Boxing Day Bitter
Middle Ages Brewing Co., Ltd.

Boxing Day BitterBoxing Day Bitter
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From:
Middle Ages Brewing Co., Ltd.
 
New York, United States
Style:
English Bitter
Ranked #6
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
90
Ranked #9,920
Avg:
4.07 | pDev: 12.04%
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
21
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 11, 2024
Added:
Jan 13, 2008
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by thebuck:
Photo of thebuck
Rated by thebuck

4.25/5  rDev +4.4%

Dec 07, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of BeerJoeM3
Reviewed by BeerJoeM3 from New York

5/5  rDev +22.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
i love this beer ! Would drink it year round. Seasonal starting on Boxing Day (Dec.26Th.) Very traditional . amber color , truly an "old world style Beer " !
Mar 11, 2024
Photo of mikeg67
Reviewed by mikeg67 from New Jersey

4.36/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
22 oz bottle. Pours hazy amber with tall, long lasting, fluffy white head and nice lacing. Aroma is of citrusy hops, caramel malt and tropical fruit. Body is full and tangy. Herbal, citrusy hops dominate the palate with caramel malt and tropical fruit provide support. Finish is long and dry. Sessions brews are so so from this brewery but strong beers are great.
Oct 22, 2018
Photo of craftaholic
Reviewed by craftaholic from New York

4/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Looks like a pale ale. Smells like malts and pennies. Has a pillowy roasted mouthfeel from the sudsy bitter to the sweet finish. Bit entirely sure if I know what a proper ESB tastes like but I know I enjoyed this.
Apr 14, 2018
Photo of lovindahops
Rated by lovindahops from New York

3.74/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Hop profile was not what I was expecting (wanted Amarillo)
Dec 29, 2017
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

4.19/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
On tap at The Village Tavern in Geneseo, NY.

This one pours a nice rusted reddish-brown color, clear, with a small head, and tons of sticky and webby lacing down the glass.

Smells like grassy and flowery hops, slight diacetyl, bready malt, tea, and maybe even a little bit of oak.

I'm fairly sure Middle Ages uses Ringwood in a ton of their beers, and it kinda shows here. There's a very slight and subtle buttery character. It's kinda distracting, but it also does kind of add a nice smoothness to the beer. This is fairly hoppy, and quite bitter, with floral hops galore. There's some slight fruit flavor, and a firm malt backbone, bready but not sweet.

This is medium bodied, rich and full, with a good level of carbonation.

This is definitely one of Middle Ages' best beers. Not perfect, but pretty nice.
Feb 20, 2017
 
Rated: 2.74 by ER527 from New York

Feb 18, 2016
 
Rated: 4.1 by AMCimpi from New York

Dec 26, 2015
 
Rated: 4.42 by Mineo from New York

Feb 23, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by FrankShirley from Massachusetts

May 29, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Cooker_stp from New York

Aug 19, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by BGsWo22 from Texas

Mar 20, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by JohnQVD from New York

Mar 17, 2013
 
Photo of Lawl3ss
Reviewed by Lawl3ss from Texas

4.23/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
(from notes)

Tried this on cask at J. Ryan's- omit the apostrophe here on the archive.

Look- Arrived at the table looking like rosy maple syrup without any visible carbonation and a finger or so of tight white foam that settled to a thin film fairly quickly. Left the inside of the glass completely coated with a dense lather that fell into streakier legs as the pint emptied.

Smell- Pretty faint, especially considering the temperature it was served at. I got a hint of orange peel and light flowery and oaky notes. Agitation didn't produce any discernable changes.

Taste- Woody and the tiniest bit sweet, with pine and apricot undertones. Finished with a light biscuit/toffee. Aftertaste wass mild and flowery. Quite good.

Mouthfeel- Starts crisp without being sharp, light to medium body and lightly carbonated. Warming and smooth through the finish, with some dryness afterward. Spot-on for the style.

Overall- Just the right balance of refreshing and fortifying, this beer is outstandingly understated. It might be just me, but it also seemed profoundly "English", much more so than the few other American- made real ale bitters I've tried. The brewers also did a masterful job of hiding the 6.5% ABV, it drinks like the traditional 3-4 and I'd happily put back a few more. Unfortunately, it's not available in bottles or I'd snag a few.
Jan 13, 2012
Photo of tempest
Reviewed by tempest from New York

4.1/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Had an imperial pint on cask at the Blue Tusk, though it went by the name "Celtic Bitter" since it's right around St. Paddy's day. I wasn't sure what to expect but this was fantastic, not quite like any other cask beer I've had. I was surprised to find it was 6.5% as the body was thinner than most beers, even on cask, at that strength. Still, this only seemed to make it more drinkable.

The beer itself was a mix of mellow biscuit and cracker grains with a big hit of grapefruit and grassy tangerine hops on. The effect was full flavor up front and dry, biting rind and pepper bitter - a heck of a kick. Find this beer.
Mar 26, 2011
Photo of Stimack
Reviewed by Stimack from New York

4.3/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Was able to give this brew a try last evening on cask while visiting Mahars. Brew was pulled to a very nice golden color with some darker highlights. Good sized light tan head that left a good amount of lacing. The aroma has a nice mix of both malt and hops as it gives off slight flowery and fruit like smell. Also a very slight butter like smell but is well hidden behind the other aromas and mixes well. The flavor is very nice, hop flavor really shines not because it is big but because the flavor that it does give off is extremely nice. While the hop presence is what really makes this beer for me the malt flavors that are present are very good and play the perfect accompaniment. Brew has a nice feel as the hop end lingers and the feel of the beer itself is quite creamy. I must say that I really liked this brew, very easy drinking and what I liked is that it is not trying to be something it is not. I like this type of brew and wish it could become a everyday offering but I might be in the minority.
Feb 26, 2009
Photo of WesWes
Reviewed by WesWes from New York

4.25/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
The beer pours a dark golden color with a thick frothy white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a nice malt scent that boasts of pale and light crystal malts along with a mild hop bitterness and fruity yeast esters. The esters really drown out the hop aroma. The taste is great! It has the perfect balance of malts and hops. It's light with just the right amount of specialty malts. It goes down easy and finishes clean with a bold hop flavor. The yeast character is there, but not as oppressive as in the aroma. The mouthfeel is awesome. It's a low/medium bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a very good English bitter. It's everything I wished the English versions would be.
Jan 17, 2009
Photo of aerozeppl
Reviewed by aerozeppl from New York

4.09/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Had this on tap at Mahar's back in Dec I think. From notes.

A: Nice deep amber color with 2 fingers of white head. Some lacing.

S: Great smell of malt and hops from this beer. Definitely the strongest point of this beer. Also a slightly earthy tone towards the end.

T: A hoppy bitter would be a good way to describe this beer. The hops are a little bit flowery and a little bit citrusy. It finishes bitter which brings it back to the style.

M: Nice full creamy body. Very creamy in fact.

D: They ran out of this beer quickly and I can see why. I think they killed the keg in two days. Next time I went it was gone. Great beer though.
Feb 10, 2008
Photo of williamherbert
Reviewed by williamherbert from New York

4.17/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Got this 2 days after Christmas 2007 at Middle Ages' tasting room in a growler.

The look is a big puffy white head. Clear light orange color; transparent. Nice hue. A few tiny bubbles float up. Looks thirst-quenching. Nice lacing.

The first smell is a heavy ringwood yeast. Bitter, flowery hops. A woody, flowery kind of bitter flavor. Definitely NOT an IPA style. Has an extra hint of mild oak toward the end.

The taste, again, is heavy yeast. A bitter (like the Middle Ages Beast Bitter) but much more flowery than usual. Hops are bitter but also flowery/grassy. Hint of perfume in the flavor. As it warms, the hops turn to a bitter grapefruit. Definitely more bitter toward the end.

Feels thick and ashy. Full-bodied and creamy. Leaves a film. This is a terrific, substantial brew. Bitter, grassy, sweet, complex.
Jan 13, 2008
Boxing Day Bitter from Middle Ages Brewing Co., Ltd.
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 21 ratings