There Is No Santa - BrewDog

GONZALOYANNA

Spain

4.03/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

330ml bottle. Tulip glass. Enjoyed on dec´11. Dark mahogany in color. Beige, medium bubbled, froth. Close & dense crown with fairly good retention. Ginger, deep clove aromas complemented with hints of cocoa, notes of cinnamon & subtle smokiness. Tea-like without sugar at first sip with black tobacco touch. Bitterness & underlying spicy in the middle. Medium/light body, medium carbonation. Slightly watery finish. Smooth astringency. Dry aftertaste, hues of wood & smoke. I´m not sure if I´ve enjoyed as much as expected but, as usual, these Dogs have definitely shocked up.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2012 18:00:35 | More by GONZALOYANNA

StJamesGate

New York

3.58/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Ruby black with a cratered beige head that clings. Big cola spice nose.
Candied ginger, soil, caramelized sugar, chocolate-covered plum then orange rind and earth hops.
Mild coffee grinds finish and tingling numbing linger.
Medium, some chew, effervescent, round.

Ginger takes over, I also would've guessed cinnamon, but I don't know where the cocoa nibs are. A beer like this should be about complexity/depth, and that's not what's going on here. Nice, but there are better winter warmers.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2012 20:19:14 | More by StJamesGate

dgilks

Australia

3.58/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Very dark, slightly murky brown with a smooth, creamy tan head. Fair head retention.

Rich, plummy Christmas cake with lots of ginger, nutmeg and a touch of raisin. Nice treacle notes and a hint of roast. Very good.

More spice with a lightly earthy note. Mild sweetness. Nice overall.

Medium-light body with moderate carbonation. Good.

A spicy, nicely flavoured stout. There is a little emptiness through the midpalate but the ginger is dominant and very nice.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2012 07:18:30 | More by dgilks

vancurly

Australia

3.55/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On sale at 3 for $10 at Vintage Cellars.

a) Cola brown, heavy tan head, light bubbling.

s) Nice spice mix. I get clove, cinnamon; very much Xmas cake. Raisins, currants, sultanas. Perhaps a hint of ginger poweder.

t) Much like the aroma. Light chocolate with spicy dried fruits. Touch of molasses, and cola.

m) Quite light, like a ginger beer. Touch sticky at the back.

d) A flavoursome and interesting drink for the season.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2012 01:03:32 | More by vancurly

TagPingPong

Australia

4.28/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: fantastic dark ale, glows slightly ruby when held up against the light. One of the best heads I've seen - 1.5cm thick, creamy and slightly off-white. Good retention and lacing.

Aroma: smells like a gingerbread house. A portent of things to come?

Taste: light ginger and dark cocoa, but the strongest flavour is definitely cinnamon. Nice lingering aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: a bit loose, I expected it to be a bit thicker. Carbonation is spot on though.

Overall: I wasn't expecting much from this beer as I find Brewdog's beers a bit heavy on taste, but was pleasantly surprised. This beer surpassed my expectations - brilliant!

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 23:00:14 | More by TagPingPong

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

3.2/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A 330ml bottle with a BB of Sept 2012. The label describes this as a spiced Christmas beer that uses cocoa nibs and stem ginger during the brewing process.

Poured into a tulip pint glass. A deep reddish-brown with good carbonation. Yields a large, frothy head of light brown foam that lasts for a few minutes before reducing to a surface layer. Aroma of spicy ginger underpinned by dark, fruity malt. Smells like lebkuchen or ginger cake - yum.

Tastes of dark malt with a hint of spice and a mild bitterness. Notes of roasted malt, weak coffee, a hint of ginger and leafy stewed hops. A faint, slightly sour background flavour that has a wine-like quality. Mouthfeel is tingly and smooth, but watery. Aftertaste of bitter malt and ginger.

Drinkable, but won't blow you away. The biggest problem is the lack of body - it reminds me of sparkling water. The flavour also doesn't match the aroma; an interesting but insubstantial blend. No sign of the cocoa. Still, it has a restrained spicy character that suits the season - better than some other Christmas beers I've tried. Worth having once.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2012 22:01:31 | More by jazzyjeff13

heygeebee

Australia

3.03/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a one-finger tan head over a almsot black body. Closer inpection reveals dark mahogany hues. Little lace.

Aromas of cinamon and IPA-style hops.

Taste is complex.... a sweet cinnamon mince-pie christmas pud flavour yields to an almost sharp hop-driven IPA style. Oh, roasted malts as well....Doesn't taste as it looks, nor is it really an integrated flavour set.

Mouthfeel crisp and sharp as it builds.

Ok as one-off.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2011 06:11:00 | More by heygeebee

pixieskid

France

4.18/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Really didn't expect much from this thing, but really liked it! If there was ever a "sessionable" beer that makes you think of christmas, this is it. Smells and tastes like a gingerbread/coffee cake. Planning on making a pumpkin pie with it and maybe having one to accompany it. Granted it is incredibly one dimensional, it's a fun little xmas beer!

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2011 10:10:45 | More by pixieskid

MrKennedy

Australia

2.8/5  rDev -22%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

330ml bottle from Vintage Cellars, Newtown and poured into a Mikkeller tulip.

Pours a deep brown with a ruby tinge around the edges. Has a moderately deep beige head of foam that laces ok and settles just above film.

Smell has plenty of cinnamon with a fruit mince pies coming in afterwards. Only a little bit of ginger and nutmeg as well, but these don't stay for long. Interesting, but does get overpowered just a little with the cinnamon.

Taste has cinnamon in droves with just a little bit of chocolate at the back end. Too over the top with the cinnamon with it bashing everything else into submission.

Mouthfeel is on the light side, a bit thin and then there is the spice at the end that sort of takes the place of any possible lingering bitterness. It certainly doesn't encourage you to rush back into another mouthful.

A thinnish stout that looks and smells alright and is too one-dimensional with the spice. It all goes a bit downhill once you start to sip. However as a winter warmer, with a bit more body and a more varied spice flavour, this would pretty well hit the mark.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2011 09:16:53 | More by MrKennedy

davidfoley

New York

3.93/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Appearance - Medium ruby red colour; Good carbonation; Off white head, little retention

Smell - Mince pies, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, light citrus and dried fruit; Sweet aroma

Taste - Sweetness, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cherries, light citrus

Mouthfeel - Light body; Medium carbonation; Light dry & bitter finish

Drinkability - Very drinkable, light with good carbonation

Overall - Good beer, recommend it; Interesting and has nice festive feel; A little more body would be good; Well balanced

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2011 15:10:25 | More by davidfoley

danieelol

Australia

3.2/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Circumstances suggest this may be last year's vintage.

Pours black with some brown notes when held up to light. MASSIVE head on this one. Not great retention.

Smell is promising with some subtle ginger and cinnamon. Strangely alcohol is also detectable. Also there seem to be some cooked vegetables.

Taste is bitter and roasty and a bit...um, dirty.

Mouthfeel is thinnish, watery and not entirely enjoyable; but seems to get better and a bit thicker as I get down the bottle.

I find the spices in the nose (cardammon, myrrh?) can be a bit one-note and overwhelming. Yet I enjoy them at the same time. Such are the paradoxes of beer reviews, and life.

Worth a try and I will have it again, purely because I like spiced beers, but I'm a bit unconvinced it's actually a deserving beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2011 10:46:11 | More by danieelol

crusian

Texas

2.85/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Bottle from some whiskey shop in Edinburgh.
Pours a light brown color that settles into a deep dark brown with about a finger of head an almost no lacing.
Nose has a lot of cinnamon, very overpowering the rest of the nose... there is also a bit of charcoal.
Taste is a lot of cinnamon as well... and springwater. not much else.
mouthfeel is THIN... very very thin. but overall it isnt too bad, but really isnt too great either. Just average.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2011 21:25:33 | More by crusian

krunchie

Sweden

3.83/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Poors dark brown with a cherry-like red tint. Semi-tan head, good lacing but little head retention. Not very thick, neither the head nor the liquid. Looks good though.

S: Definitely ginger. Very gingerbready. Slight milk chocolate tone in the background. Nice malty nose, quite sweet. I also get a little clove and black pepper, perhaps a hint of dates as well.

T: Nice gingerbread flavor with a peppery/cardamomy finish. Very little chocolate flavor (it's brewed with cocoa), but a slight roasty character. Get some cinnamon and a very subtle bittering hops thing after half a glass.

M: Crisp, hits you in the front of the mouth rather than the back. Light and easy to drink. Well-balanced and not over-the-top spicy. This would be a nice beer to have with some gingerbread on christmas eve! I's a bit on the thin side though, I think I'd like more of a mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2011 16:09:36 | More by krunchie

Sunnanek

Sweden

3.3/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: This beer pours dark brown with a medium-large, creamy tan head that slowly dissipates into nice lacings.

S: Smells like Swedish Christmas - lots of spices; cinnamon, ginger, pepper. Sweet fruits.

T: Bonedry cinnamon-taste up front. Lots of other spices as well. Bready.

M: Dry aftertaste that stays for a while. Body is meidum and carbonation the same.

D: A bit too unbalanced - almost only spices and no sweetness (a must in Swedish Christmas beers).

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2010 20:54:49 | More by Sunnanek

bark

Sweden

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Christmas spices dominate the smell: Cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, black pepper, juniper berries, ginger... There are also some notes of sweet dark wort and a delicate bitterness in the finish. It reminds me of wort loaf; traditional Swedish yuletide bread.

The colour is very dark brown-black, the liquid is clear. The high head is pale brown and compact. It looks very much like an English porter. The lacing is really thick!

The taste is - as expected - very spicy. Yet is it a very balanced and mellow spiciness: Cloves, ginger, nutmeg, juniper berries... The malt is surprisingly dry, almost light. The body is medium light. The aftertaste is a little lighter on the spicy part; some sweetness emerges as well as a very gentle clean bitterness. Spices and bitterness in the finish.

The carbonation is quite strong, lots of small fresh bubbles. The liquid is smooth.

An orgy in spices, yet quite a balanced brew. I kind of think of it as an lighter version of Nøgne Ø Peculiar Yule/Underlig Jul.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2010 20:33:37 | More by bark

rarbring

Sweden

3.58/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

The beer is clear brown, with a large slowly rededing tan head that leaves lots of lacing.

Smelling of cinnamon buns with Christmas soda.

The taste is surprisingly not sweet at all, bread, cinnamon, bitter cocoa beans.

Medium carbonation, medium body with small bubbles, a very dry feeling.

Actually a bit unbalanced in it's lack of sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2010 16:18:08 | More by rarbring