Oh yes, as the nights draw in the winter ales begin…and so its time to welcome back two of Moon Gazer’s seasonal specials
This season we will welcome back Snowshoe, our stunning red ale – complex, fruity and warming its an ever-popular Xmas and winter ale.
Snowshoe Red Ale 4.5% abv
Our red ale – inspired by some of the great Belgian and German beers, and one which includes some blood orange to accentuate the fruitiness.
In a move from our tradition and passion of brewing with Norfolk Maris Otter malted barley we have turned – on this occasion – to some rather special German malt.
We wanted Snowshoes to be a deep red ale –for a nice fireside ale.
The malt in question is crafted from the finest quality German brewing barley, using a special malting process to intensify the colour into a deep orange-red shine. The malt we used also helps to bring fantastic aromas to the beer.
To achieve those aromas we decided to stick with the German theme – using hops grown there; Huell Melon. This hop is actually a daughter hop of Cascade and imparts lovely notes of apricot, melon, strawberry. We have paired this hop with Belma – a robust American hop we used to use a lot of and are bringing it back to Moon Gazer to add more melon, pineapple and strawberry characteristics. Add in the blood orange for a bit more fruitiness and complexity.
So, you have an intensely malty ale, with some lovely fruity hops to create a balanced, warming beer – one to be savoured.
Also look out for…
Triskele Norfolk Porter 4.5% abv
A smooth dark ale, infused with orange and coriander. Uses 5 malts including smoked barley for a subtle hint of smokiness and a complex finish.
Many winter ales include the traditional spices associated with Christmas; cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger for example, as well as dried fruits such as orange or lemon. Typically, these very expensive ingredients were the regular delight for only the wealthy, while most folk could afford them only for celebrations such as Christmas. So, over time they would become known as the Christmas spices.
Brewers sought to replicate this practice and crafted indulgent, special seasonal beers to be the preserve of winter, created to be warming, complex and that little bit special – after all it is Christmas!
In our Triskele porter we add orange peel and some coriander – just enough to add complexity and not to dominate flavour – the malts do most of the talking.