Ridgeway Seriously Bad Elf
"A Rather Serious English Double Ale"
3
342 reviews
North Heath, England
Community reviews
Tap@Taphouse, Copenhagen - Amber pour with white head. Sweet malty with notes of caramel, some brown sugar, treacle, vague dried fruit, sweet malty close.
Transparent, dark gold with a very thin white head. A lot of light fruits—apples, pears, pineapples, green grapes. A little bit of citrusy hops come through but still dominated by fruity sweetness. The hops are a lot more noticeable once the warm ups. Flavors start off with some caramel, toasted/smokey spices, & brown sugar; developments is where the fruits appear but then moves quickly towards a syrupy, boozy, & mildly hoppy finish. When warm, the malt qualities are more apparent, and the sugary intensity that was there at the beginning is now subdued. Texture is smooth, full body, low carbonation (even upon first sip at the beginning of the drink). The finish is balanced and warm at the very end. The finish becomes drier as the beer warms up. This is a beer that starts off strong and manages to stay interesting throughout the entirety of its glass life.
Crystal clear light amber/orange pour with nice 1/2" off white head that sticks around for a while... actually a pretty nice looking beer.
Aroma is a muddy mix of caramel and light earthy/grassy/catty hops topped off by a touch of burning alcohol.
Taste is definately more complex with yeast fruitiness with caramel apples and warming alcohol ... Just muddy.. screwy "English" diacetyl finish. Mouthfeel is Ok... more than enough carbonation that just barely cuts through the sweetness.
Bottle, bb 9/16. Clear gold, large white head that never quite disappears. Aroma of travel sweets, butterscotch, blackcurrants, sheep, wound dressings, grapes. Sweet with some grainy and boiled fruit notes, unpleasant medicinal flavours. Doesn’t dry out much, some bitterness. Alcohol as such doesn’t stick out that much, but signs of carelessly boozy brewing abound. Offensive.
From 50cL (centiliter)=500mL bottle to wine glass, around 50F
Appearance: pale yellow, clear, medium head that quickly dissappears
Aroma: malty smell, not hoppy,
Taste: mildly bitter with sweet after taste
Mouth feel: fizzy
Overall: Beer is not bad, no boozy smell even at 9% alcohol
Appearance: pours with a large beige head that settles quickly, the beer is crystal clear, average gold color
Aroma: caramel, corn, vanilla
Taste: moderate sweetness throughout, has faint hints of industrial lager, rough bitterness on the finish from the alcohol
Palate: average carbonation, medium mouthfeel, slightly bitter and alcohol warm aftertaste
Overall: what a disappointment, this is just a beer for people to get drunk quick off, not much in the way of taste
Poured from the bottle. Zero head. Aroma is grainy, boozy, and kind of sweet. Flavor is also grainy, sweet. Very bleh... I must have gotten a bad batch
Bottle. Pours clear golden yellow with huge foamy white head. Aroma is mild with sweet malt, sugar, honey, white wine, wheat bread, black currant jam and lemon peel. Taste is light to medium sweet, medium bitter, light umami and light to medium acidic. Body is oily with sparking carbonation. Finish is long and balanced bitter and sweet with notes of malt, sugar, barley wine, yeast, dried apricot and overripe fruit. Plain and not very Christmasy
500 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 9/2/2011. Pours crystal clear bright orange/amber color with a 1 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with some light streaming carbonation. Aromas of honey, caramel, brown sugar, biscuit, light nuttiness, golden raisin, plum, apricot, apple, herbal, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Okay aromas with solid balance and complexity of bready malt, fruity yeast, and light earthy hop notes; with solid strength. A bit too fruity on aromas. Taste of honey, caramel, brown sugar, biscuit, light nuttiness, golden raisin, plum, apricot, apple, herbal, light pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal/spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of honey, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, golden raisin, plum, apricot, apple, and herbal/yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Good robustness, balance, and solid complexity of bready malt, fruity yeast, and light earthy hop flavors; with a good malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a smooth and fairly creamy/silky mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is well hidden with only a slight warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is a solid English strong ale. All around good balance, robustness, and solid complexity of bready malt, fruity yeast, and light earthy hop flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the ABV. I was expecting more overall malt complexity given the ABV, but this was still fairly enjoyable. Tastes like an imperial version of English pale ale.
Pours a crystal clear gold color with no lacing at all. There is mild head retention, and is a decently attractive beer. Has an aroma similar to a Belgian beer, but with a distinctly high abv. Drinks very smooth, and is a bit sweet. Not the dry finish I was expecting. A nice drink, but not one I would typically seek out.
Aroma: fruity sweet.
Flavour: fruity sweet with notes of nuts and a bitter aftertaste.
Colour: brown amber with an offwhite head.
Bottle, gift from Andrew. Clear golden body with a thin white head. Low carbonation. No lacing. Aroma of grain, honey and metal. Flavour of cough syrup and alcoholic burn. Medium body with an oily texture. Soft fizz. Truly disgusting.
500ml bottle. Actually a step up from the others in my opinoin. Boozy and sweet with sherry notes, fruits, and fruitcake.
Cellar temperature and into a shallow chalice. Brilliant, burnished amber with what was honestky a single bubble to rise to atmosphere. Head is lofty off the pour but fades rapidly to a thin sheet of white with good lace. Aroma is floral, perfumy, zesty and full of fruity, vinous notes with a heated, boozy kick. Similar to the aroma is the palate. Dominantly floral with a pronounced rose water note. Quite heated with medicinal notes in the warming finish. Lasting perfume. Light, straw malts, a hint of lemon and honey. Easily quaffable but plain weird to the palate. Not seriously bad, not good!! (50cL, no date stamp, The Liquor Shed, Jandakot)
A light amber, strong English Double Ale with high white head and with barley, rye, wheat and oats. Aroma is malty, a bit yeasty, vineous. Taste is sweet and light bitter.
Bottle 500ml from Favourite Beers. Clear golden colour with a white head. Aroma has malt, lots of alcohol and some dried fruits. Taste is sweet and a touch bitter with an strong alcohol finish.
"lighter in color than reindeers revolt, but more alcoholic. nose is sweet, bready and some corn with faint hops. flavor similar with a little grass. nothing really stands out here at all but the abv."
500ml bottle.
Pours a medium gold, with a white head.
Malty, spicy aroma, dried fruit, caramel, yeast, lightly phenolic, earth, citrus.
Off-dry, medium to full bodied, mid bitterness, crea,y CO2.
Malty, caramelly, slightly sugary taste, hops, citrus, yeast, floral notes, bubblegum.
The alcohol is very evident in the finish, almost burning. (2014-01-24)
Bottle 0.5l at Gallow’s Bird, Espoo. Originally rated 26112011. Colour is clear orange with small white head. Aromas and flavours: Caramel, sweetness and malts.
Bottle @ The No Creepy Country Ticks Tasting, courtesy of dEnk. Pours a clear amber beer with a thin white ring of head. Aroma is rather buttery, malty, caramel and yeasty. Flavor is very sweet, touches of aspartame and other artificial sweetners. Quite unbalanced and messy... Not very good.
Bottled @ The Hague Tasting, small sample. Bit malty, bit yeasty notes, caramel. Bit bitter. Ok-ish.
Bottle @ tasting. Aroma is malty yeasty caramel. Quite bad. Flavour is malty yeasty Meh.
50cl bottle courtesy of and shared with MrHangover.
Thin white head. Clear golden blond pour. Ok.
Poured medium amber with a small white ring. Aroma of caramel malt, cloying sweetness. Full body, flavour of toffee, cloying.
50cl bottle [thanks to dEnk] @ home shared with Dutchdrebus. Clear dark golden color, full sized thick off-white head that lasts for a long while. Aroma has malts, some sweetness, red fruits, some hops. Taste malts, again red fruits, some alcohol, lightly sweet-bitter. Quite nice.
Bottle @ benzai. Super clear orange to amber colour with a medium sized white head. Smells glue, resin, oak, malts. Tastes malts, glue, nailpolish, sweet. Medium body, soft carbo.
Caramel, nuts, alcohol, and some skunk in the aroma. Flavor is sweet and mild with caramel and a little orange peel citrus. Lots of warming alcohol in the finish. Better than the rating indicates, but not worth searching for--there are better Christmas beers out there.
500 ml bottle shared with the inlaws. Clear golden with tiny white head. Aroma boozy, syrup, toffee, ripe orange and pale malt. Taste is sweet and boozy with same notes as in the nose.
500ml bottle. Pours dark orange with a small head. Aroma is orange, toffee and alcohol. Taste has toffee and orange to start. Orange squash and alcohol on the finish. Warming aftertaste.
This pours a rich gold with a white head and moderate lacing. Nose of caramel malts with citrus and yeast notes. Medium is body and rich mouth favor. Flavor shows some sourness to begin, and moves to citrus and finishes with bitterness.