Nollaig (Christmas Spruce Beer)
Williams Brothers Brewing Company

Nollaig (Christmas Spruce Beer)Nollaig (Christmas Spruce Beer)
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From:
Williams Brothers Brewing Company
 
Scotland, United Kingdom
Style:
Herb and Spice Beer
ABV:
7%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.78 | pDev: 12.43%
Ratings:
15 | reviews: 6
Status:
Inactive
Rated:
Jan 25, 2021
Added:
Jan 01, 2012
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
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Rated: 4.38 by sorsh_a_ghlinne from Scotland

Jan 25, 2021
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Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

3.6/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
L- Darker chestnut, clear, pours with 5mm white head that's slowly reducing to lacing.
S- Distinctly aromatic, almost quite fruity-rich, hard to pin down at this point (ignoring labelling cues).
T- The fruity element continues, it reminds me of sweet cherries, that then heads into solid rich hoppiness.
F- It is rich, it has sweet notes, but I get a zing from the 7.0% too.
O- It's labelled a Winter Ale, and I'd agree, it's quite deep and intense. the flip-side is I might struggle to enjoy this during summer. I expected some kind of piney/conifer aspect, but seemed to have found cherries instead.
BB: 05/2020, 330ml bottle, bought from BeerOfEurope in the UK.
Apr 28, 2019
Photo of Hanglow
Reviewed by Hanglow from Scotland

3.66/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Pours amber, clear, rocky head
Definitely pine, spruce in aroma, some toast too.
Taste similar, oily big body, fair bit of sweetness.

An oddity, good though
Dec 09, 2017
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Reviewed by stcules from Italy

3.49/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Dark amber, clean appearance. Almost white foam, one finger.
At the smell piney/resinous notes. Quite fresh and peculiar.
Same notes in the taste, green and fresh. Background maltiness. Interesting.
Average body, well hidden alcohol, quite long green pine aftertaste.
Oct 17, 2017
 
Rated: 4.35 by Schmoog from Scotland

Jan 01, 2016
 
Rated: 2.82 by Jugs_McGhee from Texas

Sep 12, 2015
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Reviewed by flyingpig from Scotland

4.36/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
1 litre bottle as a Christmas Present:
This one was a truly excellent Christmas beer from Williams Brothers, the beer is up there with the best of the seasonal offerings I have tried and really went down a treat. There was a tonne of hops and plenty of fruity, bitter flavours that surprised me at just how good it was, I'll definitely be on the look out for this one again next year.
Jan 05, 2015
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Rated by UniversitateaDeBere from Romania

4.15/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
A true Christmas beer, good job!
Dec 18, 2014
 
Rated: 3.86 by Burnerdale from Italy

Dec 05, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Sep 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Ciocanelu from Romania

Dec 24, 2013
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Reviewed by dcmchew from Romania

4.12/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Pours ruby/copper, mine had just a bit of foam lacing though. Almost flat, also.
Clear smell of hops, citrus, spruce, vanilla, flowers and biscuits.
A big "green" beer. Hops are strong, providing lots of citrus and green notes (big grapefruit, some exotic fruit and peach). The pine notes are definitely enhanced by the spruce. Malts are just sweet enough, and there's a nice spicy feel throughout, with some clear vanilla and pepper. Finish is mainly hoppy, with a more than mild bitterness.
Mouthfeel is a bit buttery, low carbonation. Alcohol warm. Finish pretty dry. Hoppy aftertaste, as expected.
Somehow the hops seem to cover up much of the added spruce, going a bit too close to an IPA/APA. Maybe some less aromatic ones would have helped. Still, it's there and it's a nice "festive flavour".
Dec 24, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by Kirk from England

Jun 23, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by ygtbsm94 from Utah

Apr 28, 2012
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Reviewed by thepeter from England

3.92/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
"A festive Beer Brewed with Christmas Trees"
Pours dark hazy copper with a decent but thin head. Smells of spruce, hops and hint of spice adn malt sweetness. The taste is just as it smells with even more Christmas tree and a bit overly bitter on the back end. Palate is medium with good carbonation. Overall a good beer that delivers on flavor and Christmas
Jan 01, 2012