I usually avoid Christmas themed beers as I’ve had some pretty terrible experiences with them so was hoping that this wouldn’t be one of them.

It pours a lovely dark chestnut colour, you know the sort a lovely red brown when you hold it up to the light. It had a decent light coloured head which soon disappeared.

The aromas were slightly sweet and malty, there’s some fruity raisin in there and a tiny bit of hop character.

The body is a medium, it’s quite velvety in the mouth. The flavour is very Hogs Back, solid, roasty malt, with a little bit of roast coffee, then there’s some fig and raisin with a bit of brown sugar and spice, nice!

So overall Hogs Back Advent Ale is a good steady winter beer that’s more than tasty enough to make you want to drink it again.

You can buy it from the Hogs Back website here

It weighs in at a not to shabby 7.4%, comes in a 330ml bottle and is described as Bronze coloured with a honeyed aroma and sweetish palate.

Brewsters Bundle

It pours a lovely amber colour that has a slightly hazy appearance that gives it a lovely warm glow, It’s not particularly fizzy so you don’t get much of a head, which will put quite  a lot of beer drinkers off, but it shouldn’t.

The aromas are sweet and of honey giving it an almost caramel smell – just like it said in the description, there are a lot of rich malts, and oranges there too.

The taste is rich, sweet and malty, It’s almost bordering on a barley wine, It’s quite a heavy beer and there are only hints of hops and bitterness but it is quite smooth although there is a definite alcoholic kick to it.

Brewsters Bundle isn’t something I could drink a pint of so the little 330ml bottle is about perfect, Overall I think it is a pretty tasty ale with a nice balance and would be perfect for a cold winter’s night sat in front of the fire with a big bowl of freshly roasted chestnuts.

The pack it came in would make a great Christmas present for any beer lovers you know - you can buy them here, you can also follow Hogs Back on Twitter for all of their latest news and goings on or check out their website.

Hogs Back Traditional English Ale

T.E.A is Hogs Back’s flagship ale and is a classic best bitter.

The branding and labelling is spot on, it’s quite traditonal but with a nice little quirky twist. The gold “CAMRA says his is real ale” capping and cap sleeve also adds to it’s shelf presence, making it stand out.

The beer poured a lovely dark rich amber colour, it was lovely and clear as i had poured it carefully leaving most of the sediment that is common with bottle conditioned ales, in the bottle.

The head was a lovely pale off white and a decent size too, the aromas were lovely, fruity, slightly bitter with a little bit of grass and hops.

The taste is quite dry and hoppy with a tiny little bit of sweet fruit and there was also a little bit of malt in there too. The finish is nice and dry and bitter leaving it’s lovely flavour in your mouth for just a few seconds after drinking.

I’ve heard a few people say they were disappointed with T.E.A as they were expecting something a bit more powerful and hoppy, which i find a little surprising really as there is a fairy whack of hop there, granted it doesn’t blow your socks off like an IPA but that’s not what it is all about.

This is (as the bottle says) almost what i personally would expect from a Traditional English ale, nothing to complex, nothing to over powering just a well balanced, well flavoured drinking ale, perfect for drinking all year round but especially on an autumnal night with a nice hot meal

Personally i would combine it with some good old English grub like bangers and mash, roast dinner or fish and chips (i think I had it with fish and chips)

A over T (Aromas over Tongham

The bottle is gives a very upmarket feel, especially with the cool gold CAMRA cap cover.

At 9% its bordering on barley wine territory, in fact I think Hogs back class it as a barley wine.

It pours a dark brown with a hint of red, the head was pretty decent, the beer smelt of apples and sugar, which was quite deceptive as i was expecting the beer to be really sweet after that.

But it didn’t taste as sweet as i thought, it was rich and quite heavy, yet still quite smooth.

There was a definite taste fruit and caramel with only the slightest hint of alcohol and  bitterness at the end, which meant it went down quite easily but it wasn’t something you could drink pints of, hence the little bottle.

I’m not sure what Dan thought of it, to be honest I’m not sure he knows what he thought of it as he may have had one to many by the time the bottle was opend, luckily i had my phone so recorded some notes.

A over T stands apparently stands for Aromas over Tongham, personally I think it would be better off called Arse over Tit, as that’s how you would end up if you had any more than a bottle.

It’s a beer you should add to your list to try if you like something a bit stronger and fruitier, it would also make a great Christmas or winter beer.

The guys over at Hogs Back brewery kindly sent me over a selection of their ales to try, the reviews will be on here very soon, in the meantime here is a bit about them from their website.

The Hogs Back Brewery is an independent brewery based in Tongham, Surrey. Their flagship real ale, ‘TEA’ (Traditional English Ale), has proved to be a favourite of cask conditioned ale drinkers throughout the UK and is the proud winner of many awards.

Their first ever brew of 10 barrels (some 3000 pints of beer) began at 6am on 4th August 1992 and rapidly sold out through a handful of local pubs. Hogsback  brew over 200 barrels, or in excess of 57,000 pints per week and supply over 1,000 outlets.

The original brewhouse was in one part of the complex of 18th century farm barns which house the brewery today. Expansion has been a consistent feature as they continue to utilise virtually every square foot of our available space.

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