Sleeping Giant Krampus Christmas Ale (7.6%)
Sleeping Giant is a brewery located in Thunder bay, Ontario, with whish I have had only limited contact. What beers I have sampled, however, have been pretty good, including a pair of their core beers, a golden ale rather mischievously called Northern Logger – perhaps an homage of some sort to Northern Breweries, the company that once dominated draught beer sales in the province’s north – and the delightfully dry-hopped Mr. Canoehead.
So when I saw their Christmas ale in the LCBO, I was intrigued, and not just by the typically eye-catching graphics on the can. I bought a few and sat down with each on different occasions, as is my habit when I review things here.
Krampus is billed by the brewery as a barleywine, which makes it, at 7.6% alcohol, relatively low strength for North America and, in fact, more in line with what one might expect of the original UK version of the style. (The once-great English standard-bearer for the style, Young’s Old Nick, came in at about the same strength.) It also has listed among its ingredients fenugreek and oak, the latter presumably in the form of staves added for conditioning.
Although unfiltered, after resting in the fridge for a few days it pours an almost entirely clear ruby amber colour. On the nose there is first dark stewed fruit, mostly plums and raisins, followed quickly by caramel and a whiff of oaky vanilla.
The start of the flavour experience is very much reminiscent of the aroma, with fruit and vanilla-ish caramel accompanied by hints of burnt sugar and something slightly spicy, perhaps the impact of the fenugreek. On the mid-palate, however, the hops kick in to add a not inconsiderable, leafy-woody bitterness to the profile, offset but not quite fully balanced by toffee notes. The alcohol shows itself in the second half, and were it not for the bitterness that continues to rise and eventually dominate the finish, would make for a most soothing experience.
On the whole, this is a very well-conceived Christmas ale, with English maltiness and more New World-style hopping. I only wish that the latter effect was a bit less pronounced in the finish, so that more of the luscious nature of the beer could be fully savoured.
87 ($6/473 ml)