Rudolph’s Revenge Winter Ale is brewed by Cropton Brewery in England, and there’s a bit of confusion surrounding the alcohol content; the bottle I had was 6% alcohol by volume, whereas on their website they indicate a 4.6%. Odd. You’ll also notice their image to the right there says "Bitter" and not "Winter Ale." I don’t know what the story is, but at any rate this was a beer I got for Christmas and enjoyed it appropriately.

Appearance: Brown with red highlights. Slightly murky. Not much head.

Smell: Hops—fruity and sweetish and a little spicy. Dark cherry. Sourish.

Taste: Sour and fruity—like a sour cherry. Tart. Malt is mild. No real hops—the tartness dominates. Okay, a little hops in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Thin, a bit watery, lighter than a pale ale.

Overall, it was lighter than I would have liked for a winter warmer and the sour cherry/cranberry was a bit odd. Not terrible, but more gimmicky.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 78 out of 100 with only 66% of reviewers approving—not a great showing. On RateBeer, it scores 2.83 out of 5 and is in the 31st percentile, also not a strong showing.