This Christmas, put away the port, forget the fizz, and raise a glass of beer to the festive season.
These are exciting times for British beer, with four new breweries opening in the UK every week, and more than 11,000 different beers brewed here in the last 12 months*.
Drinkers are embracing this new breadth of choice, rejecting the bland offerings of mainstream global brands for the new breed of artisanal brews offering a wealth of unique flavours and character, created using traditional brewing methods and locally sourced ingredients.
As Britain’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame, based in Faversham, Kent – known as the Garden of England – is perfectly placed to satisfy that thirst with its Christmas Ale.
The full-bodied winter beer is brewed using 100% natural ingredients, drawing chalk-filtered mineral water from the artesian well deep below Shepherd Neame’s site, along with the finest malting barley and Kentish hops.
The seasonal ale boasts warming notes of fruits and spices, blending pale and crystal malts with Target and Challenger hops for bitterness, and Goldings hops for aroma.
In keeping with Shepherd Neame’s long heritage, the festive ale has a traditional packaging design, with a vintage, Dickensian-style bottle label and pump clip.
Head brewer Richard Frost said: “Christmas is about tradition, and as Britain’s oldest brewer we are very proud of the special beer we have created for the festive season. It is a glowing amber winter beer with a heady, fruity nose – the perfect accompaniment to the sticky pudding sweetness of festive fare.”
Christmas Ale is available on draught (ABV 5.0%) during December. It is also available in 500ml bottles (ABV 7.0%) from the brewery’s shop at www.shepherdneame.co.uk/shop.
