Thursday 22 December 2011

The eighth beer of Christmas

Madcap Santa's Madness

It was a while back now when I covered some of the Madcap range. Since then they've expanded to a five barrel plant and gained a range of cask ales (bless). Unlike previous reviews I would have to say this has to be one of the strangest Christmas beers I've come across. The nose brings aromas of licorice, leather and peaty smokey hints. The palate brings more peaty, leather dried fruit and a hint of sourness that brings a certain dryness to the finish. It's certainly interesting.

For some reason I'm getting the impression some unconventional micro organisms have had some influence here (whether intentionally or not) but what it lacks from my other experiences with madcap beers is that volumptious almost syrupy thickness that a lot of high alcohol beer can carry. It may have a rather complex aroma, but it does fall a bit short.   

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