The clocks have gone back, the mercury has plummeted and those long summer evenings are nothing more than a memory – in other words, it’s beginning to look a lot like winter! This year, give the mulled wine a miss and say hello to the festive season with our county’s traditional tipple.
As you would expect from the land of oast houses and hops, we have no shortage of great local breweries right on our doorstep. But with so much choice, deciding what to try first can be tricky. So, here are five great winter beers to get you started.
Snow Top
Brewery: Old Dairy
Location: Tenterden - Kent
Alcohol by volume: 6%
Old Dairy have brewed the perfect ‘winter warmer’ – if they do say so themselves - with their award-winning Snow Top beer. This rich, dark delight is packed with the taste of Christmas; it is full of fruitcake and marmalade flavours and topped off with some spicy notes.
Godswallop Winter Ale
Brewery: Westerham
Location: Westerham - Kent
Alcohol by volume: 4%
Making full use of the local crop are Westerham with their Godswallop Winter Ale. Six Kent hops combine with pale ale, dark crystal and chocolate malts to create a traditional ale style beer that is both complex and comforting. This slightly sweet, smooth caramel, gentle hoppy traditional old winter ale will keep your mood up as the temperature drops. Oh! and making the most of the season, Westerham have also launched an awesome 2020 Beer Advent Calendar featuring a mixed case of 12 different beers - because a beer a day keeps.... your problems away?
Porter
Brewery: Larkins
Location: Chiddingstone - Kent
Alcohol by volume: 5.2%
Is there anything more quintessentially Kentish than oast houses and crop fields? Local brewery Larkins still produce their real Kentish ales in a traditional oast house, which we love - obviously! Included in Roger Protz's acclaimed guide, '300 Beers to Try Before You Die', the award-winning Larkins’ Porter is the perfect choice for those long dark evenings, with a deep, rich and warming taste.
A curiosity about The Larkins Oast House - it was built in 1935 but bombed by a V2 rocket in 1945 and then rebuilt in 1948. It has a kiln, a drying room, cooling and pressing machinery for the traditional processing of hops from drying, preserving to storing. Using traditional tools and methods they ensure their characteristic Larkins quality and flavour!
Christmas Jumper Ale
Brewery: Mad Cat
Location: Faversham
Alcohol by volume: 4.4%
Based at Brogdale Farm in Faversham and set up by father and son in 2012, the Mad Cat Brewery is a micro-brewery providing fresh and quality craft ales. They have very quick turnarounds - they can pick and have the hops brewed in under 12 hours for its beers - but when it comes to seasonal beers, they only release a small number of batches, so you have to keep an eye not to miss them! Every year they release a Christmas-themed ale featuring their famous creative cat designs and for this year they've launched the delicious Christmas Jumper Ale which promises to be rich, nutty and decidedly festive!
Christmas Ale
Brewery: Shepherd Neame
Location: Faversham - Kent
Alcohol by volume: 7%
A winter beer often means a stronger beer. Of course, it’s not hard to see why cold weather would make a stronger drink more appealing – nothing seems to heat you up more than shot of the hard stuff. But there is another reason these beers are a pinch more potent than their counterparts. Traditionally, winter beers were usually brewed during the harvest and the season of plenty probably encouraged brewers to be a little more bountiful with the malts, meaning a higher alcohol content. When it comes to alcohol proof, Shepherd Neame’s Christmas Ale beer packs a punch.
Shepherd Neame’s Christmas Ale beer is brewed using mineral water from their own well. This Christmassy concoction combines notes of fruits and spices and is packed full of some great local crops. The beer itself is delightfully packed with a Dickensian style label and a traditional pump lid.
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