Thursday 31 December 2015

12 Beers Of Xmas Day 12 - Baltic Trader

So here we are.  The last of my @BeerOClockShow #12BeersOfXmas.  I am back in the UK with a beer from a brewery I know very little about.  Green Jack are probably the most easterly brewery in the UK as they are based in Lowestoft where they have been brewing since 2009.  They are also the winner of one or two categories in the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain in the past few years too I think.  Their best bitter Trawlerboys certainly won the Best Bitter category in 2012.  

This particular beer, Baltic Trader, grabbed my attention when placing an order at Beers of Europe and it cost £8.49.  A 10.5% ABV Russian Imperial Stout in a 750ml bottle sounded just like what I was hoping for to complete my #12BeersOfXmas.  It's a gamble as I know nothing about this beer and I can only remember having one or two beers from Green Jack in a Wetherspoons quite a few years ago and neither stood out from what I can remember.  I even had my wife moaning about choosing another imperial stout as she normally hates them.  Oh well.  Here goes.


It poured a nice thick black with a small whitish head.  The aroma wasn't overwhelming but it did give off hints of what might be to come with a boozy, chocolatey whiff.  First surprise of the evening was my wife loving it.  She said there were good chocolatey notes with only a hint of smokiness in the finish.  She said I would love it and boy was she right.  This is a stupendous stout.  A nice bittersweet balance, plenty of chocolate and coffee notes with hints of vanilla too which I always love from a stout.  There is a great booziness to it too as you would expect from a beer of this strength.  

I was going to give my top three beers of my festive dozen at this point but it would be unfair to pick out just three as I would say so many of them hit the spot for me.  This one is certainly up there with the best of them.  

Happy New Year to everyone.  Don't forget though that in January brewers continue to brew and pubs are open so LET'S DRINK JANUARY DRY.  

Cheers.

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