Hook Norton Twelve Days

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Clear nice dark redish brown with light brown foam head, lacing to glass. Aroma is bit weak, coffee and some roast. Taste is decent bitter dark ale with coffee, malt and some nut tones. Nice long bitter aftertaste. (Moscow 201302)

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, from Selfridge’s food store, London. ABV is 5.5%. Very dark brown colour, large to moderate beige head. Nice malty aroma and flavour, notes of caramel, dark dried fruits and nuts, hints of chocolate. Rich mouthfeel. Moderate but noticeable hops in the finish. Well balanced and very enjoyable.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

From Selfridges (London UK). Poured a hugely dark - nearly opaque - red body under a slim tan head. Aroma was both malty and nutty. Flavour was also of malts and nuts, with a hint of black licorice. Smooth, creamy mouthfeel. Nice winter beer.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

A good English-style ale with a lot of malt flavor for its size. Twelve Days pours a deep ruby with a small, creamy, off-white head. The aroma is mostly caramel malt with some earthy tones. There’s probably a touch of English hops in there but it’s light. It’s somewhere between a bock and a good English brown ale. The flavor is relatively sweet but nowhere near cloying. I can see what they’re getting at with the "nutty" descriptor, but it’s more earth to my palate. The mouthfeel gets pretty thin as I drain the glass. I imagine it’s a lot better from a cask.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Sampled on 12/25/2009. This English Strong Ale pours a deep reddish brown color from a 50cl bottle. Medium sized white foamy head with nice retention and good lacing. The aroma is caramel, nutty and fruity with a hint of chocolate. A medium bodied English Strong Ale. The malts are caramel and chocolate. The hops are earthy with a hint of spice. Nice carbonation. Fruity and nutty up front with a nice dry caramel malt finish. Nice beer, a bit lighter than most Christmas Ales. Very drinkable. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and dry. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottled (thanks to the craziest bartender ever!) Deep reddish brown colour with mediumsized creamy off white head. Aroma is spices, some nuttyness, rather sweet caramel malts as well as some underlying syrupy sweetness. Flavour is nutty, caramel malty and has some spices as well. Some mild notes of fruits as well as pine too. Pleasant and balanced HN product.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

This is my first ever try from the Hook Norton Brewery. And hopefully it won't be my last. 12 days starts out with a thick latte foam that has excellent staying power on top of the clearish dark brown hue that contains glints of Christmas red when held up to a light. Soda pop like coffee feel on the buds is the first tasting note you will acknowledge, with a nice baker sweet chocolatey overtone. The nose is a bit metallic, which I didn't care for at all. But that does not take away from the rest of this nice beverage’s other features. 12 Days was a bit lighter than I expected for a Christmas treat, but it was very good none-the-less. If this were under my tree on Christmas morning, I would certainly not return it to the store the following day, or beyond.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Sweet brown sugar/caramel nose with malt and hops present as well as some dark ripe fruit. Clear dark dark brown body with a lot of ruby overtones very minimal head with no lace. Mouth is surprisingly light bodied. Taste hits sweet, strongly bitter hops kick in, hints of coffee and fig and some slight alcohol and carmelized malts, pretty nicely balanced. Tastes almost like a slightly smoked porter. but thinner.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Pours out in a clear ruby brown colour with small creamy white foam. Malty aroma of nuts, fudgem siul, cocoa and grass. Medium to full-bodied with notes of nuts, minerals, fudge, wet grass, dried fruits and cocoa. Smooth airy mouthfeel. Medium-bitter finish of nuts, caramel, fudge and dried fruit with a lingering fresh note of minerals. Quite odd, but tasty!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Aroma is strong and richly malty with a strong overtone of brown sugar. It pours a clear dark brown with a thick, fine-bubbled, off-white head that stays around. Flavor is malty with ribbons of brown sugar or molasses and smoky and nutty hints. Aftertaste is rather sweet but not cloying; there is just a whisper of hop bitterness. A delightful ale.