Beer 130 - Ridgeway Bad Elf

The second beer of the four pack brewed and bottled by Ridgeway Brewing in Oxfordshire, UK and bought to the US by Shelton Brothers in Belchertown, MA.  I bought the four pack at Spec's Liquor downtown and drunk this one at home while enhancing a deGiorno pizza with extra mushrooms, fresh spinach and cheese for dinner with Patricia.

The cute notes on the label read "Tis a heavy hand what adds the hops to this festive golden ale. Truth be told, there's near to three pounds of fresh hops goes in every barrel of this treasured brew.  And it's conditioned ready for winter supping from your best flagon."

The web site - http://www.sheltonbrothers.com/ - describes the beer "A little malt, a little hops, and lots of holiday trouble-making; this Elf is so bad, it’s way good.
Olde England meets the New World in this strong, warming golden ale. A generous amount of famous English malt is masterfully balanced with an astounding 45 ounces of fresh hops – including English Cascade – per barrel. Bad Elf is brewed by Peter Scholey, master brewer for the late and much-lamented Brakspear Brewery of Henley-on-Thames, England. Peter has bought up the entire crop from the single row of Cascades grown in the U.K.
ELF WARNING: Consumption of too much Winter's Ale may be bad for your elf and may impair your ability to drive a sleigh or operate toy-making machinery."

The hype is a little overdone, but, even so, the beer is quite good.  A pleasant golden color with a small head that quickly dissipates.  The taste is a little bland, but the beer is easy to drink and pleasant enough to wash down the multi-flavored pizza.