Rudolph's Revenge Winter Ale (6%)
The Great Yorkshire Brewery

Rudolph's Revenge Winter Ale (6%)Rudolph's Revenge Winter Ale (6%)
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From:
The Great Yorkshire Brewery
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
Winter Warmer
ABV:
6%
Score:
73
Avg:
3.04 | pDev: 22.7%
Reviews:
59
Ratings:
65
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 22, 2018
Added:
Dec 03, 2001
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
Bottle Notes:
A dark bitter, using finest Cascade and a Styrian Goldings hops and English malt providing a unique hoppy beer with a fruity aftertaste.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by soultrain:
Photo of soultrain
Reviewed by soultrain from New York

4.1/5  rDev +34.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured into a Schlitz chalice.

A-Dark amber brown silty appearance, 2" creamy unbleached titanium white head, amply carbonation obvious and streaming. Some chunkage. Some lacing. Muddy water comes to mind, but it's appealing in a Mississippi Huck Finn sorta way, even though this beer is English....
S-Cascade hops are in the house, so I'm psyched.
T-Chalky sour bitterness, but in a real good way, Cascade hops, mild fruit, just like it says on the bottle. Truth in advertising. This bottle conditioned ale has been hiding in the back of the DBF since the holidays, and if I knew it was gonna be this good, i'd have killed it off long ago. Really crisp and astringent. Perfect after 3 hours of mixing concrete, really washes the dust outta your mouth, and placates an overbeating heart. Would I get this again? sure, why not...it's a bitter refresher! (Usually I expect winter warmers to have some spice content; this one doesn't, maybe that's why I like it so much.) I could see how some wouldn't appreciate this chalky/ bitter brew, but I'm diggin' it immensely.
M-Mouthfeel is light/medium, and pretty intwined with the chalky bitterness of the taste....this beer is well made.
D-If I had another one, I'd lash it down with the quickness...

CRUX: NICE HOPPY BITTER BREW. Wasn't expecting such a good brew out of a bottle with such silly graphic cartoon design on it. Good winter ale year round.
Apr 28, 2006
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.32 by Curt3 from Ohio

Dec 22, 2018
Photo of rbloomberg3
Rated by rbloomberg3 from England

2.21/5  rDev -27.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2
Rudolphs revenge was on me clearly. Not a fan, overpowering taste in this. Far nicer festive ales out there.
Apr 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by Hopheadjeffery from Illinois

Jul 08, 2013
 
Rated: 1.5 by BGsWo22 from Texas

Mar 20, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by cliff1066 from Virginia

Dec 27, 2012
Photo of Knapp85
Reviewed by Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

1.98/5  rDev -34.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2
When I had this brew I was not a fan of it. I would very much like to revisit this beer. Especially after reading reviews on here about how aging it would make it better. I had a fresh bottle so I would really like to have a vintage one sometime in the future. All I really remember from this beer was that it was quite Sour. I think the aging would mellow this brew out a bit which may make it a lot more enjoyable.
Mar 20, 2011
Photo of bort11
Reviewed by bort11 from Missouri

3.06/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
My wife got this for me as a stocking stuffer. Beery Christmas!

500 ml bottle poured into an imperial pint glass. Tall cottony off white head. Pretty good stickage with this one. Color is a dark red with some clarity. Pretty active carbonation.

Smell is a bit odd. It's sour and tart, but almost like fruit gone bad. A littler vinegary. Taste is also sour and fruity. Some of that must be from the yeast.

Carbonation is a little harsh. The bubbles are a little too scrubbing for my taste.
Dec 25, 2008
Photo of Drewcifer
Reviewed by Drewcifer from Pennsylvania

2.71/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
Pours a brown color with some orange hue to it. Very little head, comes down to a nice little foam ring.

Aroma is a little hoppy, but is mostly a sour, fruity scent. Hard to pick out a specific fruit, though.

Taste follows the smell - an overpowering sour, slightly bitter fruit taste, a little bit of cherry. A slight malt taste as well.

The mouthfeel is a nice, decently carbonated, finishes a little dry, but overall good.

Overall, it's an okay beer. The taste is a bit off-putting, and I wonder if they may have just had a bad batch, because it doesn't taste anywhere near most Winter Warmers. I might pick one up again to see, because I think it has the potential to be a good brew. Hope it was just a bad year.
Feb 06, 2008
Photo of jeffmonarch
Reviewed by jeffmonarch from Maryland

1.63/5  rDev -46.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1
1 pt. 9 oz. bottle in a pint glass.

Be careful, this beer explodes in the glass. For the first inch of beer I got 4 inches of head.

A - Nice amber orange brown color with a really thick light tan head that stays for a while.

S - Strong hop and malt scents. Slight scent of spices but too faint to make out.

T - Where did this flavor come from. It's really sour with a slight tartness. It's like a unripened friut flavor. It's so strong you can't taste anything else.

M - Medium bodied with good carbonation.

D - Don't waste your time. I've read other reviews and this is either a bad batch that made it across the entire country or they actually brew it to taste like this. It's bad.
Jan 05, 2008
Photo of iceviper22
Reviewed by iceviper22 from Pennsylvania

2.65/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2
2007 Bottle from Winter Variety pack.

Pours a light brown to red hue with a large loose and bubbly white/tan head that last for a few minutes and dwidles down to a light foam ring. The smell is musty with a sour fruity aroma. Some slight hop smells noticable. The taste really caught me off gaurd on this one. It is intensly sour from beginning to end. It's hard to pick out any other flavors besides a sour cherry/fruity bitterness. There is pretty much carbonation to it also, making it even more harsh on the palate overall. I felt that overall, this was not a very drinkable brew to enjoy, living up to it's name.
Dec 30, 2007
Photo of CHADMC3
Reviewed by CHADMC3 from Connecticut

2.36/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Cropton Brewery Rudolph’s Revenge Winter Ale (6%)/2007

· Appearance: Medium brown to copper color, heavy carbonation leaves a big head with substantial lacing, very tan & frothy.
· Aroma: Obvious fruit bitterness, also spices and bready or biscuity scent.
· Taste: Dark or Tart/Sour fruit flavor, raspberry, cherry, etc. with some bitterness to follow. Not at all what I expected after smelling. Sour taste overwhelms most other flavors. I really had to search for other flavors, maybe some lights spice?
· Mouthfeel: Very carbonated and sour on the palate.
· Drinkability: One’s the limit for me. Great marketing though.
Dec 12, 2007
Photo of Gueuzedude
Reviewed by Gueuzedude from Arizona

2.7/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Pours with an almost two-finger thick, tan colored head that sits atop a dark, concentrated plum colored beer that shows a lightly hazy, bright cranberry color when held up to the light. As I pour this the aroma smells like concentrated fruit. Once I go in for a deeper draught of the aroma, I get that concentrated fruit note (raisins, orange peel & berry aromatics), but there is an almost more noticeable note that somehow reminds me of musky Brettanomyces. For the most part this funky aromatic note seems to fade after a short bit, but some slight mustiness remains. After opening up a bit the nose takes on notes of astringent burnt grain in the finish, notes of toasted malt, some light herbal hop character and even a touch of pine. After some extended sniffing, the bright, almost berry like fruitiness is the most noticed part of the aroma, but if you leave the aroma and come back to it the funkiness makes a full return.

Very dry tasting, and in fact even tart, this beer is definitely a bit more funky than it should be. Definitely some Brett has taken hold here, and maybe some souring bug as well. This is actually not half bad tasting, but is clearly not how it should taste. I find it unfortunate how unstable a small, but significant portion of British beers sent to the states (need to beef up on fermentation & packaging practices). Tastes like a cross between a tart plum, some moldy cotton balls, sour lemons, and an astringent musky hop bud.
Nov 14, 2007
Photo of Gusler
Reviewed by Gusler from Arizona

3.6/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
The beer after the pour from the 500ml bottle sits a clear deep amber to almost brown, the head is smallish and a creamy light tan in color, as it fades quickly, it leaves a thin to patchy coating of lace. Nose has a distinct rusty nail aroma, sweet malt and caramel, musty with a bit of clover, start is nicely malted, hints of spices, with the top light to medium. Finish has a personable acidity, the hops apparent, but not overly so, dry aftertaste, a drinkable beer, but seems a bit thin for a “Winter Warmer”.
Oct 27, 2007
Photo of BDTyre
Reviewed by BDTyre from Canada (BC)

4.23/5  rDev +39.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Nice brew that seems to go back and forth between an ESB and a winter warmer. Rich copper-mahogany colour with a very dense, towering head that quickly settles down but leaves a thick coat of foam on the glass.

Mellow bready and biscuit malts and a fruity, floral hop scent. A bit on the sour side.

Thick, malty flavour with a very well rounded hop profile. Almost tastes doughy. Hops are enough to prevent the malts from running away, but they don't make this too bitter.

Nice mouthfeel, very drinkable...doesn't come off as a 6% ABV. Almost sessionable, if it weren't so rich.
Sep 30, 2007
Photo of rajendra82
Reviewed by rajendra82 from Georgia

3.33/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Winter has come and gone in Georgia, and some of the Winter Warmers from 2006 were on sale the last time I was at my package store. At $1.95 a pint+, I couldn’t justify passing on Rudolph’s Revenge anymore, so I went ahead and got me a bottle. The pour was clear, and bubbly, with no cloudiness to provide evidence of the bottle conditioning mentioned on the label. A little pale for a Winter Warmer, this looked more like an American Amber. The smell was light and somewhere in the vicinity of malted milk balls, and orange marmalade. The start of each sip was hurt a bit by the sting of club soda like carbonation, but as I let that fizz over, and herbal bitterness followed by a tart sourness could be tasted. The dry mouthfeel and earthy and chalky aftertaste did not conceal the thinness of the body. The burps after drinking this fast were louder than the call of a Reindeer on a foggy Winter night. Over attenuated, but still enjoyable.
Mar 28, 2007
Photo of GClarkage
Reviewed by GClarkage from California

3.91/5  rDev +28.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
03/10/07- Purchased at Beverages and More on a close out special for a buck.

Presentation- 16.9oz bottle with no freshness dating. Is from the 2006 batch though. Poured into my imperial pint glass.

Appearance- Not quite brown, maybe a chestnut or deep auburn colored pour. 3/4 inch head in which a nice 1'4 inch remains for the entire brew. Very creamy looking head. Leaves behind very nice lace traces.

Smell- Really digging my nose in I got a bit of sweet malt and a bit of fruity hop notes. Maybe a dask of spices (nutmeg)

Taste- Didn't really taste any spices, but I got a nice flanders style tartness. Cherry, raspberry and fruitcake with a light caramel malt. Didn't notice the hops until the aftertaste. They come through then and are reasonably bitter.

Mouthfeel- Nice carbonation level, not really creamy, but very easy to sip.

Drinkability- Glad I tried this one. Good price and a tasty brew.
Mar 10, 2007
Photo of afordney
Reviewed by afordney from Tennessee

3.33/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
deep red in color, very clear, tight bubbles in a relatively thin head maintained for a little while.

I could smell the hops as I poured it, very strong and fruity

Hits bitterness at the beginning with a little fruity flavors developing, a bit of alcohol throughout

very hoppy and bitter from first sip to last. The alcohol lingers for quite some time.

Very fruity, a pretty good winter beer.
Mar 05, 2007
Photo of cabsandking
Reviewed by cabsandking from Ohio

2.72/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1.5
Pours a cloudy orangish brown with a minimal off white head that's nearly gone in less than twenty seconds. Nice floral hop nose matched by sweet malt, plum, and ripe fruit. The first sip displays some interesting tart fruit backbone and is followed by yeasty notes, and hop bitterness that really kicks in the pucker effect. More vinous character, roasted malt, and dark bitter chocolate notes here and there. Tartness starts strong in the finish but gives way to dry, bitter, smokey tones. Medium body and semi-smooth mouthfeel has some nice carbonated fizz. Not a bad tasting beer, I’m just not sure where they were taking it as all of the flavors were disconnected.
Feb 07, 2007
Rudolph's Revenge Winter Ale (6%) from The Great Yorkshire Brewery
Beer rating: 73 out of 100 with 65 ratings