The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 24th

And so here we are, the final entry in this years beer advent calendar.

It's been a good year for me, and a particularly good December - the beer advent calendar has been a welcome cornerstone in each day, if I could find 365 beers, or if I could get away with it without developing considerable heath issues I'd really love a beer advent calendar year-round.  It'd be a welcome distraction.

I spent much of this afternoon (as I was getting a bit tanked) trying to think what the last beer was...I've had the other 23, surely I could remember what the last beer was.  I couldn't.

Purity Brewing Co - Ubu (oo-boo!)

The Purity website says that Ubu is - "named after our faithfull/feared canine friend UBU, protector of our secrets", which is a nice touch I think.  This beer is lovely, it's a darker amber ale with lots of interesting flavours.  It smells a little sweet, and tastes sweet too -  little apple is obvious in the flavour, and the after taste has a hint of spice, ginger I think.
It's very easy to drink, and very refreshing - after an afternoon on the ales and a great plate of Ma's party food (including a falafal scotch egg - so full!) it's still easy to drink.

A very satisfactory end to the calendar.  If you've been following the blog - thanks for reading.  I doubt I'll keep blog posts in the new year but we'll see.  I've always wanted to write a blog, but find the self promotion and assuming the world gives a crap about my opinion troublesome.

9/10

You'll have to forgive the image, I'm staying with my parents and their laptops lack the necessary photo-editing software.

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 23rd

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Christmas soon! :)

I'm excited for pubbing it up all day tomorrow, the back home for party foods my mum will have laid out.

So onto the penultimate beer.

Sam Smiths India Ale

As you can tell from the name, the India ale is an IPA - and a very good one it is too.  The only odd addition to the classic recipe is seaweed finings, whatever they are.  They might be responsible for the ever-so-slight sweetness in the taste.

It pours a lovely honey golden colour and had a nice frothy head, it's crisp, hoppy and very balanced - has a great bitter taste to it.  I always go into pale ales expecting something akin to Brewdogs, or Karl Strauss - this was much easier to drink and the first giant gulp I took was very satisfying.

9/10

Oh, and no you cannot have one of my chocolate oranges...

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 22nd

Why does the wind always blow in my face?  I cycled to Penarth leisure centre this morning with a considerable wind in my face, then I cycled back to Cardiff Bay with...a considerable wind in my face.  It's very irritating and it makes no sense.  Give me a break, ffs!

Only 2 beers remain, I'm saving a very special Fullers Vintage 2008 for Christmas and I've a selection of scotch to say hello to as well.

Todays beer was another gem from the Untapped Brewery.

Untapped Brewery - Triple 'S'

This is without a doubt one of the nicest stouts I've ever had.  The "Triple S" stands for Simply Superb Stout, and whilst that is a little up-itself, it's right.  Poured very creamy (I had to stop halfway as the head was encroaching the rim of my mug) and smelt very rich, the taste was thankfully more balanced than the nose gave the impression of which was very pleasing - nice taste of malt & chocolate.  As it warmed up there was a slightly harsh sweet tone to it.

Very nice bevvy.  Untapped is a brewer I'll be keeping an eye on.

9/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 21th

Today was pretty good.  I got an early finish from work, as well as confirmation that I'm off now until January the 3rd.  The last year has been the best year of employment I have had in my life.
Plus someone gave me a dome popper. I haven't seen one for ages but damn, they are still entertaining to me.  Now if I can only resist the urge to chew on it like I used...(I've found a cocktail stick for now)

So after spending the afternoon chillin' with a brew I cracked open todays beer.

Shepherd Neame Late Red

I was in 10ft Tall the other week suppin' a Speckled Hen when some guy randomly started asking me ale questions - and if I knew Spitfire, and that Shepherd Neame was the oldest brewery in the UK.  I had to cut that conversation short however, it was impolite to my date to continue with a sudden influx of beer chat.

So Late Red is a seasonal beer, and it is a cracker.  It's very highly rated on t'interwebs and I agree.  Firstly, I'd like to paint my walls with the colour.  You can't get it from the photos but it's really a great red.  Smokey malts and flowery hops combine in the flavour, it's very smooth and I want more of it.

Very nice.

9/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 20th

Here's some random useless nonsense before the review.

The roads from Cardiff to Dinas Powys are fucking awful.  My poor Ka did not enjoy driving to my parents today.  I only did the drive last week and I don't remember it being this bad.  Stupid poorly maintained roads! OR.... Stupid poorly insulated car with simple suspension system! (I'm blaming the roads)

Tomorrow is my last day in work before Christmas. Yesssssssssssssss.
I've been crafting tiny Christmas cards again this year, and earlier today someone asked for a snowflake or a Christmas tree - upon objecting because those are the 2 hardest things to make, they became set on a snowflake.  I hope they appreciate the 2 hours of my evening dedicated to the zen-like craft that is the tiny greetings card.

Todays beer was so bad I can't really be bothered to write about it.

Vale of Glamorgan Wheats Occurin'

I was very disappointed with the last VoG beer, and this one sadly didn't change my perceptions.  It's a wheaty ale (duh), but the flavour is very light - it's got quite a dull aftertaste to it.  It almost tastes like a cask beer, only without any of the other good attributes of a pulled pint.  Pretty much tasteless.

If I ever see a VoG beer on tap, I'll have to try it.  If I ever see another bottle I'll try an avoid it.

Oh and I said in the last review that if the other VoG beer was as bad as the first I would have a sad.  So I'm now having a sad.

Bleeuuurrgghhh.  4/10.

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 19th

Only 2 days left in work before Christmas, 5 beers to sample.  I'm tired.

Todays beer is a familiar one, I was in a pub that served it yesterday and only just decided to pass on it and go for something else. Glad I did as it tastes better today.

Sam Smiths Taddy Porter

The Waterguard is one of my local pubs, and we've had quite a few sessions (getting battered by going through each of the Sam Smiths beers in 1 sitting) - the Taddy Porter is a great highlight.

Pours with a super creamy head and smells terrific, it's a bit smokey, chocolatey, there's a scent of coffee and sweet molasses tone.
It's creamy on the mouth and has an obvious complexity - the main flavours are plenty and are all discernable from one another - it's one of the best porters around, classic stuff.

10/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 18th

I haven't just finished this beer, as you can probably tell from the photographs I drank it earlier during daylight - before a free bottle of Prosecco, a glorious pizza (spiced bolognese sauce, beef meatballs, roquito peppers, rocket and mozzarella, mmmmm!) and some brews.  Sunday is fast becoming my favourite drinking day.  'Tis the season!

Todays beer was actually as good as the Sunday on a whole, it might even be "beer of the calendar" if I award such an accolade this year.  The prize of course is that I'll drink you again!

Bath Ales Golden Hare

Golden Hare is a "light ale" according to the bottle and they are not wrong.  It poured a very light straw colour that at the time of pouring my flatmate decided to decide as urine coloured.  I agreed with him of course.  The head quickly dissipated whilst my phone crashed and I had to restart it to take a picture of the poured pint.

Smelt a bit fruity, tasted a bit tropical and it went down easy.  It was very refreshing, nice zesty citrus mouthfeel - managed to be dry and thirst quenching at the same time.  Definitely a beer for accidentally getting ruined on a summer evening and a welcome addition to the 10/10 club!

10/10 of course.

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 17th

Had a good lazy day today - still didn't manage to get over 6 hours sleep.  I wonder if beer is related to sleep deprivation...I wonder if wine is, too - I'll find out tomorrow as my "free bottle of wine" birthday gift from Pizza Express expires and I'm definitely taking them up on it.

Anyway, we're here for beer - one not suited to this time of year.

Vale of Glamorgan Brewery Cwrw Dewi

Using my immeasurable knowledge of the language of my homeland I can tell you that Cwrw Dewi means Davids beer.  It's a seasonal ale for our national day (no shit) - and it is almost as crap as it :)
The head quickly dissipates and there's very little carbonation - not something I mind as it usually just means there's something in the beer.  There was sediment in the bottom of my glass - again something I'd expect to be a sign of flavour and there just isn't any.
With zero hops and only a slight malty finish this beer is almost entirely tasteless - I suppose that it is a good thing it isn't carbonated because you'd have to drink it at a slower pace, and that'd be awful.

After sampling the Pen-lon and Untapped my expectations of my local brewers have become a lot higher, and this one falls far short of them.  I seem to recall picking more than one VoG brewery ales and if the others are like this one I will have a sad.

4/10

Apologies for posting a lolcat, and for rhyming up there...I know you saw it.

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 16th

Coooooooooooooooooold.

So tonight was my work Christmas party - classy do, I scrubbed up nicely in record time (15 mins to get showered, suited & booted) and then just drank free whiskey & coke until they stopped serving it.  It was an interesting night, which culminated in randomly walking around trying to find somewhere without a queue to get a drink.  Of course no such place existed so I settled for abandoning my rather attractive comrades to return home and drink todays (technically yesterdays) beer.  That did mean I managed to go all night without spending a penny.

Special thanks go to my mum for buying me a big wool coat as without it on the walk home I'd have likely died from the cold.

Oh and my left-lower-eyelid still twitches.

So the beer, I can do this...

Pen-Lon Heather Honey Ale

It's an odd one this, I can't rightly tell if I'm not tasting it right because I'm a little wasted.
It poured a hazy amber colour and actually smells a little wheaty to me, it tastes dry but is a little sweet...I'd describe the texture as leafy.

It's not really working for me at the moment, so I'm going to stop writing for 10 mins whilst I drink it and do something else...I'm looking forward to a fried duck egg sandwich in the morning.

I watched this during the "interval" - it's a remarkable piece of guitar playing and I love how he uses the entire guitar to perform it, from slapping the body with his wrist, scraping the strings, tapping the body with the pick and fingers to the clever use of delay and picking.

Ok so now I can smell the honey in this beer,  it's washing off the whiskey & coke taste which is good.  It's decent enough but not really something I'd look for again.  But would you trust a drunk-beer review?

6/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 15th

Ahhh Thursday.

In an attempt to shift a persistent twitch in my lower left eyelid I tried to stay in bed asleep as long as possible this morning. I made it until about 10am (I went to bed at 1, so 9hrs is pretty good for me), I may have managed more if my neighbour hadn't been praying at volume.
I might need to get an eye-test to make sure it's not strain from too long at a computers...or hopefully the long Christmas break away from work computers (at home computers) will sort it out.

Check out my dinner!  Duck eggs are delicious (it's payday, so I treated myself to something nice to eat).

And now check out my beer!

Moreland's Old Golden Hen

My flatmate also does the beer advent (sans reviews on a blog) and he had this one ages ago - I'd remembered it was in there since I pulled Crafty Hen on day one.  I've been dying to try it.
It's a very summer beer, even the marketing was summer-themed, but in reality the beer didn't crop up until Autumn.  It was worth the wait - just upon pulling the cap off the bottle I got a great waft of hoppy aroma, it actually smells a little of straw.  The taste is lovely, a nice sweet caramel finish rounds of the hops so well.  It's not a strongly flavoured beer, but what flavour there is, yum.

A perfect example of how "golden ale" should be, an done of the nicest I have ever had from a bottle.

There's only one word in the English dictionary to summarise how I feel about this beer, 

Schmooblydong.

10/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 14th

Todays post sadly comes from my phone...the interwebs are malfunctioning and I don't expect a remedy anytime soon.

Sam Smiths Winter Welcome Ale

I expected this to be a winter beer, dark & fruity - what I got was very different.  It poured a pale amber colour, smelt of caramels and malt.  There was something a little sweet on top of the malt but I'll be dammed if I know what it was.
This didn't really strike me as a Sam Smiths beer, though it was enjoyable and is very drinkable I was expecting a little more.  I've had to dock it a point for being underwhelming.

6/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 13th

Ahhh - todays beer is classic.  But before that...

I went to see Tommy Emmanuel today.  That man isn't a guitarist, he's a hypnotist.  If I wasn't grinning inanely at the stage my jaw was on the ground, or I was transfixed in a catatonic state.  I can't really think of another concert I've seen where I've been 100% focussed on the stage without even a wafer of my surroundings or physical being occupying my consciousness - it happened a few times tonight.

I imagine seeing Les Paul in concert would have been similar if I could've got my arse to NYC and into the Iridium Jazz club before he passed away.

So after the show I refused a pub visit in favour of todays beer - so I could enjoy it on a clean palette, and because my left eyelid has been twitching on and off for over a fortnight, I need more sleep.
Turns out I could have popped to the pub for at least one (Sorry Steve! I owe you a beverage), as todays beer I have had in every calendar - and I am already very familiar with.

Wychwood Hobgoblin.

I'll say about Hobgoblin what I said in 2009.

"Silky smoothed and full bodied, malty sweetness with nutty flavours before the hops hit, great colour, great smell - tasty and well rounded."

And that's all to say about it.  It's still scoring well too.

10/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 12th

Phew.  Awesome birthday weekend over it was business as usual today...actually business as usual is a Men at Work album I'm going to put on right now...

...right, so now this beer review has a soundtrack.  After a second pub visit where my good friends insisted on pints of Duvel Single, and a short of Knob Creek (ew!) - I'm not sure (again) if my taste buds are up to it.

I'd like to share that I'm going to see Tommy Emmanuel tomorrow and I'm a tad excited.  The man is a fucking wizard.

Todays beer is another new one, from a completely new (for me) brewery.

Bath Ales Barnstormer.  I've seen some Bath Ales in pubs/bars before but they are usually criminally expensive.

Todays beer suits the quite apocalyptic weather quite nicely, there's nothing nicer than a nice rich dark ale for the end of the world (if that's what it is). 
It poured with a little head that quickly disappeared - and it has a sweet malt smell.  It tastes of roasted malts, caramel - usual dark ale stuff.  I get the impression that there is more too it but I'm missing out.  And for that reason it's not getting the 8 I think it deserves...

...still nice though.

7/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 11th

Yes guys, there is a beer today.  After curing feeling-like-crap with tea, toast, a toasted sandwich, Ribena and some Transform-a-snacks I felt a tad thirsty. 

I drank an absurd amount of free scotch yesterday so I wasn't sure if my tastebuds would be up to this, but thankfully a familiar beer came out of todays bag.

Wychwood - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug is nice.  It's packed with festive flavours, it's smooth and very lightly carbonated.
Smells like fruit (I smell bananas, honest!), obvious scent of cloves, maybe cinnamon - it's nice a rich.
Quite lively to drink, tastes a lot like it smells and it has a great fruity finish.

The best seasonal Christmas ale I've had.  I'll put it with a Fullers Reserve (I have a 2008 this year) and make it mandatory for every Christmas from now on!

8/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - Birthday Beer

Yes. It's my birthday! I'm 29.

I said earlier that todays review would be early, and it is.  I think I've actually passed my RDA for units of alcohol already, and there's a lot more to come later.  I hope I'm not sick.

So as I sit here listening to Distraction Pieces by Scroobius Pip, wearing my new coat indoors, installing Batman: Arkham City - today is going well.

Todays beer was great too.  Adnams Ghost Ship.
I picked this up a week after Spooks Ale, and again decided to keep it for the calendar than drink it for Halloween. 
Adnams were one of the first brewers I took a liking to after the familiar 3 I'd always drunk (Brains, Badgers & Wychwood).  During the first beer advent calendar their Broadside and Gunhill opened my eyes a little. Broadside being one of the best beers I've had in the calendar(s).

Ghost Ship is a pale ale, and a very nice one - it's very hoppy and has some sharp citrus flavours.  A bit like Badgers Fursty Ferret, perhaps better!  It's easy drinking and very refreshing - I'd happily put this next to Wychwood Wychcraft as one of the best bottled sessions beers.  I'd love to find it on draught one day.

9/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 9th

Excuse the lateness of this review, I've been busy crafting tiny greetings cards (26 x 24mm) in preperation for Christmas.  Also I had a curry with my family (including my very noisy niece Eleanor...I still don't get babies).

Todays beer is a very fine example of a stout, one of the best in recent memory.  Actually I did attend a Stout & Porter "festival" in the City Arms but they'd run out of all but a few of them, plus I got wasted and forgot what they tasted like.

Pen-lon Stock Ram.

It's very odd on the nose, this one.  As soon as I pulled the cap off I stuck my nose in it and it almost smelt like cheese.  Quite wheaty, or a little yeasty - I couldn't tell.  It's got more chocolate in it than I expected, but it's far darker and more like cocoa in flavour than the chocolate stout I tried on the 4th, it's not too bitter.  It's almost completely black in colour which is odd considering it's quite dry finish (I always expect darker beer to be thicker and sweeter).

So like the Butcome from a few days back, it manages to be a simple and effective drink that it would be easy to sink a few of - if you've the stomach for such things - Stock Ram is a great demonstration of bleating the competition by doing something simple right.  It's easy for ales to be spoilt by attempting something fancy and falling flat.

To compensate for the lateness of this review, tomorrows review will be early, mostly because I'm off out to celebrate my birthday and my work-team-night-out later in the day.

8/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 8th

Ahh Thursday.

I spent most of today bumbling around trying to pass the time before squash which was booked for 16:15, I lost 3-2 :-( good games though.  I had to for-go cycling there for fear of getting blown off my bike, besides it was fucking pissing down and I've only just defeated a cough/cold.

Anyway after making short work of some haddock in parsley sauce and a huge pile of mixed veg I set to work on todays beer. And it is a good 'un.

Earlier in the calendar I pulled out Untapped Ember, and the brewers 2nd appearance hasn't disappointed.

Untapped Eclipse is exactly the sort of dark ale I love to drink.  It smells like chocolate and coffee, but it's light - the taste has hints of chocolate and coffee too, but there's a great roasted malty flavour.
It's less sweet than the Ember which is good - it's very smooth and has a great balance.

Additional (added 00:17) - I just came to rinse the bottle out to add to the fireplace and there was a few drops and some sediment left, there was quite a strong smell and taste of rum.  That's a first! I wonder if the beer has rum added to it during fermentation, or if there are rum casks being used.  Fascinating.

Yum.

8/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 7th

I had to have some whiskey when I got in from work today - and I decided to finish this beer off with a whiskey chaser.  Beer sandwiches are good.

Todays beer was Butcome Bewery Original Bitter - this is an award winning ale from a cask, winning a silver medal at the Great British Beer Festival in 2009 which apparently prompted Butcombe to bottle it after over 30 years.

It's an old school bitter (1978) with a simple amber colour, smells simply (deliciously) of malt & hops.  The taste is equally stripped back being clean and dry.  It reminds me of Everards Tiger Ale which featured last year (which I fuggin' loved).
Butcombe bottle 2 other beers I know of, an IPA and a Golden Ale.  I'll keep my eye out for both as they're sure to be as delicious at this.

Good stuff, shame I had to have it on such a shitty Wednesday.

9/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 6th

I'll just jump straight to the beer today - Dominos pizza is on the way (currently being baked, according to the website) and I'm already feeling like a fat bastard.

Todays beer is a Halloween beer I picked up and decided to include in the calendar.
Shepherd Neame Spooks Ale.

It's a very autumnal beer, dark in colour, fruity in flavour with a nice roasted caramel finish.  If it were on tap I imagine it'd be outstanding - the bottled ale has quite a bit of carbonation and a dry finish.
It's not outstanding, but very enjoyable. If I see it next year I will try and pick it up again.

7/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 5th

Before I get onto todays fine beverage, I feel I must say...

I wish there were less stupid "fragrance" adverts on TV. I don't care how good it smells, it's not going to turn me into a rich, successful "classically handsome" movie star male model type chap - and it's certainly not going to make her want to let me put my shwingshwong into her vajayjay. What sort of moron...? Please, go away.

Anyway. Beer.

Todays beer was delicious. Untapped Brewery - Ember.
Untapped are a very small brewer (actually 3 Welsh dudes with no brewery to speak of) brewing their drinks out of a "loaner" brewery in Gloucestershire - I have more than one to sample in the calendar this year and I hope this is a sign of things to come.

Ember is a dark ale with a nice frothy texture, it's very malty with a strong roasted flavour, there's a hint of chocolate, a little nut, and it's quite sweet.  I really enjoyed it.  Also I'm finding myself really wanting to crack open the next days beer...hopefully it's good things to those who wait - I'll settle for a BrewDog 77 lager to satiate me for now.

8/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 4th

Doing a beer advent calendar really does highlight how quickly time passes.  Slow down, damn you!

Before I review this beer I feel like sharing that last night I went to see the Tiger Bay Brawlers in a roller derby in Newport Centre.  Roller derby might be my new favourite sport.  I even bought a t-shirt.

Today I feel I've earnt this beer, as I've spent the best part of 2 hours cleaning the flat and making way for the inevitable Christmas tree (woo!).

Todays beer is Pen-lon Chocolate Stout, another fine beverage from the homeland.

Surprisingly it tastes like chocolate.  There is a heavy flavour of roasted caramel and a light taste of roasted malt - with quite a dry finish. Great smell of coffee and chocolate.

I'm not a big stout drinker and there are a few in the calendar this year.  Hopefully they can all be as scrumdiddlyumptious as this one.

8/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 3rd

Todays beer is Tomos Watkins Cwrw Braf - it's brewed in Swansea you know...

Cwrw Braf means "lovely beer", and they're not far off.  I visted Cardiffs Winter Wonderland a week or so ago and attempted to buy this on tap but the barrel was out and I settled for a bottle of Cwrw Haf (that means summer beer...in Winter Wonderland...?).  I imagine the tapped beer would have been a bit better.

Cwrw Braf is quite light on the bitter with some softish carbonation (I'm still struggling with flavours due to my cold), it's nice enough but a little basic as far as flavours go, bit of hops, bit of malt.

It's inoffensive and enjoyable, but not one to seek out unless you must.  Very suitable for a pub session.

6/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 2nd

OK beerfans. #2!

I am in no condition to be reviewing beer, having foolishly cycled to Morrisons and got caught in the freezing rain yesterday - I am now full up with mucus and feature a dulled set of tastebuds as a result.

The good thing is todays beer is quite flavoursome and offers me some relief from that taste you get with a cold.

Fullers Jack Frost.  A new beer for me (woo!) Jack Frost has blackberries added to it during brewing and it makes for a very refreshing drink, I mean I burped and it tasted like Ribena (there could be other dark berries in there, I'd be none the wiser).  I've been drinking it for around 10 minutes and it's almost all gone.  After the fruit there is a nice creamy malt aftertaste, it's nice to get a fruit beer where the brewer has used the fruit to do more than to just overpower the hops and malt of the beer.
I'd like to tell you how it smells, but I can't..."fruit" is all I can smell.
It's a shame this only a seasonal beer and only available in Sainsbury or Waitrose, or Fullers pubs.

Great tipple - 8/10

The Beer Advent Calendar 2011 - December 1st

So another year has flown by, I find myself once again coming across as someone with a drinking problem.  It isn't a problem - I just like trying new things (not just drinks!).

The 2011 beer advent calendar has begun, and after a suggestion from my flatmate I've opted to put it on my never-used-before blog instead of Facebook.

This year I've done my best to avoid beers that appeared previously (with the exception of a few) and as you'll see from the photographs, I made (yes, made) 24 fabric bags to keep the beers in.  It is better than fumbling in a box to pick one at random, and it looks significantly more Christmassy.

So, enough chatter - what's up first?

Sadly (I use the word ironically) as soon as I untied the string from the bag I saw the bottle-cap and instantly knew what beer it was.

Morland's Old Crafty Hen.  I spoke highly of this beer last year, and the year before.  I also gave it impossibly high scores, 11/10 during the first year, and 100/10 during the second year.  So instead of telling you about it for the 3rd year running I've decided to pad out this blog with nonsense...ummm.

• I've just eaten, I had boiled new potatoes, sweetcorn, string beans, peas, with some haddock in a parsley sauce.
• It was delicious.
• I'm currently listening to Songbird by Fleetwood Mac.
• Later (shortly), I will drink a Brewdog "There is no Santa".
• If you like beer and you haven't tried Crafty Hen (or Speckled Hen) then you need to.  I don't want to hear any nonsense about not liking ale.