When Shane MacGowan sang to Kirsty MacColl that he could see a better life for them in that song, I expect it involved both of them supping this beer.
For some reason Christmas is synonymous with nuts. It's the time when shops are full of fancy packets of them and everyone goes through a bag each over the Christmas break.
Brew York have capitalised on this by chucking their share of Christmas nuts into this beer, with pecan and peanut taking centre stage with a supporting cast of maple syrup, vanilla and of course - a pinch of cinammon.
From the moment you pop the can you get the nuts, peanut mainly but the pecan is definitely there even in the aroma of the beer along with a touch of sweetness hinting at what's to come.
Strangely the main nutty flavour you get is the pecan which, combined with the maple sickly-sweetness, puts you in mind of some kind of festive pie. Which is very much a good thing.
The vanilla is less obvious along with the cinnamon, but they come through the more you drink in the aftertaste and the creamy mouthfeel.
The aftertaste itself is again, nutty. It's quite sweet but despite that it's very well balanced with a lot of body and rich in flavour. It's a delight, the perfect Christmas stout or as near as dammit.
It's a winter woodland scene, with the tree and it's snow-covered branches being the main focus point on the can.
There's a castle on the horizon and of course, a stag too. It's very seasonal, even if it's not Christmas-specific. It's the kind of can that you could quite happily look at a few times and see something different each time.
The red stripe down the middle with Brew York's signature style stands out nicely, like a ribbon, to keep with the festive theme.
Well, you can't. That's not because we know a secret stash and want to keep them all to ourselves, it's because they've ran out.
Fairytale of Brew York 2020 was part of a limited edition run of Christmas beers from Brew York ('Nightmare of Brew York' coffee and walnut stout and 'Dreams of Brew York' cranberry pastry sour).
Your best bet is to search the shelves of your local bottle shop - like Beer Central where we got ours - but be quick as even Santa won't be able tp put one of these in your stocking if they're all gone!
