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Ilkley Mary Christmas

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Rating:

74% of 100

34 Reviews

Style

Christmas Beer

Country

Britain

Brewery

Ilkley

ABV

4.7%

Bottle Size

500ml

Serving Temp

8-10 °C

4.7%

500ml

Details
Brewery Info
Reviews

Details

Ilkley turn out some stunning beers and they are simply one of the most exciting breweries in Britain at the moment. A claim all the more impressive given they were only re-established three years ago after a 100 year absence. The philosophy is to brew world class beers distinctive in style, flavour and character and when we say passionate about beer, we mean REALLY passionate! Winners of multiple awards and brewed with the best ingredients including water from The Yorkshire Dales, English malted barley and hops sourced from all over the world. This festive amber ale from Ilkley Brewery is packed with Christmas spices, with flavours of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, brown sugar and caramel throughout. Zesty orange, lemon and a good glug of Caribbean rum put the finishing touches to this Christmas cake in beer form.

Brewery Info

Steeped in history but constantly innovating, Ilkley Brewery is a creative force in the industry. Whether it’s a respectful nod to tradition or putting a bunch of madness in the brew kettle, the team behind the beer is all driven by the thirst to keep on brewing.

Ilkley Brewery’s culture of passion, fun and camaraderie are as important to them as maintaining their exceedingly high standards of quality and providing the customer the choice to please their individual taste. Each person, each idea, each bottle is just as important as the next because - to the ladies and gents at Ilkley Brewery - beer matters.

Reviews

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Not that hoppy

80%

Review by Danielle 21/12/2018

This has a nice seasonal twist, but the hoppiness has been slightly compromised.

Nice smooth and spicey

100%

Review by baldym 01/07/2018

A nice xmas ale even if it ain’t xmas Santa can come early with this one! Darker in colour but very smooth with subtle spices we would drink this one again ⛄️

Decent but better Xmas beers around

80%

Review by Tom 10/01/2018

I liked this but could do with a few more hops thrown at it for my taste!

Mary christmas

60%

Review by Edward 09/01/2018

Not bad but not my favourite

Nothing out of the ordinary

80%

Review by John 05/01/2018

A lightly spiced ale. Easy to drink, but nothing special.

Ok xmas beer

60%

Review by Antony 27/12/2017

Tried a far few Xmas themed beers this Xmas - and this was probably my least favourite. Makes some bold claims on the bottle about its flavours and ingredients - orange peel, etc - but all you really get is a small amount of spice and not much else. Still a drinkable enough beer, but lacking against its own claims.

Xmas morning

80%

Review by Neil 18/12/2017

Lovely light Xmas beer, one for the morning in the kitchen.

Nice festive ale

80%

Review by Paul 18/12/2017

At this time of year I do like to grab a few festive ales so I picked up this along with a few others. This one is decent. Its like Christmas in a bottle! Everything is there - cinnamon, nutmeg, citrus and ginger. I'll take this over mulled wine any day!

Fruity and christmassy

100%

Review by Danielle 05/12/2017

This is a unique beer that is both fruity nd christmassy. It is smooth and very festive tasting. Would recommend

Christmas

80%

Review by Nicholas 28/11/2017

Mince pie in a glass. Lovely flavours and aromas. Lovely.

A new-born Christmas classic!

80%

Review by Edward 21/08/2017

Want to join in the festivities but fancy something a bit lighter than the traditional sticky Belgian?! Then look no further - this pale ale from Ilkley is the perfect quaffable brew with just the right dash of Christmas spice to keep up the seasonal cheer :)

Christmas in a glass

80%

Review by Dan Ack 26/07/2017

Lightly spiced with nutmeg, spiced orange and cinnamon notes, fruity. Worth looking out for for the Christmas season.

Okay....

40%

Review by Ttrott 29/06/2017

Pours clear, amber. Ring of white head. Aroma has hint of Christmas pie spices. Medium body. Surprisingly unsweet (but not bitter, either).

Full of spice flavour

40%

Review by David 25/06/2017

A full flavour ale, only thing it's a bit much for my tastes but worth a try

Spiced Xmassy

60%

Review by Demetria 15/06/2017

Spiced fruity aroma, amber colour nice for xmas

Festive!

40%

Review by MARTYN 24/05/2017

Spiced fruity aroma, good amber appearance for a winter ale. Taste spiced fruit and light malts. A good winter ale.

Well spiced. Well Christmassy.

80%

Review by lenoz 27/04/2017

Many Christmas beers don't quite hit it - the spices are too subtle, too powerful, or just ring out "spice" rather than "Christmas spice". This one nails it I think, with cinnamon, a touch of ginger, nutmeg and some fruitiness all coming through. It's a clean taste too, not at all musty.

So so....

40%

Review by Beebo 03/04/2017

Pours clear, amber. Ring of white head. Aroma has hint of Christmas pie spices. Medium body. Surprisingly unsweet (but not bitter, either).

Average

60%

Review by Snozz 18/02/2017

Cherry on the nose. Pours dark amber. Tastes if mulled spices. Fine as occasional treat but not something you’d drink often

Good

80%

Review by AdyG 10/02/2017

Not as dark and fruity as some festive brews. This is amber and spicy, just a hint of rum

Fantastic Christmas beer

80%

Review by Uncruliar 20/01/2017

Delicious Christmas beer with plenty of cinammon and fruit flavour.

Not very festive.

40%

Review by C.Long 20/01/2017

Mary Christmas left me a bit underwhelmed. It's a fairly standard, though not a bad, brown ale but really lacks anything of interest and for me didn't really scream 'festive'.

Solid

80%

Review by Llamaman 18/01/2017

Maybe it's just my memory, or maybe they tweaked the recipe, but I found this year's version a little less full-on than last year. Went very well with a pie.
A solid amber beer with a nice spice twist.

Seasonal brew

60%

Review by MH 18/01/2017

Spiced fruity aroma, good amber appearance for a winter ale. Taste spiced fruit and light malts. A good winter ale.

Festive

100%

Review by Good head 24/06/2016

Really good festive beer for Christmas cheer!

Christmas in a bottle

100%

Review by Danny 19/01/2016

Ilkley have done it again, producing a wonderfully festive beer that fills you with warmth and joy. Lots of spice and fruit and very smooth and easy drinking.

A decent attempt at a Christmas beer

60%

Review by Penfold 08/01/2016

Packed full of the Christmassy aromas on the nose the taste was less appealing with it being quite per-fumy and a dry mouthfeel..

For a more in-depth review please visit my beer blog here https://changefromatenner.wordpress.com/

Thanks. x

What You Really Really Want? Not quite.

80%

Review by Llamaman 04/01/2016

Mary Christmas - aka Festive Spice - quit the band before they became famous. Allegedly.

The beer named after her is a bit quirky. Lots of Christmas-invoking spices - cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, plus dried fruit. Very spicy on the nose, and the taste builds in the mouth. There\'s a lingering bitterness that isn\'t hoppy, but something else (perhaps the cloves). It\'s interesting, but I\'m not totally sold on it. I certainly couldn\'t manage a second - it\'s all a bit OTT and surprisingly difficult to drink.

Nice for Xmas, not bursting with spice/hops though

60%

Review by ngood77 27/12/2015

Very good brewery this and, although this beer was a nice, quaffable twist on one of their beers, it was a little low on the spice/hop punch. But nothing wrong with it and would drink again.

Clever clogs...

100%

Review by Ady Gray 19/12/2015

A clever but tricky concept to pull off: a Christmas cake in a bottle. Thankfully, Ilkley have pulled it off

Very nice

80%

Review by Harry 07/12/2015

A nice enjoyable ale with the a lot of spicy and fruity flavours, definitely think this is worth it if you are looking for an ale with some christmas spirit.

Perfect for Christmas

80%

Review by Blind Drunk 22/11/2015

I really love the taste of Cinemon and for me it should be included much more in beer, this is a great festival ale and well worth getting

Festive Beers

80%

Review by Pedro146 29/12/2014

Not a bad x-mas beer at ! Love the x-mas spice / rum after taste.

Christmas is here.

100%

Review by Beerhawk Louise 11/11/2014

A lovely Christmas beer, glad it's back in stock I will be sampling a few of these