Well, the 2009 Christmas beer has now been brewed, and should be on sale in early December.  For those thinking this may be a bit last minute, let me remind you that Christmas is at the end of December, and so we believe that this is where it should stay.  Trouble is, in these corporate money-grabbing days, it has become acceptable to start the final approach to Christmas some time in mid-June - although this might be so that the Easter eggs can be out on the shelves by Halloween. 

In fact, as I write, we still haven't had a Christmas card yet - in previous years they have started arriving by now (no doubt because it is well known that the company that gets it's card to you first is by law entitled to all your business the following year), so maybe their non-arrival signals a return to a policy of keeping Christmas firmly kicked into December?  Of course it may be far more simple than that.  Perhaps Postman Pat (and his multi-ethnic cat of course) is still understandably worried about being dragged into the world of job insecurity and dodgy pension provision that everyone else has to live in (public sector cash devourers excepted of course).  Or maybe it has dawned on people that we haven't sent them a card in the past, so are returning the favour.  Now before you think that makes us stingy and tight fisted, just bear in mind that firstly, cards do cost money, and every penny we spend means another penny we have to put on beer prices, so the people who get the cards are therefore ones who ultimately have to pay for them (can you see your granny going for this?).  Secondly, and more importantly, cards are made from trees.  and I can't help thinking that a tree is a much nicer thing to look at all year than a Dickensian style image of a snowy Christmas that bears little relation to the reality of screaming kids, grandparents who don't understand why Harry Potter rides a broomstick, too much food, and the festive Robin lying dead on the kitchen floor thanks to the cat (which is about to be sick in the bread sauce).

Anyway, cards.  You see, trees or pictures of Robins?  And of course there is all the haulage/production costs (carbon and otherwise) of the card, and the big global boys creaming a nice profit off folk who would be better off spending their money closer to home.  Nah, save the effort.  Give your spare cash to a charity, and talk to your friends instead, ideally down the pub.

Which leads me back to the whole point.  Silent Night 4.1%, a golden brown hoppy brew, with a festive pump clip which is the only truly traditional seasonal aspect of the beer.  Everything else is just a cynical ploy to cash in on the festive season.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some Christmas cards to write (albeit the ones we never got round to doing last year...)

Happy Late November!