Another Christmas beer from Ridgeway tonight: Santa’s Butt. The name is a play on the old porter designation ‘entire butt’.
Santa’s Butt is dark and thick, and smells surprisingly sweet. I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. Seriously, it is a deep chocolate with hint of caramel. The head is sticky but the bubbles are large so it doesn’t last long and it’s a bit swiss-cheesy. The nose is a bit sweet, with strong roast malts which come out as coffee and baking chocolate. There’s a bit of a fruitiness as well, like gumballs.
Coffee and dark caramelized sugar (almost burnt) tastes come out from the roast malt right away. A light bitterness balances the flavor: it ends up quite mild. The palate is full and rich. It lingers just a little, though, so it ends up a bit too intense for a flavor this mild. Perhaps that would be a bit better colder.
Santa’s Butt
3.2 (3-6-7-3-13)