Wychwood Bah Humbug Christmas Cheer Ale. $3.50, LCBO

   

  Before I get into this beer, I want to talk about Wychwood Breweries. In my humble opinion, Wychwood is one of the most complete companies in the industry. They never take a beer off, never roll out a Bud Light carbon copy to make sales. Every beer is a well crafted, well designed, flavour forward pleasure. I implore you to visit the website www.wychwood.co.uk. Not only is it well designed, but there is some seriously informative content, and the artwork is fantastic. On to the Brew!
      Bah Humbug is a seasonal beer, brewed for release in November and just in time for Christmas. The bottle depicts Charles Dickens' Scrooge, with the ghosts of Christmas Past and Future over his shoulders. All of the Wychwood artwork reminds me of older illustrations of The Lord of the Rings, and that's just fine with me!
       It pours a dark caramel colour, with a glowing ruby hue when held up to the light. There is little active carbonation, and about a finger of off white, grainy head that recedes to an uneven, but thin cap. The smell is roasty malt, molasses, and very fruity with a slightly floral twist, and a sweet leathery undertone. The body is typical, quality English Ruby Ale, reminiscent of Hobgoblin or Bombardier. Sweet and roasty malt, cereal grain, but the finish is impossibly complex without being overly bitter or cloying. What cinnamon is there tastes of sweet, quality sticks, not the cheap, bitter powder sold cheap in the grocery store. It feels like the hops and cinnamon are battling each other, but instead of being exponentially bitter, they actually work together to create a deep, complex and dry bitterness. (The effect reminds me of making chili, when you cook down multiple spices to a deep, meaty spicyness, not a blazing hot sauce inferno) The spicy and dry finish is quite nice, and you almost get away without noticing the cinnamon at all, which is great for me.  The light carbonation quickly gives way to a medium weight and an oily length. The depth of palate along with the complex finish makes this a nice calm, sip-able beer to ponder on a quiet winters' eve.
      I really like this beer, the festive theme, and the legacy that comes in every Wychwood bottle. As with all of their beers, the bottle is a lot of fun but the beer inside is all business. Crafted to be good, not gimmick, Bah Humbug gets 7/10 pints from me!