Brains 'Santa's Beard'

"What with Brains Craft brewery busy producing literally everything from the 'big handbook of beer styles', you could easily forget that occasionally the big brother SA Brains does sometimes bring something new/seasonal out."

That was my opening words in the draft post but then I looked at the Brains website for a hyperlink address, to find that the craft brewery had indeed been involved in the test brews of this beer before being scaled up for production.
So when is a craft beer not a craft beer then?!!
'Perfected' in the craft brewery, and then brewed and bottled in the main building, does that 'un-craft' it?
Who cares, what matters is if it tastes any good to my mind.


Santa's Beard is a 4.5% abv milk stout, bottle only i think (with other Christmas cask beers coming out), 500mls, £1.99 (Tesco). Good body, an initial sweet hit but that goes with the subsequent mouthful's. It's replaced by a slight acidic sharpness, burnt flavours, toffee and coffee as Brains say, a good head that stays.

I really quite liked this, it was nowhere near as sweet as other milk stouts i have tried, and possibly will pick up another couple of bottles next time I see it.
They recommend it goes with rich Christmas puddings and strong cheeses.