MARVERINE COLE
Celebratory brews and low-alcohol beers are ideal for the festive season, says our columnist
Beers for toasting Christmas and beyond
Last year, my holidays were spent fighting the flu and a fever through Christmas Eve and into the big day. After our morning limp from the bed to the sofa, my hubby and I lolled about with tissues and nasal sprays.
The Muppet Christmas Carol and Elf on rotation kept spirits up to a point, but medication, minus beer and long-overdue meet-ups with friends and families, equalled peak frustration.
If we’re able to gather together this year, there’s the age-old issue of the best libation to offer the designated drivers. But, it may also apply to you or another family member who doesn’t drink alcohol, or prefers a low-alcohol option. My eldest brother, Tony, is usually the one to fetch and drop off my mum and other brother for the afternoon, so if we can have our normal get-together, I’d like to give him something better than lemonade – he’s also a beer fan, so that doesn’t quite cut it. This year, after tasting an array of low- and zero-alcohol beers, I may well have found a solution. Smashed
Lager (£1.99 for 330ml bottle, Booths, or £22.50 for 12 x 330ml bottles or cans, drynks.store) did an exceptionally good job of fooling me. It tastes like a regular lager, but is 0% ABV
– the alcohol is removed during a vacuum distillation process. I reckon this one will definitely raise a grin from the kind person doing all the ferrying around.
The Coles and Duffys (my husband’s surname) are a happy fusion of Jamaican heritage and Catholic faith. Family togetherness is what makes us tick. Turkey and all the trimmings are on the table for Christmas Day lunch, while lilting jazz sounds or choral music waft around to help set the perfect mood. When it comes to the fizz to pair with the main meal, have you ever considered beer? There’s one we adore, and I think it will really surprise you if you give it a whirl yourself this year. At 11.5% ABV,
Deus Brut des Flandres delivers tiny golden bubbles that demand to be poured into a fluted glass (£21.70 for 750ml, beermerchants. com). Brewed by Brouwerij Bosteels in Belgium, it offers exactly what you’d expect from a well-matured Belgian beer. After brewing, it’s then shipped to France for the dégorgement process. The end result? A bottle with delightful notes of pear and pineapple on the nose, and a spicy, biscuity, rich and sweet flavour, making it a perfect aperitif or complement to your main feast. Last year, I really missed my usual nips of temptation – or should
I say, Temptation. This majestic 10% ABV Russian stout from Durham Brewery (£30.50 for six 500ml bottles, durhambrewery. com) can only be summed up as ‘seductive’. It might look like Guinness, but alongside a light smokiness, there’s a heady surprise: liqueur-like sweet raisin and liquorice flavours ooze out and linger on your tongue. In some respects, Temptation is akin to a fine ruby port. So this year, we’ll be enjoying a tot or two of this as we sit by the fire on the evening of Christmas Day, nibbling on a more than generous slice of Mummy Cole’s Jamaican fruitcake.
Like you, I sincerely hope that after the myriad challenges we have all faced, we’re able to spend quality time with our loved ones. We will all be remembering those we have lost this year, while creating new memories around the extraordinary start to this new decade, and hoping for a peaceful New Year.
Marverine Cole is an accredited beer sommelier, broadcaster and journalist who’s won several awards. She’s a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers, and has collaborated with breweries on her own beers. She’s conducted tastings on ITV’S
This Morning, and extolled the virtues of Britain’s national drink on various BBC shows. She can usually be found in a pub somewhere in the West Midlands. marverinecole.co.uk
@Beerbeauty @Tvmarv
When it comes to the fizz to pair with the main meal, have you ever considered beer? I think it will surprise you if you give it a whirl