Non-Seasonal Seasonal Beers

....It's always fun to stock up the cellar prior to Christmas (I start using this excuse from about October onwards), but it's always much more of a pleasure to start cracking them open and simply enjoying yuletide drinking. Personally, I think most 'Christmas' beers are overrated, often rebadged (if you're in a pub) or simply 'house' darker beers with a few spices thrown in as an afterthought. The only British Christmas ale that I genuinely like is Bateman's Rosey Nosey, which brings a wonderful toffeeness to the table everytime. So I stay clear in general and reach for some old friends. And, before we get started, my tip to accompany Christmas pudding is....Schnieder Aventinus - everytime.

Robinson's Old Tom (8.5% abv), for me, is a bit of a Christmas tradition, and seems way more seasonal than 90% of the rubbish out there. Tons of red, jammy fruits, a slight hint of smoke and a warming alcohol touch as it slips down. Wonderful, especially with a few shards of dark chocolate.

Another big beer that feels seasonal is Ringwood's Old Thumper (5.6%abv). I'm a fan of most of Ringwood's output but OT is a big, big beer with a deep red colour, with a lot of biscuit in the body, but a sort of spice on the aftertaste that I can't quite place. I do love the stuff, though.

Finally, JW Lees' Brewer's Dark (3.5%abv)marries those roasted malt flavours that you crave this time of year, along with a nice, bready, yeasty note, but with a much more restrained abv. It is a little thin, but I think it's got enough about it flavour-wise to get away with it.

But you can't drink heavy beers all the time - when at a friends house to get some boxing day footy in, he'd bought some of Marks' 'Belgian Lager', so we got stuck into those. Brewed by Haacht, I was fearing the worst, but it came through OK - a pleasant surprise, actually. Clean, spritzy, and with a very pleasing, ever-so-slight hint of Brett on the nose, this lager was actually way more palatable than the one we put alongside it - an (entirely pointless) new 'blonde' version of a well known lager which shall remain nameless at this point. I'd probably try this again, actually - but not until the summer.

Taddington Moravka @ The Maltings, York

It's not often I need an excuse to go drinking in York. There are plenty of great pubs, spots to eat, and pints upon pints of good beer to be had. The cherry on the cake, however, has to be The Maltings' latest addition: Taddington's Moravka.

After lusting after this stuff for some time now - spurred on by Stonch's rightful championing of it - a pint was finally in my hands. And, lord, was it something. If this is the case for unpasteurised beer, then sign me up.

John, Sharon and I sat down and drunk: perfect citrussy, clean lager, but with an awesome creamy malt backbone, with a really interesting yeasty note lurking within. In perfect nick, the head was something to behold: billowing, fluffy and never dying. We tried to put what we were tasting into words, but at the risk of sounding like 'Beer Twats' we just shut up and drank. Talking was eating into drinking time.

I'm converted - if only all Lager could be like this. Much like pretty much everyone who drinks it, Moravka is now installed in my top ten list of beers, somewhere around the top.

Shaun, landlord at the Maltings, was more than happy to talk Moravka as he poured, and he proudly stated that it should now be on constantly at The Maltings. Clearly proud of the beer, the fact that he took time to talk aduring a packed lunchtime (and it was heaving) tells you what you need to know. Shaun wanted it here, and he took time to pursue it. The Fuller's London Porter was on storming form as well.

And that's just one more reason to visit York for beer.

I did try and take a picture of the pint for you, but pictures of pints in dark, packed pubs taken on cameraphone usually turn out crap. Rest assured, it looked as good as it tasted. During our afternoon out in York we visited the Evil Eye Lounge for some draught Kupper's Kolsch and sampled the Blue Moon Wheat beer, as well as a couple of pints of White Horse's Village Idiot at The Last Drop Inn.