Winning winter warmers
MANCHESTER introduced me to winter ale. Walking through the rain-blown streets one evening, a friend dragged me into a city-centre pub in search of something warming.
The perfect drink for the occasion turned out to be a glass of Robinson's Old Tom, a full-bodied, fruity brew which had an almost mythical reputation among the beer-drinking student population of the city. Because of its hefty alcoholic kick (8.5% abv) the landlord refused to serve it in anything but half-pint glasses.
Appropriately enough, Manchester has just played host to the third annual Great British Winter Beer Festival (23-24 January), organised by the Campaign for Real Ale, or Camra. Thousands of beer-lovers descended on the city, sampling more than 100 real ales.
In England, the term winter beer can cover a variety of styles. They're typically rich and sweet in flavour, and dark in colour, and they're often produced especially for the season.
Camra even includes porters and stouts its festival, and last year's champion, Nethergate Old Growler, was a porter. The designation, however, is more usually reserved for medium-strong old ales and also sometimes for those extra-strong ales known as barley wines.
Classic examples of the winter warmer include Marston's Owd Roger in the Midlands, Theakston's Old Peculier in Yorkshire, and Young's toffee-like Winter Warmer in London.
Another such special beer is brewed by Ballard's of Nyewood in West Sussex. The brew is produced with a new name and recipe each year, and with an alcohol content that increases in strength to match the year. The tradition has been carried on, with one interruption, since 1986. This year's strong beer, christened Trout Tickler, has 9.9% alcohol by volume.
It was produced with a hand-blended selection of barley malts: pale ale, crystal and even some chocolate malt to give it its deep reddish-brown hue. Like Old Peculier, Trout Tickler also includes a proportion of torrefied (highly heated) wheat. The malts have been balanced with locally grown Fuggles Hops from a new hop garden at Sidlesham, near Chichester. Because of its strength, the beer takes longer than usual to brew and it is then matured either in the cask or the bottle for a further six weeks.
Ballard's director Carola Brown says the 1999 beer turned out to be more bitter than its previous "year beers", which are usually described as a kind of "liquid Christmas pudding". She adds: "You can taste the chocolate malt."
The rich, malty taste does indeed smack of dark chocolate, even cocoa powder, with a powerful liquorice note. Try it with cheese. Trout Tickler should be served lightly chilled or even mulled with spices for those seriously chilly nights. n
by David Shrimpton
Beer of the month: Ballard's Trout Tickler, 9.9% abv. Available from Ballard's Brewery for £15.95 plus VAT in cases of 12 x 275ml bottles. Tel: 01730 821362 or 01730 821301.
