It as often been said that light, breezy summer beers should have a darker, richer winter beer version, and Lymestone Brewery have given it a go with their wintery version of the popular Standing Stones Summer Solstice beer.
Brewed with chocolate malt and olicana hops, a strange choice given their citrus fruit flavour profile, this beer is a very interesting winter ale that compliments their summer version wonderfully.
This is a new addition to Lymestone's lineup of brews for 2022 and if you like a winter ale then it's certainly worth trying to get your hands on a few - follow the links in this post to buy direct from Lymestone.
Chocolate in aroma with the maltiness of the chocolate malts coming to the fore also. It's very similar to chocolate Horlick's which is not a bad thing, but not what you expect a beer to smell like. It pours light and thin, looking like a porter but with a thinner mouthfeel and texture that is more like a lighter ale.
The flavour is smooth and malty, with a chocolate flavour that is not as intense as I expected but brings a touch of sweetness to the profile that's welcome in the face of the malt. Some very fragile fruitiness to it but it's only a whisp before it's gone and the chocolate malt takes over. There is a sweet aftertaste but mainly malty and a little dry.
Moving away from their standard label designs with this one, Lymestone have chosen to showcase the standing stones of Stonehenge, the most popular of all the henges.
This is the nighttime version of the Standing Stones Summer Solstice label which features the same design, but in the daylight.
The blue night sky with the stars and the silhouettes of the stones makes it quite a striking label, along with the stone-style banner and inscribed font.
Get a slab of 12 of them from Lymestone for £27.50, about £2.29 a bottle.
