Advent Beer 23: Clootie Dumpling

Yesterday's advent beer was sampled in sub-optimal conditions; eaten with supper between arriving home from work and departing into a winter storm on our way to Rocky Mountain House.

Here's what I can tell you about the beer: it comes from a brewery in the Orkney Islands off Scotland, and Clootie Dumpling refers to a type of dessert pudding native to those parts made with breadcrumbs and dried fruit. "Cloot" is actually a reference to cloth, as per the admonition to not remove layers of warm clothing until after May, or, as they might say in the Orkneys, "ne'er cast a cloot til Mey's oot". Boy, you can't argue with that, can you?

It pours a festive amber with a bit of head but nothing too expansive or long lasting. Scents of light malts, and sweet fruits come through in the aromas.

On the palate, there are hints of ginger and cinnamon and other spices. Clootie Dumpling is sweet, but not like a dessert beer of high alcohol number. In fact, at 4.3%, it is astonishing to me that they would market this beer as a winter warmer, but it is well balanced, tasty and fresh, and a delicious accompaniment to pizza wolfed down before hitting the open road.