Brewers have fun with festive brews

Competition for witty ale names is high this year as brewers inject some festive fun into the on-trade.

Three Sheikhs to the Wind is the quirky name presented by Manchester-based Hydes Brewery. The 4.5% abv spicy, malty beer made with Challenger and Target hops, marks the final addition to its craft-ale portfolio for the year.

"Craft ales have grown from strength to strength in 2009, and this will be a fabulous beer to close out the year with," said marketing director David Safiruddin.

Meanwhile the Hogs Back Brewery has brought out its 4.4% abv Advent Ale and 7.4% Santa's Wobble, which are now listed in Wetherspoon.

Acorn Brewery has also joined the fun with its medium-strength brew, Festive Cracker. The 4.1% abv beer joins the 5.4% abv 7th Noel, which has appeared each Christmas since Acorn launched in 2003. The Yorkshire-based brewery said the Festive Cracker name sums up the year, because in recent months sales have leapt by 21%.

"It has been a good year," said MD David Hughes.

Another witty pump clip accompanies the latest addition from Moorhouse's, called Lap Prancer. The 4.2% abv beer, which replaces Santa's Piste, is brewed with a Bock-style malt (Munich malt), to give an ale with a rich flavour.

"Our brewers have come up with a very flavoursome brew, which we think will suit the festivities well," said MD David Grant.

Thornbridge, meanwhile, has decided to bring back last year's beer called Merrie. This time the deep-brown ale, which contains lavender, has been fused with another beer from the portfolio called SuJu (which contains juniper berries).

Lancashire brewer Daniel Thwaites has created Good Elf to hail the run-up to Christmas. The mahogany-coloured beer is described as having overtones of nuttiness balanced with a delicate hop aroma.

And, finally, Mr Scrooge Humbug Bitter is the offering from Frederic Robinson. The 4.4% abv beer is the last in a series of five seasonal beers this year.