Ridgeway Bad Elf (6%)
Bottle conditioned; Seasonal - Winter. Has also been seen on cask occasionally.
Ridgeway produce two versions of Bad Elf "Winter Ale" - one at 4.5%, and the other at 6%. There is a separate listing for the 4.5% version.
Olde England meets the New World in this strong, warming golden ale, brewed by Peter Scholey. Master brewer for the late and much-lamented Brakspear Brewery of Henley-on-Thames, England, Peter started his own brewing operations in 2003.
Bad Elf is a hop-lover’s dream, balancing a generous amount of famous English malt with an astounding 45 ounces of fresh hops – including American Cascade – per barrel.
Ridgeway produce two versions of Bad Elf "Winter Ale" - one at 4.5%, and the other at 6%. There is a separate listing for the 4.5% version.
Olde England meets the New World in this strong, warming golden ale, brewed by Peter Scholey. Master brewer for the late and much-lamented Brakspear Brewery of Henley-on-Thames, England, Peter started his own brewing operations in 2003.
Bad Elf is a hop-lover’s dream, balancing a generous amount of famous English malt with an astounding 45 ounces of fresh hops – including American Cascade – per barrel.
3.1
501 reviews
North Heath, England
Community reviews
Bottle. Pours clear copper. Aroma and flavor are bready and caramel malts, fruit cake, faint booze, faint floral notes, and a slightly watery finish. Medium body.
Pours golden colour with two fingers white head. Aroma of malts, bread, honey, grass, hay. hops. The flavour is full of bready malts and honey with a hoppy finish. Medium body and carbonation. Quite drinkable. Pretty decent beer but not for the winter whatsoever.
En fyldig mørk juleøl, med smag af ristede malt. Fin smag fra den øl. god til julen.
Bottle from World Market, Friendship Heights. Dark amber body with medium head. Nose is caramel, malts, honey, barley, spices. Taste is similar of malts, caramel, spices and then gets hoppier, and crisper. Bitter in the finish. Pretty good.
Not bad. Not a wintry ale as such, but has a nice sweet aroma and taste to it. Lightly spiced, and some hops. Scent is fruit cake, apricot and candied plum. Dark yellow color.bottle
Clear copper with sudsy white head. Earthy yet light hop character and light bodied but with a slightly unpleasant alcohol character.
From 50 cL bottle to wine glass
Appearance: Copper pinkish color close to rose, minimal head, some lacing
Aroma: not a lot
Taste: Taste no really good
Mouthfeel: fizzy
Overall: No a really good beer, sour aftertaste, reminds me of Heineken. Not dark, which is usually expected of winter ales
A bit bland for a winter ale lacking The spices for a winter and not hoppy enough to get any hop lover excited
On tap. Light amber with thin beige head. Malt aroma, with grassy notes. Sweet malt flavour with hoppy bitterness. Dry finish
Bottle. Pours a golden color with asmall white head. Aroma of citrus bit of fruit, malt sweetness. Taste of citrus, bit of caramel, bit of fruit and grass. Mild bitterness and a fairly dry finish. Moderate body, smooth with a slick feel.
Bottle. Pours hazy chestnut with small white head. Aroma is malt, caramel, lemon and hints of coffee and biscuits. Taster is medium sweet, light acidic and faint bitter. Body is oily with soft carbonation. Finish is long annex mostly sweet with notes that follow the nose. Not much Christmas in this one, but a nice ale it is.
Appearance: pours with a large beige head, the beer is a clear lighter hue of brown, laces nicely
Aroma: honey, brown sugar, butter
Taste: maple sweetness, has a subdued hop bitterness on the finish,
Palate: average carbonation, light mouthfeel, light bitter aftertaste
Overall: a pretty good brown ale, it's sweet with out being so sweet that it's u drinkable, decent hop finish too
Bottle from The Spotted Cow 151015. Not sure what the go is with all the Christmas beers at the Spotted Cow but I’ll take them when I can get them. Vibrant looking sunshine colour with a soft head. Full in the mouth and paired perfectly with my duck spring rolls.
This beer pours a mostly clear golden orange color with a very small white head that dissipates rather quickly and left no lacing. The aroma is fruity and not much else. The taste is also fruity, alcohol, and some faint hops. I really did not care for this beer at all. I got it 50% off so It may possibly been a bad bottle but something just seemed really off.
Bottle pour. Clear dark golden with off white creamy head. Light aroma with malts, yeast, and honey. Medium body. Initial bitter taste with hint of honey and malts.
Very light beer smell...mostly malt..taste is medium light malt, no hops...good taste though..slightly sweet
Pours clear bronze with white frothy head strong aromas of hips and earthy malts; wasn’t expecting this much hops
This beer seemed stronger than it actually was. A pretty potent start with a mild and smooth finish. Kind of different. Some spice, not too much. Stronger malt and european beer flavors.
Bottle. Pours clear golden with a medium white head. Malty and light hoppy aroma. Some yeast. Fruity and yeasty flavor. hoppy finish.
500ml bottle. Like the very bad elf it ahs a marmite/savory type finish but the front end is insipid.
Slightly hazy deep gold with a leafy noble hop aroma and a touch of earthy English dustiness. Nice mellow flavor with a bit of cantaloupe and grassy noble English hops. Balanced and quaffable. A dash of lemon zest perhaps. Not shabby.
12/23/2010. From bottle. Amber with a white head. Sweet fruity aromas with honey, caramel and malt. Malt forward flavors, dried fruit and a sweet finish.
16.9 oz. bottle brought to our regular tasting, and poured to snifters showing a hazed, orangey color, with a modest & fleeting head of off white foam to a thin ring & film, and light spots of lacing. Although some esters & spice were present in the nose, it was heavily diacetyl, with a bit of vinegar, and a hint of candy. I did persist, but found a light body, low carbonation, light bitterness, and a generally washed out flavor. Felt bad for Chuck who had to wash all those glasses at once!
Sample at Örebro Öl & Whisky 2014. Smell of honey and flowers. Similar taste with a bready malty aroma. Allot of flavour.
Eliittikokouksen jälkeen Tuomon kanssa Pasilassa. Hyvä rentoutusolut. Tasapainoinen ja sopivan humalainen.
Look: pours an orange color. White thin head. Very clear beer.
Smell: slight sour aroma. Apple cider vinegar. Lemons. Onion.
Taste: cracker. Not overly dry for an IPA. Slight bitterness.
Feel: medium carbonation. Not overly dry.
Overall: ok beer. Aroma throws the beer way off. Feels more like an east coast ipa.
First drank: home 11/24/14
500ml bottle from Favourite Beers, Cheltenham. Deep golden colour, with a white head. Aroma has hops and caramel, the taste has this too, a touch more punch than the 4.5% version.
Sample at a local tasting event. Dark brown body with a medium head. Malt, honey, some cinnamon and spices.
"more citrusy hops in the aroma than expected for an English Ale. Otherwise pretty ho hum. Decent balance, caramel and biscuit malt, and an odd show of alcohol for a 6% beer
Reviewed from notes.
This was poured into a pint glass.
The appearance was a semi-dark brown color with a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within about a minute leaving some light lacing.
The smell had some light cinnamon, chocolate and vanilla. There was a little bit of plum as it opened up a bit.
The taste was mainly sweet but had a light roasty note underneath.
On the palate, this one sat right at a medium on the body with a tad of sessionability about it. Carbonation seemed fairly subdued but okay for the style.
Overall, for the most part, this was a good English Strong Ale to have again.