those prices.
Well I did warn you this was going to be a brief one. Christmas is never a good time of year to do anything productive. And if I do end up giving up alcohol for January my next update may be even briefer. If I don't see you beforehand, have a good one!
