#12EssexBeersofChristmas The Fifth Day

The Twelve Essex Beers of Christmas

On the Fifth Day of Christmas my true love sent to me ...

I'm sure you all know the rhyme, and as today is the Fifth Day of Christmas you can probably guess the name of the beer I have for today. Interestingly there were two beers brewed in England this year called "Five Gold Rings" and both of these were brewed in Essex for the festive period.

One of these was brewed at Brentwood Brewery, and featured as their '5th Beer of Christmas' on the 16th December. It was a 5.0% semi-lagered pilsner-style beer but it didn't come in bottles, so I'm afraid that this isn't the beer I've chosen for tonight. Brentwood will of course feature in this Yuletide dozen, but you'll have to wait for another day for that.

For those of you familiar with Essex beer you will have guessed that tonight's beer is ...

The Fifth Day:
Maldon Brewing Company - Five Gold Rings 3.8%

A bottle-conditioned beer (sporting the 'CAMRA says this is real ale' badge on the label) it's described as a "very pale golden ale" which it certainly is, in fact you might even say it looked golden. Brewed with US Nugget hops, it has a honey-sweet mango and peach aroma that dominates here but I'm picking up an awful lot of pale malt underneath as well. It's rather thin and as washed out as the colour of it initially and I'm fooled into thinking that there isn't much to this beer, however some barley sugar notes herald the arrival of the honeyed mango and lychee sweetness, and while this isn't a hugely flavoured beer there's enough here to retain interest. The finish, if anything, is more intense than the main body of the beer and fills the mouth pleasantly with more of the same for some time. It is certainly a beer that I could easily see myself having two or three of on an evening out, or even an afternoon given its low abv, and as it's a seasonal I'll try and test that theory next year if not before.

If you'd like to know more about Maldon Brewing Company (Farmer's Ales) and their beers you can do so by following this link. Alternatively you can visit their micro-pub, the Farmer's Yard at 140 High Street, Maldon. Essex that I wrote a piece about here.