Santa's Butt - Ridgeway Brewing

KajII

North Carolina

3.33/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

[Suggested Glassware: Nonic Pint]

The pour was a clear medium to dark brown with an average (1-2 finger) off white creamy head that reduced down to a small cap and had good streaky lacing.

The aroma was of a roasted dark malt and a leathery yeast with notes of dark chocolate, coffee and a hint of molasses.

The taste was lightly sweet with a roasty malt feel, a note of chocolate and a touch of molasses from the start, progressing slightly into a mildly bitter taste with a nice roasted coffee finish. The flavor lasted a decently long time after the swallow, with a roasted coffee taste left lying on the taste buds for a short while longer.

Mouthfeel was medium in body and dry in texture with a mild carbonation.

Overall this was a brew that possessed a nice bitter sweet roasty flavor, a smooth and easy drinkability and only a moderate ABV. Although it is nothing over the top, it is still quite good and I could see my self having a few of these...

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Serving type: bottle

12-27-2012 18:37:26 | More by KajII

BeerTwigs

New York

3.08/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a bottle on Christmas Eve into my Dogfish Tulip.

A - Very dark brown, very little lacing and about a one finger head on the pour

S - Light aroma that includes caramel malt, hints of vanilla and chocolate.

T - Taste is spot on with the aroma, light vanilla and chocolate hints. Very light and a basic English style porter. Nothing really jumping off on this one.

M - Thin with decent carbonation.

O - I bought this beer to drink for Christmas, Thankfully I wasn't aging or waiting to drink this beer. it was a impulse buy and it will probably sells more because of its name. The beer is decent, not terrible. I wouldn't seek it out again, but I'd drink it if it was around. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 01:26:48 | More by BeerTwigs

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Santa's butt has an copper amber color which does't resemble a porter really.
No head but good carbonation. No retention ability what so ever.
Aroma is sutle roasted malts.
Taste is sweet smooth and cloying. Just hints of roasted malts or malts in general.
Drinks thin and flat and is really unappealling in every catagory.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 13:39:52 | More by micromaniac129

beergoot

Colorado

3.28/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A decent reddish-brown body with a rather disappointing thin head. Nice malt aroma; nutty with coffee undertones; hints of mocha. Semi-sweet chocolate taste; vanilla; coffee grounds; nice low-key bitterness throughout the taste. Thin, watery body.

The good news is that the flavor emphasizes the malts and grains, but, on the whole, everything is way too subdued weak. Great name but a near sub-par beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 02:27:04 | More by beergoot

nickfl

Florida

3.55/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours with a small head of off white foam that recedes rapidly and leaves light lace. The body is an opaque black color.

S - Light caramel malt with some very distant coffee.

T - Watery mocha notes up front with some brown sugar. A bit of herbal hop character in the middle and a finish of dry cocoa, caramel, and dark bread.

M - Medium body, moderately low carbonation, and a slightly sweet finish.

D - Not bad, it is a bit on the sweet side, but not unpleasant. Nothing complex, but enjoyable enough.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2012 02:53:41 | More by nickfl

kylehay2004

Florida

3.53/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: very thin head on a deep dark brown body. no lacing really.

S: roasted malt, vanilla and some chocolate but overall light aroma.

T: semi sweet with chocolate and vanilla. the roasted malts are there but mild and provide little bitterness. a very simple porter. But, is on par for an English porter.

M: this one is really really thin. moderate carbonation.

Overall: the lightness makes this one very drinkable. Its jwhat you expect for the style. Good name though, I guess.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2012 02:52:53 | More by kylehay2004

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

3.58/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed from notes.

Pours out a very dark brown with two fingers of tan head that lasts for several minutes and leaves behind fairly decent amounts of lacing on the glass. Medium body and carbonation levels. Creamy and soft texture but only when allowed to warm up somewhat.

Smells and tastes of fresh baking chocolate with some lighter soft fruitiness from yeast and a light mineral chalkiness that accentuates a sort of raisin tone combined with a subtle tangy sour accent that brings to mind "ye olde" definition of the English Porter genre. Too bad the roasted character is somewhat lackluster and muddy, and the hopping content is murky and indistinguishable. In the end, this is merely a slightly better than average beer with funny label art.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2012 02:29:59 | More by WastingFreetime

metter98

New York

3.4/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is near black in color, with dark red visible near the edges of the glass when it is held up to a light source. It poured with a thin layer of large white bubbles covering the surface that quickly died down, leaving a thick collar around the edge of the glass.
S: There are light to moderate aromas of dark fruits in the nose along with some hints of chocolate.
T: The taste seems rather complex and has flavors of dark fruits, cola and nuts along with some notes of chocolate. There are some hints of sweetness and no bitterness is detectable.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and somewhat thin and watery on the palate with a low amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is easy to drink and has some interesting flavors but seems like it could use some bitterness and more carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2012 01:43:02 | More by metter98

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.25/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Review from 1/2010 notes. Poured into a Caracole small snifter. Pours a dark red brown, thin tan head and little lacing. Aroma of faint dark malt and dark fruit. Taste follows with light malt and dark fruits. A modest dark ale, light body, mild corn aftertaste. These Ridgeway beers have a nice presentation and generally taste good, but have really muted and bland flavor levels.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 23:51:41 | More by LiquidAmber

Gambrinus1184

Connecticut

3.73/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 16.9 oz bottle into a Newport Storm snifter.

A: Nearly black in color with a mild, frothy head of tan foam which left a little soapy resin.

S: Nutty and herbal with a hint of bready sweetness, some chocolate and a musty, earthy aroma.

T: A deep initial sip reveals some black and pale English malts with a building bittersweetness towards mid-palate where a full, dark chocolate and herbal hop palate is revealed. Becomes a bit weak through the finish, with just a slightly malty and bitter finish.

M: Though not as robust as I was hoping for, this porter had a palatable feel and was medium-full bodied with fine drinkability.

O: Not the rich, wintery treat I was hoping for, but still pretty good. This 6% ABV English porter has enough character to keep your palate interested and searching, though the malt base at times seemed pedestrian. A slightly richer flavor would improve upon an already decent porter.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2012 01:39:53 | More by Gambrinus1184

StJamesGate

New York

3.55/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Garnet brown with a loose tan head that recalls cola, setting in a thin film. Milk chocolate, root beer and vanilla bark nose.
Maltesers, vanilla and some earth, and vague tea leaf and dried orange rind hops.
A hint of rye spice at the end and a dry finish. Thin, round, slight cling.

I drank this one Christmas day before I was into beer so I'm glad to finally catch up with it again. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the wait was worth it.

This would be a thin porter at 4.5%; at 6% it's watery and definitely not wintery. The rye addition does add a bit of a twist, and it cleans up after itself, but it's overly sweet and I practically had to gargle with it to get the hops.

Just not enough here to hold my interest.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 20:51:39 | More by StJamesGate

shrek806

New York

3.2/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Poured into a chalice.

The pour revealed a dark brown color with a thin, lazy 1/8 inch head. Little to no lacing.

The smell was sweet with caramel and slight hints of cocoa and vanilla.

The taste was all sweet malt. It tasted like i was drinking a liquid "Sugar Daddy".

The mouthfeel was much like the pour; Lazy. Not a lot going on. It came and went with little to no fanfare.

The over drinkability for me is low. Not really my kind of beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2012 18:55:29 | More by shrek806

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

3.98/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle into a tumbler pint, the beer is almost jet black, with chestnut brown highlights around the edges, and only the slimmest ring of bubbling around the edge of the glass. Aromas are mild, with a solid coffee tone throughout. Some lighter malt and hops scents come off on the nose, also. Flavors are dry and crisp, which is a great representation of the style. Good blending of dry roasted coffee and mild chocolate malts, with a smooth character and light, smooth body. The aftertaste is rich and slightly roasted, with a dry feel to it. Slow, dry finish, leaving a good linger of flavors behind. Good brew.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2012 02:55:13 | More by GarthDanielson

AgentMunky

Alabama

3.8/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 33cL bottle into a cervoise glass. Stamped F13 266.

A: Two fingers of creamy head. The beer is dark brown in the shade and a clear, brilliant red in the light. Some bubbles within. Looks great!

S: It smells...like a pilsner? Sweet and grainy. Maybe a hint of darker fruit like plum.

T: Yummy! Sweet fruits, banana foremost amongst them. Malty, perhaps lightly spiced (clove? anise?). Distant bitterness on the aftertaste. More like a winter warmer than a porter in my book, but I'll roll with it. Touch of chocolate.

M: Sweet-wet then (barely)bitter-dry. Interesting...

O: Overall, I quite enjoyed this beer; it seems underrated. I received it for Christmas in a mysterious beer of the month box that a stranger signed me up for. I look forward to drinking the rest of these beers and would recommend it others.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2012 22:52:13 | More by AgentMunky

chimaylvr

Rhode Island

2.98/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

appearance is typical for a porter, very dark, but a notch below average because of the lack of a frothy head as with Anchor's exeptional variety.

smell is good but nothing of note. subtle rosted malts, coffee, mocha-like, not overwhelming

taste: not strong, mild, subtle coffee, "drinkability" as they say. not too bitter or sweet, kinda pale. drinks like a stout

mouthfeel: low carbonation, not syrupy and as with the taste, low on bitterness and acidity.

I think I'm being generous with this rating but since there's worse out there average is appropriate. It's marketing and naming are far better than the beer but you didn't waste your money. Kissing your sister!

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2012 03:42:53 | More by chimaylvr

Cozzatoad

Italy

3.15/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle

A- Nearly black colour, with ruby hints if seen through light. A quick hint of off-white head that immediately disappears, no lacing. A bit of carbonation is visible

S- Sweet caramel malts with a hint of sugar. Maybe a slight toasted note. Absolutely lacks any kind of complexity

T- No toasted malts, just sweet bready malts with a caramel note as well. Some light chocolate notes. Slightly herbal feel in the finish. Thin in flavour, and again lacking complexity

M- Medium to light body, almost watery but with a hint of crispness in the finish that brings some life. Goes down very easy

O- Easily drinkable and sure not at all an unpleasant drink. Quite warming, expecially given it's ABV. Uninteresting

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2012 16:49:14 | More by Cozzatoad

airforbes1

New York

3.43/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I bought this beer at BevMo a few days ago and decided to save it for Christmas day. Well, here I am, ready to see if this beer is worthy or if it relies on its gimmicky name.

The color is typical for a porter, appearing black unless its held to the light. The head starts about two fingers thick before receding into a thin ring at the top. The the aroma was a little bit disappointing; I smelled licorice and a boozy smell.

The taste is better, with bitter cocoa and roasted notes. It finishes a bit more thinly than I'd like, but this beer still provides a pleasant experience.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2011 02:00:33 | More by airforbes1

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

3.88/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Santa’s Butt has a thin, beige head and a dark, clear reddish-brown (under light) appearance, with some splotching lacing. The aroma is of licorice, dark-roasted coffee, and malt. Taste is of dark coffee, cola, hops, chocolate, and malt. The mouthfeel is light and soft, and Santa’s Butt finishes fairly crisp, clean, and easy drinking. Overall, it’s pretty good and worth a try.

RJT

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2011 21:18:56 | More by RonaldTheriot

TheQuietMan22

Iowa

3.05/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Serving type: 500 ml bottle. There is a code printed on the label but no clear freshness date.

Appearance: Straight pour into a tall half-liter glass. The color is very dark brown. Three fingers of lightly tanned head dissipated slowly to leave a billowy/spotted cap and trails of foam on the glass.

Smell: Mostly dark and sweet malt action. Caramel, cocoa, toffee, vanilla, molasses, dark fruit plum, and brown sugar.

Taste: The mouthfeel is pretty watery but the taste is decent. It offers a nice toasted malt and earthy hop character along with caramel, chocolate, and a hint of coffee. The sweetness from the smell is absent.

Drinkability: Meh. That is about it.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2011 05:17:00 | More by TheQuietMan22

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.53/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I was at the Kendall Pub in Yorkville, IL and they had plenty of Ridgeway Brewing bottles for sample. I tried the Santa's Butt Porter. The beer poured from a brown 16.9 oz. bottle with a deep amber color that you can still see through. There was a small slightly off-white head. Smell is of peat, roast and malt. Taste is mild, with roast and peat tones. The mouthfeel is actually light in body with decent carbonation. Overall this is a fairly decent beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2011 22:48:29 | More by WoodBrew

PicoPapa

Connecticut

2.95/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Bottle. Pours a dark brown color with some light brown hues. Very little head. Minimal lacing. Aroma is of earth, booze, caramel, malts, and toffee. Taste is rather light. Toffee, caramel, earth and malts. Thin mouthfeel and somewhat watery. Not much else going on. Malt near the end. This beer doesn't pack much flavor. Overall, nothing special and not worth having next Xmas.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2011 05:25:37 | More by PicoPapa

greybeardloon

Rhode Island

3.75/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

No obvious date

A: Light for a porter. Modest head dissipates quickly without lacing.

S: Spicy hops, brown sugar and alcohol. Not bad but for the alcohol.

T: Brown sugar and nuts, some sweet, slightly roasty malts and some spicy hops on the finish. The alcohol comes thru too clearly, but the finish is quite dry.

M: Very thin for a porter but pretty nice for a brown ale. Medium, nice and slick and with prickly carbonation.

O: I like this a fair bit as a nut brown ale. It is too thin and lacks roastiness for a porter, though. If it didn't say "porter" on the label, it wouldn't have occurred to me that this was anything but a darkly colored brown ale.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2011 01:02:17 | More by greybeardloon

bsp77

Minnesota

3.45/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Serving glass: Poured from bottle into Nonic Imperial Pint.

Appearance: Somewhat dark reddish brown with thin tan head.

Smell: Floral and spicy English hops. Muted roasted malt undercurrent.

Taste: The taste is also fairly muted, with light roasted malts, which leaves room for the spicy, floral hops to be the main component.

Feel: Moderately low carbonation, with a body that is definitely too thin. Nice dry finish, however.

Overall: Not one of the more exciting Porters out there, not by any stretch of the imagination. But it is enjoyable as a nice, everyday beer. Making it out to be a Winter Porter doesn't help its cause.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2011 05:04:39 | More by bsp77

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.7/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Sampled on December 3, 2011. The pour is dark chestnut-amber with no head but good clarity. Lots of sweet roasted malts in the aroma along with sugar and a nip of laid back hops. The bodu is in the medium range and also rather smooth and creamy.It definitely espouses a pleasant bitter flavor but it really reminds me of most sweet British ESB's which always seem to have this soft water characteristic and lots of approachable flavor.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2011 02:41:43 | More by puboflyons

Amalak

New York

3.13/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This has a very dark brown color to the point that it's almost purple. Limited head and lacing. Very strong alcohol scent to it.

Surprisingly, this is a very dull, floral porter. If you want a porter, this wont cut it, though, and as an XMas brew it's lacking significantly. There's a bit of spicy cinnamon to it.

There's a very tart aftertaste. Just not a good porter nor a good winter offering. It's not bad, it's just...meh.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2011 03:15:05 | More by Amalak