Roasted Nuts for Christmas

 I love the products of  Rebellion Beer. I love their beers all time of year, but especially come Christmastime, because they really have perfectly seasonal ones. So yesterday, we went to a day out at the petting zoo, our first Christmassee day out, and I saw they were selling Roasted Nuts. Roasted Nuts is available all year round now, but it truly is a Christmas beer in my eyes. So I had half a pint, because that was the only format they were selling it into. On a cold day like yesterday, it's a pleasure.

Labyrinth (the beer)

I try as much as I can to drink products from Rebellion Beer, as it is one of the closest mocrobreweries I have from home and because they brew some really nice ales. And I didn't want to end January without trying their beer of the month. It's called Labyrinth and it is inspired by Greek mythology, like every beer of the month in 2025. I guess I will have to buy one every month. Anyway, Labyrinth is the kind of dark, flaboursome ale I enjoy and has a cool Minotaur on its label.

Excalibeer

You may remember (or maybe not) that back in 2017,  Rebellion Beer brewed an ale called Excalibur for September. Well, this year they released it again, but for July (a more fitting month for a blonde, by the way). As I had enjoyed it the first time and because I'm a medievalist, I thought it was only fitting for me to buy it again. So I ordered some. It should really be called Excalibeer. That said, if you remember my first post about it, or if you know a bit about the Arthurian legend, you will find three mistakes on the label. I listed them again here:

1)When King Arthur pulled the sword from the stone, he was a child or a teenager, a very young man at the most, not a full grown adult.
2)Obviously he was no king yet when he pulled the sword from the stone, therefore hehad no crown on his head. (That one must be the easiest)
3)The sword in the stone, contrary to popular belief and years of Hollywood misinformation, was not Excalibur, which he obtained in different circumstances.

Be that as it may, I still enjoyed drinking it.

Drinking beer for Ukraine

As you may know, I love the products of Rebellion Beer, the brewery from Marlow. Their products are sold everywhere down in the South East. Well, they have a beer of the month and they have rechristened their beer for May Solidarity. In honour of and, well, in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. For every pint sold, 10p are given to charity to help them. So when you drink this beer, you are literally drink for Ukraine. Which I did a few times already.

Rebellion Beer's Rocket

My stocks of beer were running short, so I recently ordered some from the Marlow Brewery, or  Rebellion Beer. Yesterday, I had for the night's poison the beer of the month (I managed to buy it in the nick of time before February ended): the Rocket. Named after Stephenson's Rocket. It is not a very dark ale, but it is not a light one either, just dark enough for me. I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the name: Rocket, named after the very first train. Trains and beer, two things I love.

Winter Royal (Christmastime beer)

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat and... 'Tis the season to be drinking (falala lalal!). When Christmas is rawing near, this household must stock in all sorts of goods, including alcohol (even though I'm theonly drinker here), especially beer fitting for the season and the Season. I blogged about this beer back in 2018. Sine then the Winter Royal from Rebellion Beer has become my beer for the winter as well as my Christmastime beer. At least when I am in this country. It has a lovely colour and a lovely taste. Yesterday, I ordered a box of twelve (for the twelve days of Christmas?), with a few more seasonal products, which I will blog about in due time. They should be delivered before the end of this week. I was afraid at first that I would not get Winter Royal, as it appeared unavailable if I visited the online shop from my phone. Turned out it was some kind of glitch. So anyway, I should be enjoying Winter Royal soon.

Roasted Nuts, the socks

I love when you can kill two birds at the same time and enjoy both beer and clothes shopping. Although I hate clothes shopping usually, mind you. But I am a fan of Roasted Nuts from Rebellion Beer. And they now sell socks with the colours and squirrel of the beer label. So I can now buy beer AND socks, at the same time. And I always need more good socks. So I am now the happy owner of a pair of Roasted Nuts socks.

The Perfect Keyring

Okay, this is the last post about Christmas until at some point in November 2021, promise. But I really had to blog about this. You may have noticed, if you have been following this blog for a while, that I am quite fond of the products of Rebellion Beer. Well, apart from the beers, they also have other byproducts that I have come to enjoy. On Christmas Day, the first present I unwrapped was very small, as I always start with the smallest presents. And lo and behold it was a keyring from Rebellion Beer. A keyring that is also a bottle opener. My wife bought it for me. It was very difficult to top this. This is by far the perfect keyring and I am surprised I'd never thought of that before. I have been using it almost every day.

La bière du mois

Vous voyez sur la photo mon poison d'hier, Freefall de Rebellion Beer. La brasserie fait bon an mal an une bière du mois et comme leurs produits comptent parmi mes préférés et qu'ils livrent, j'ai commandé une bouteille de bière fraîche ainsi que d'autres. L'affaire avec la bière fraîche, c'est qu'il faut la boire à l'intérieur de sept jours, à partir de la date de réception, et deux à partir du moment où la bouteille est ouverte. Et il y a deux pintes à peu près dans leur bouteille. Il faut donc avoir soif. Mais enfin bref, j'aime beaucoup l'idée d'une bière du mois et celle-ci a vraiment l'air d'une bière de novembre: elle est bien sombre, de robe et de goût. Et chez vous, quelle est votre bière de novembre, si vous en avez une?

Rebellion Red (autumn chronicle)

This was tonight's poison: Rebellion Red by Rebellion Beer. I am very familiar with it: their products, especially this particular beer, are sold all around the South East of England. In fact, it is one of my favourite mcirobrewery in the country. There is a special reason why I drank this one and no other tonight: the Red has become their seasonal beer for autumn. I am of two minds about it, as it used to be available all year round. And while I love the beer itself, which is dark and dark reddish brown as I love them, I always thought that the name is a bit meh. I wish Rebellion had chosen something more evocative. But hey, with this colour, it is suitble enough for autumn.

Winter Royal

"Tonight's poison. I think I'm in love." This is what I said on Facebook about Winter Royal and I think it deserves to be a new great unknown line. Winter Royal is the new winter ale from Rebellion Beer, and it is also part of my new Christmastime drinking stocks. I might even have it on Christmas day itself, I love it that much. Apparently, Winter Royal is a beer which existed decades ago at the old brewery in Marlow, but became unavailable when it closed down in 1988. So it is an ale reborn, all the more fitting for Christmas and the winter solstice. But it is mainly a flavorsome ruby ale that keeps you warm on a cold winter night.

Me, drinking lager?

I know this is highly unusual and almost an heresy, but I actually drank a lager this weekend at the local fayre. But not just any lager: the lager from Rebellion Beer, a brewery which in my humble opinion of English beers drinker can do no wrong, so I was ready to make an exception. And it is meant to be an authentic lager, so I thought why not. There were other choices: their Blonde and their IPA, which I can find virtually everywhere. So their lager was my weekend's poison, even though it is against my religion to drink such thing. At least it had an actual taste, I mean unlike the North American stuff they call lager. Still, even though it's an honest beer, even though it's from Rebellion, I wish they had something darker for the occasion.

A Smuggler for summer

I blogged before about the Smuggler from Rebellion Beer. I am a real ale drinker and I prefer my beer dark, so this ale is the one I favour during summertime, although it is available all year round. I explained my reasons in this post. I also love the label: the smuggler on it could easily be a pirate and summertime is one that always remind of piracy. I took this pint of Smuggler in a local pub and while I enjoyed it as I always do, it gave me a bit of a headache. I overestimated my stamina against the current heatwave. I must confess, a blonde beer is easier to drink when the outdoor temperature is like a oven. I guess the Smuggler would ideally be drunk on a rainy day. Which may not happen any time soon.

Wolfie and the Rebellion jumper

I blogged before about my jumper from Rebellion Beer, which has been my favourite jumper since 2015 when my wife bought it as a birthday gift. I just find it comfy and nice. I am not the only one in the household to love it: since he is three months old or so, our son has been fascinated by the gold and red label with the brewery's coats of arms (I think it can be called that). Every time I wear it, which is pretty much every weekend, Wolfie loves to touch it, grab it, tap it, stare at it. Must be the bright colours, although sometimes I suspect he also instinctively loves rebellion.

Une rousse pour boire en dedans

Petit billet brassicole pour dimanche pluvieux et monotone. J'ai bu ça hier, la Rebellion Red. Depuis le début de la fin de semaine, il fait très pluvieux, alors on ne sort guère. Je n'ai pas encore bu de bière sur le patio depuis le début du printemps, et ça m'agace un peu, parce que c'est le genre de truc simple mais plaisant qui fait apprécier au maximum une belle journée. Mais de belle journée, il n'y en a pas ces temps-ci. Alors on boit enfermé, claustrophobe même. Ce n'est pas génial, mais ça chasse la mélancolie. Et au moins c'est une excuse comme une autre pour boire une rousse.

Roasted Nuts for the Season

This is one of my favourite beers when winter comes and Christmastime is here: Roasted Nuts from Rebellion Beer. This year, it took my until last Saturday to have my first. And it was in an open market, and it was a free sampling from the brewery. I had less than half a pint of Roasted Nuts, for free. I am a bit ashamed to admit it. Now, the Marlow Brewery has it all year round, but it truly is a winter ale, maybe even the winter ale. In my opinion, it can only be fully appreciated on a crisp cold day, when you want to put yourself in the Christmas spirit, or simply enhance the feeling you already have. Next time I will need a full pint.

Excalibur (and find the three mistakes)

Today, we spent the afternoon at the local park in a yearly fayre. I had the chance to drink the September ale from Rebellion Beer, called Excalibur, as every month this year they celebrate a great Briton. As a medievalist specialized in the Arthurian legend, I had to have a pint. Rebellion Beer brews some of my favourite ales, so it is another reason to have a pint of their products whenever I have the occasion. My verdict? Not bad for a blonde, but the label has three mistakes which I thought I listed here. But first try to spot them. Come on. Two are easy enough. Anyway, here they are:

1)King Arthur was a child or a very young man, certainly not a mature man like in the image.
2)Obviously he was no king yet when he pulled the sword from the stone, so he had no crown.
3)The sword in the stone, contrary to popular beliefs, was not Excalibur, which he obtained in different circumstances.

All right, that was just a label to sell beer after all, but I thought it was a funny exercize for the medievalist that I am, or used to be.

Time for a Smuggler

I took this photo last year in a local pub. I thought I'd blog about beer tonight, it has been a while. My readership knows that I love the products of Rebellion Beer. One of my favourite during summertime is the Smuggler. I blogged about it briefly in 2013. The beer is available all year round, but its name and look fits summer far more than any other time of year. It is a darker ale, but what's to say that you should only drink insipid blondes during the sunny season? Smuggler is good whether it is sunny or not, for one. And it has plenty of character, something many summer drinks lack. Anyway, I did not drink this one in a while and I miss it, so I should correct this soon.

Rebellion jumper

I already mentioned this jumper back in 2015. My wife bought it from Rebellion Beer as a birthday present and I have grown quite fond of it. In fact, I could say it is now my favourite jumper. I am not certain why. Or rather, I know: it is warm, it is comfortable, the colour is dark blue which I love, it has pockets so it is practical and it has a lovely badge on it, a badge that indicates that I am a real ale drinker. I don't like fashion, I do not care about elegance, but this piece of clothing makes a statement that is worth making. Okay, in the end it's just a comfy jumper.

'Tis the season to be drinking

When Christmastime comes, we all have our favourite poisons. Mine is Roasted Nuts from Rebellion Beer. Sure, I enjoy mulled wine now and again, but I truly am a beer drinker and this is my beer for Christmas. I start drinking it as soon as it is available, in fact I drink it through the winter, as it or through what the English people call winter. But especially at Christmas. It is my poison of the season, available in many pubs around the South East. There was a stand from Rebellion Beer yesterday at the local outdoor Christmas market and they were serving some of their products for free, including a new seasonal ale, which was all right, but I truly went to the stand for the Roasted Nuts sample. And more, as they kept refilling my glass. Again and again. The guy serving me explained that it was pointless keeping the beers in the barrels and it was for us all to enjoy. I love the attitude of this microbrewery, their generosity very much in the spirit of Christmas.