If you are buying beers for yourself or a family member or a friend for this Christmas and Nee Year period,. then you simply must make certain that beers from the Box Brewery are on your list.
They are one of the leading independent brewers in the South of England, proudly sited in Wiltshire.
One of their fine ales is called Funnel Blower and, as my wife is a fanatic for the history of Victorian engineering. this one really caught her attention.
It is a finely hand crafted real ale and named for an incident that struck the Isambard Kingdom Brunel ship the Great Eastern, when, two days after her sea trials commenced, the ship suffered a gigantic explosion which blew off one of her five funnels.
What of the beer? The only thing this is liable to blow is your taste buds! It isa serious ale and not to be taken lightly, coming in with an ABV of 4.5%. The other thing that took my wife's fancy about this beer -and mine, too! is that this is a dark brown coloured Porter beer.
It has a good Porter aroma, you just know that there are some well-roasted barley and malts in there! You can taste the bitterness of the roasted notes, but that's well-balanced by a nice sweetness that pervades this fine ale.
It will cost you a very reasonable £2.35 a bottle and for stockist lists please visit www.boxsteambrewery.com or call them on 01225 858383.
Of course, this is not the only beer they brew. Please ask them for details and do mention That's Food and Drink and That's Christmas when you contact them!