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Santa's Butt
Ridgeway Brewing
- From:
- Ridgeway Brewing
- England, United Kingdom
- Style:
- English Porter
Ranked #115 - ABV:
- 6%
- Score:
- 78
Ranked #27,014 - Avg:
- 3.4 | pDev: 14.41%
- Reviews:
- 294
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 26, 2024
- Added:
- Nov 25, 2004
- Wants:
- 10
- Gots:
- 32
This special holiday porter is made for winter - rich and warming, the way they like it at the North Pole. It was inspired by this famous line from a well-loved children's storybook: "And Santa sat on his great butt, enjoying a hardy brew..." In case you find that amusing, the brewer hastens to point out that "butt" refers to a certain sized barrel customarily used for beer. Still snickering, eh? Get your mind out of the gutter, or Santa will be skipping your home entirely this year.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by woodychandler:
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania
4.06/5 rDev +19.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.06/5 rDev +19.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
I am continuing my 2017 Christmas in July celebration, inspired by the good peeps at The FGBS who held Christmas in July on Tuesday. I had meant to drink these on Christmas day 2016, but I got rather blotto early on & set them aside as part of The Bottle Backlog at Chez Woody. Today, 28 July 2017, marks the 16th year of my Pops' passing & so I wanted to drink something a little cheerful to boost my spirits.
From the bottle: "One of our range of very special Christmas beers brewed in England for the USA. We all know of course, that Santa is really from Lapland!"; "This special holiday porter is made for winter - rich and warming , the way they like it at the North Pole. It was inspired by this famous line from a well-loved children's storybook: 'And Santa sat on his great butt, enjoying a hardy brew ...' In case you find that amusing, the brewer hastens to point out that in England, 'butt' refers to a certain sized barrel customarily used for beer - a very large barrel, in fact, holding 108 Imperial gallons. Back in the day it was quite a normal thing for a brewery to put its beer up in a large butt for storage. Still snickering, eh? Ge your mind out of the gutter, or Santa will be skipping your house entirely this year."
I could barely restrain my excitement upon Pop!ping the cap. The previous beer from this series was kind of lackluster, but I am always up for a Porter! They tend to be more flavorful & receptive to adjuncts than Stouts + I just wanted to taste Santa's Butt. 8=O My slow, gentle pour was followed by a vigorous, in-glass swirl which raised a finger of foamy, light-tan head with moderate retention, slowly falling back to wisps. Color was Dark Brown to Very Dark Brown (SRM = > 27, < 34) with NE-quality clarity & garnet highlights. Nose smelled of black coffee, dark chocolate, raisins & vanilla + a light woodiness (was this bbl.-aged?). Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was more like chocolate pudding than anything else, but with raisins & washed down with black coffee. I am now inspired to try this at home. My, but this was tasty! Finish was semi-sweet with the chocolate flavor leading the way, but it was offset by the back coffee & raisin flavors to the point that I would not argue with semi-dry. Either way, this was quite nice & if it were cooler out, I might mull it in a double-boiler just to see what happens.
Jul 29, 2017From the bottle: "One of our range of very special Christmas beers brewed in England for the USA. We all know of course, that Santa is really from Lapland!"; "This special holiday porter is made for winter - rich and warming , the way they like it at the North Pole. It was inspired by this famous line from a well-loved children's storybook: 'And Santa sat on his great butt, enjoying a hardy brew ...' In case you find that amusing, the brewer hastens to point out that in England, 'butt' refers to a certain sized barrel customarily used for beer - a very large barrel, in fact, holding 108 Imperial gallons. Back in the day it was quite a normal thing for a brewery to put its beer up in a large butt for storage. Still snickering, eh? Ge your mind out of the gutter, or Santa will be skipping your house entirely this year."
I could barely restrain my excitement upon Pop!ping the cap. The previous beer from this series was kind of lackluster, but I am always up for a Porter! They tend to be more flavorful & receptive to adjuncts than Stouts + I just wanted to taste Santa's Butt. 8=O My slow, gentle pour was followed by a vigorous, in-glass swirl which raised a finger of foamy, light-tan head with moderate retention, slowly falling back to wisps. Color was Dark Brown to Very Dark Brown (SRM = > 27, < 34) with NE-quality clarity & garnet highlights. Nose smelled of black coffee, dark chocolate, raisins & vanilla + a light woodiness (was this bbl.-aged?). Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was more like chocolate pudding than anything else, but with raisins & washed down with black coffee. I am now inspired to try this at home. My, but this was tasty! Finish was semi-sweet with the chocolate flavor leading the way, but it was offset by the back coffee & raisin flavors to the point that I would not argue with semi-dry. Either way, this was quite nice & if it were cooler out, I might mull it in a double-boiler just to see what happens.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by cheeseheadinMinneapolis from Wisconsin
3.71/5 rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.71/5 rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
500ml bottle stamped L25 167
Look: transparent light brown body with a Ok head
Smell: roast, chocolate smells slightly sweet
taste : roast, chocolate, slightly sweet at first but turns bitter rather quickly. I'm getting a rye spice towards the finish.
This beer is ok but nothing special.
Dec 16, 2023Look: transparent light brown body with a Ok head
Smell: roast, chocolate smells slightly sweet
taste : roast, chocolate, slightly sweet at first but turns bitter rather quickly. I'm getting a rye spice towards the finish.
This beer is ok but nothing special.
Reviewed by jngrizzaffi from Texas
3.71/5 rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.71/5 rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Pours a pitch black color with a small foamy head. Head retention is minimal. Lacing is very mild. Roasted Java aroma and taste. Slight chocolate and very slight licorice at the end of the taste. Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Dec 10, 2023Reviewed by jkblr from Indiana
3.55/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.55/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
500mL bottle stamped L24 196 poured into a nonic pint glass at fridge temp 6% ABV. The beer pours bright dark brown with chestnut highlights and dark khaki colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. Slight lacing. The aroma is mild with toasted & roasted malt. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with with earthy, tangy notes. Moderate bitterness. Mouthfeel is thin bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, ok.
May 28, 2023Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway
3.52/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.52/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
500 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6%. Mahogany colour, moderate beige head. Moderate aroma of medium dark malts, chocolate and vanilla. Moderately roasty and nice flavour, notes of chocolate, raisins and fruit cake. Can’t blame Santa for sitting on his butt and enjoying this one.
Jan 07, 2022Reviewed by Sabtos from Ohio
4.07/5 rDev +19.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.07/5 rDev +19.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Cola reddish-brown, almost darkly opaque but actually clear when held up to light, with a tall khaki head settling to a thin but creamy tan blanket that retains well.
Pleasantly mild and chocolatey with a tobacco roast, Santa's Butt actually has a light semi-bitter woody tang, and also a bit of sweet yet toasted brown malt.
It at times reminds me of Samuel Smith's Chocolate or Oatmeal stouts, but for a bit of herbal spice that I can't quite put my finger on. It's an almost gingerbread character, but very faint.
Jan 03, 2021Pleasantly mild and chocolatey with a tobacco roast, Santa's Butt actually has a light semi-bitter woody tang, and also a bit of sweet yet toasted brown malt.
It at times reminds me of Samuel Smith's Chocolate or Oatmeal stouts, but for a bit of herbal spice that I can't quite put my finger on. It's an almost gingerbread character, but very faint.
Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas
3.4/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.4/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a bottle into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a dark brown color with a one finger head of tan colored foam. The head fades fast, leaving just a trace of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is rather strong of a brown bread and caramel aroma. Along with these smells comes a little bit of a toasted and roasted malt smell as well as a decent bit of molasses. Along with these smells comes a bit of nut and a touch of cocoa.
Taste – The taste begins with a toasted and roasted malt flavor mixed with a decent showing of some sweeter molasses. Along with these tastes comes a bit of cocoa and a bit of nut. The nuttiness gets stronger as the taste advances, with a bit more molasses and some more toast and a bit of roasted oat coming to the tongue, one is left with a toasty and roasted, lightly sweetened but more malty taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is medium in thickness and creaminess with a carbonation level that is on the moderate side. For the style the feel is good and makes for a nice roasty sipper.
Overall – A decent roasty porter. Nothing out of the ordinary, but fun to try none the less.
Dec 31, 2020Appearance – The beer pours a dark brown color with a one finger head of tan colored foam. The head fades fast, leaving just a trace of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is rather strong of a brown bread and caramel aroma. Along with these smells comes a little bit of a toasted and roasted malt smell as well as a decent bit of molasses. Along with these smells comes a bit of nut and a touch of cocoa.
Taste – The taste begins with a toasted and roasted malt flavor mixed with a decent showing of some sweeter molasses. Along with these tastes comes a bit of cocoa and a bit of nut. The nuttiness gets stronger as the taste advances, with a bit more molasses and some more toast and a bit of roasted oat coming to the tongue, one is left with a toasty and roasted, lightly sweetened but more malty taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is medium in thickness and creaminess with a carbonation level that is on the moderate side. For the style the feel is good and makes for a nice roasty sipper.
Overall – A decent roasty porter. Nothing out of the ordinary, but fun to try none the less.
Reviewed by puck1225 from Texas
3.92/5 rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.92/5 rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
I found this beer quite enjoyable and festive. Poured from a bottle into a tulip glass. Clear dark brown color with good beige head and good lacing. Sweet spicy smell and taste. Rye spice and warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. A bit thin feel but overall this is a nice warming beer for the season.
Dec 14, 2020Reviewed by spectru from Florida
3.35/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.35/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
12/11/2020 Dark (It's a porter), light tan head, big at first, recedes, but not too fast to a nice film, lacy; Not much aroma; Mild slightly chocolatey flavor; Mild carbonation, not unlike some other porters and stouts; Not too bad if only it had better carbonation.
Dec 11, 2020
Santa's Butt from Ridgeway Brewing
Beer rating:
78 out of
100 with
509 ratings
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