BeerMike : Beer in Christmas Puddings

The origins of Christmas pudding stretch back to the 16^th century when it was known as plum pottage which consisted of meats, grains, spices and fruits (particularly raisins and currants, rather than plums) which was boiled in a bag. As sugar became more widespread and cheaper, the use of meat in the dish dwindled. Although it was banned by the Puritan Government, it was revived by King George I in 1714 as part of his first Christmas feast. Its traditional moniker was adopted by the beginning of the 19^th century, as far back as 1830 recipes resembling what we consider a quintessential Christmas pudding began to appear. Beer has been used in various recipes for Christmas pudding dating back to the mid 19^th century; Stout has usually been the beer of choice, although strong ales and barley wines have also been suggested as a good alternative. It’s status as an ingredient was cemented in 1926 when Andre Cedard, then royal chef to King George V and Queen Mary, developed a Christmas pudding that consisted of ingredients sourced from different parts of the empire. It included ingredients such as currants from Australia, cut candied peel from South Africa, rum from Jamaica, cinnamon from India/ Ceylon, and even British beer. The following year, the Empire Marketing Board made the recipe available to the public, in order to encourage purchase of goods from the colonies. As far back as the 1930’s, breweries have been encouraging consumers to use their beers in recipes for Christmas pudding. In November 1936, Barclay Perkins published a piece in an issue their in-house publication Anchor Magazine, advising users to add a dash of their strong ale Southwarke Ale (6.1%) to the recipe. The tradition of breweries issuing recipes for Christmas pudding using their beers continues to this day, Hook Norton published a recipe under the name of Granny Di’s Christmas Pudding that includes 5oz of their festive themed porter Twelve Days (5.5%) in the extensive list of ingredients, which they proclaim as the magic ingredient. Likewise in 2016, St Austell featured a recipe that advises users to soak fruit overnight in their stout Menu Dhu (4.5%), to help make the finished article a proper plump, deliciously rich and dark pudding. And, Cheddar Ales issued a recipe that advises to use a generous glug of their port-tinged festive porter Festive Totty (4.5%) into the mix. Moreover, the idea of a brewery releasing their own Christmas pudding on a commercial basis once seemed a remote impossibility, however in 2012, Fullers found its way into the news when it sold Christmas Puddings laced with their Black Cab Stout (4.5%) at over a 150 of their pubs across London and the south east. They also teamed up with Hailo, a Black Cab app to offer free limited edition Christmas puddings to passengers. These special Christmas puddings have continued to be sold at their pubs on an annual basis. For over a decade now, breweries have been commercially releasing pre-prepared Christmas puddings that utilize their iconic beers, where it sold either online or through their brewery shop, at a farmers’ market and quite often through a third-party business such a local bakery firm.

Adnams is one of the UK’s oldest family brewers with a lineage stretching back to 1872 when George and Ernest Adnams purchased the Sole Bay brewery in Southwold, and soon established a flourishing business that in time would see their beers sold around the country. To coincide with their centenary in 1972, they launched a new beer Broadside (6.5%), a strong ale to mark the tercentenary of the Battle of Sole Bay. Bold in flavour, with a fruit sweetness, aromas of fruitcake, balanced bitterness and the warming strength characteristic of a strong ale, this would seem the ideal fit for a Christmas pudding. Steve Herbert, proprietor of the Old Spot Inn in Dursley remarked back in 2007, “I strongly believe in beers that are like Christmas pudding – something slightly sweet, above 5% in alcohol, that warms you up on your journey home.”[1] This message, somewhat belatedly hit home to brewers like Adnams, whom in 2013 released a Christmas pudding laced with Broadside (6.5%), and unlike other breweries this one was commercially sold for the retail market, it’s release proved to be a game changer, which subsequently encouraged other breweries across the land to follow their lead. Like Adnams, Harvey’s of Lewes is another family brewery which has been plying the brewing trade since 1790, the brewery remains in the family with the seventh and eight generation working there today. Harvey’s festive themed Christmas Ale (7.2%) coincidentally was first released the same year as Broadside (6.5%), and it has become one of the longest continuously brewed Christmas beers in the country. The brewery describes it as “a traditional barley wine exudes biscuity malts and rich vinous fruits, all balanced by a strong hop bitterness.”[2] A multi-award-winning beer that helps embody the Christmas spirit, it has won many awards since 1992 including the BBI Awards, International Beer Challenge, The British Bottlers Beer Competition, The Great British Beer Festival and the CAMRA Beer Awards on a number of occasions. It was inevitable that this beer would find its way onto a Christmas pudding at some point, and in 2013 they challenged Adnams on the market with their own Christmas Pudding which utilized their legendary Christmas Ale (7.2%) into the mix; and much like the production of the beer, the puddings are given a long maturation period, they are produced in January using the previous year’s batch of beer then matured for 10 months before it is put on release, as far as puds go this is surely a record? It has been sold on annual basis for over a decade now, and has often been described as a staple of Sussex Christmas dinner activities, such was its demand that their batch in January 2020 alone used 540 pints of Christmas Ale (7.2%) in the mix. In 2016, Chiltern Brewery joined in the rush and released their own Christmas pudding that utilized their popular Lord Lieutentant’s Porter (6%). The brewery has been treading the boards since 1980 when it was founded by Richard and Lesley Jenkinson, to this day they remain one of the longest-running family brewers in Buckinghamshire. In 2000, they marked their 20^th anniversary with the release of a new beer, Lord Lieutenant’s Porter (6%). A smooth, rich and smoky porter, the beer was named after Sir Nigel Mobbs, then Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire. In honour of this bestowing, he launched the beer at their 20^th anniversary event. It has gone onto become one of the brewery’s most successful beers, winning a string of awards including 7 Great Taste awards, 2 BBI National awards and a bronze medal at the SIBA Midlands awards 2005 (bottled beer category). So, it is understandable that this beer would eventually find it’s way into a Christmas pudding recipe and fast forward sixteen years later, the brewery took plunge and produced their own puddings within their kitchens at the King’s Head, Aylesbury, notable one of two pubs that the brewery owns. The puddings are made in July then matured for several months for release, it is wrapped up in a traditional muslin cloth, and sold in four sizes ranging from ½lb to 3lb. Unlike its competitors it can only be heated up by steaming. Although it is only sold on a limited release basis (both online and at their brewery store), its continued success with punters has subsequently seen it re-released on annual basis to this day.

Buoyed by the commercial success of these Christmas puddings, belatedly another established brewer, Theakston’s, belatedly joined in on the act. Founded in 1827 by Robert Theakston and John Wood in Masham, North Yorkshire, the brewery has since become one of the county’s largest brewers, and is currently the 2^nd biggest brewer still under family ownership. Landlord (4.1%) is the brewery’s best known and most widely sold beers, it has won a number of awards including several at the Great British Beer Festival, notably four-times Supreme Champion Beer of Britain. It was developed in 1952, as a means of producing a strong pale ale that would help meet the demands of the growing popularity for bottled beers at the time. Despite growing competition from keg beer, from the brewery persevered and from the 1970’s onwards the beer started to gain accolades across the brewing industry. In 2019, the brewery collaborated with Yorkshire based baker Lottie Shaw’s, to produce a Christmas pudding that utilized their flagship Landlord (4.1%), where the fruit was soaked in beer prior to mixing. The puddings were released, wrapped in a festive themed tea towel. Since they first appeared on the scene, Lottie Shaw’s have become one of the most prominent bakery wholesalers in the country with treats like Gingerbread, Flapjacks and Parkin being sold all over the country. Coming from a long line of bakers, Shaw was inspired to go into business after she encouraged to revive her family’s Yorkshire Parkin recipe, she subsequently set up her own business with her husband Ian. The company has since won 7 Great Taste awards and in 2018 was awarded Official Taste of Yorkshire. However, this wasn’t the first time the bakery had collaborated with a brewery, the previous year they developed a Christmas pudding in conjunction with Saltaire Brewery, using their pale ale. Yet the cooperation between one of Yorkshire’s oldest breweries with one of the region’s most successful commercial bakers proved to be a winner, and such was its success that it was re-released the following year. Saltaire Brewery evidently have collaborated with a number of independent bakeries towards the production of Christmas puddings, for example in 2013, Saltaire Brewery collaborated with Jeff Baker (aka Thomas Baker) produced a Christmas pudding that utilized Saltaire’s Triple Choc Stout (4.5%). Baker remarked at the time of its release that this was no ordinary Christmas pudding, noting “it has a generous splash of Saltaire Brewery Triple Chocoholic Stout and Belgian chocolate chips added to the recipe. It might sound a little different to what you’re used to, but trust me, it’s good. And I’m not even a big fan of Christmas pudding!”[3] The beer in question, is one of Saltaire Brewery’s most successful products since they launched operations in the historically teetotal town of its namesake back in 2006. Triple Choc Stout (4.5%) features a unique recipe where chocolate malt is complemented by cocoa and chocolate essence to create a strong chocolate flavour, that is balanced by the bitterness from the use of Fuggles hops. It has won a slew of international awards, including Overall Country Winner (Flavoured Beer) at the World Beer Awards 2019, Gold and Overall Country Winner in the Flavoured Chocolate and Coffee category at the World Beer Awards 2021, and Gold winner in Speciality Beer category at Great British Beer Festival 2017. So quite understandably the combination of the beer with this Christmas pudding recipe would create an explosion in chocolatey flavour, alas despite such promise the pudding however was only a one-off release, however in 2018, Otley based baker Bondgate Bakery took up the reigns and collaborated with Saltaire to produce a new Christmas pudding utilizing the beer. Described as a marriage made in heaven, it continued success has prompted the bakery to re-release on an annual basis.

For some breweries, the idea of a wide county or nationwide release seems like an impossible dream, and for some Christmas pudding collaborations this remains a strictly localised affair. The likes of Tring Brewery have collaborated with a number of independent food producers over years, producing products that utilize their beers. As Hertfordshire’s 2^nd largest brewer, operating in the town of Tring since 1992, the stakes of often quite high when it comes to the commercial retail of their products, their mostly heavily used example is Death or Glory (7.2%), strong rich barley wine with a potent alcoholic nose, it was first brewed in 1994, by appointment of the Queens Royal Lancers. This beer is one of the brewery’s iconic releases despite only being released in bottle generally, and it has been used in a wide variety of foodstuffs including Chutneys, Pies, Biltong and even Charcuterie Sticks. In 2019, they took the plunge and developed a Christmas pudding in conjunction with Berkhamsted based baker Natasha Collins of Nevie-Pie Cakes based in Berkhamstead, to produce a Christmas pudding that utilized their iconic barley wine Death or Glory (7.2%), generous amounts of beer were thrown into the mix, along with a glug of dark rum and a flurry of vine fruits and spices. At the time of it’s release, it created a flurry of attention in the local press, the pudding was even reviewed on Nick Coffer’s radio show at BBC Three Counties radio, when Anna and Nat from Kitchen Conversations were interviewed about the pudding. Sadly, the pudding is no longer released, and it remains an intriguing ‘episode’ in the brewery’s illustrious history of food-based collaborations. Another regional brewer has looked even closer to home when it came to producing a Christmas pudding, for instance, in 2015, Wellbeck Brewery worked with their neighbours at the Wellbeck Bakehouse to develop a Christmas pudding, which was produced by one of the bakers, Richard Smith. The pudding hails from an old family recipe, it utilizes brandy-soaked fruit and Portland Black (4.5%) in the mix. The puddings are cooked and steamed the traditional way, in natural cheesecloth. The pudding has since won a Great Taste award in 2016, and has become a figurehead in their extensive Christmas range of baked goods and continues to be sold on an annual basis. Situated in the heart of the Sherwood Forest, the brewery has become one of Nottinghamshire’s most successful brewers since Claire Monk established the microbrewery on the Wellbeck Estate back in 2011. Portland Black (4.5%) has become one of the brewery’s most well-known seasonal releases. A velvety black Porter with notes of coffee, vanilla and chocolate, CAMRA describes it as a “black ale with a roast malt aroma and taste throughout, and a well balanced bitterness.”[4] It has previously won Silver (Porter category) at SIBA Midlands 2018. It is also available in bottle, cask and mini-cask. The unexpected success of this pudding, subsequently prompted the brewery to develop future collaborations with bakers, for instance in 2017, Portland Black (4.5%) was utilized towards the production of ale flavoured breads created by apprentice bakers at The School of Artisan Food, also based in Welbeck. Moreover, another award winner on the Christmas pudding front is LillyPuds, established in 2015 by Alison Lily of Chelmsford, in the first year of production she produced two Christmas puddings that utilized beer in the recipe, sourced from breweries based in the east of England. A traditional version made with Chockwork Orange (6.5%) from nearby Brentwood Brewery, and a gluten free version made with St Peter’s (of Bungay, Suffolk) gluten free Cream Stout (6.5%). Her puddings use 50% fruit (but no mixed peel), vegetable suet, 5% sugar and beer. The finished concoction has often been described as light and fruity. Although neither puddings are officially released through the breweries in question, they quickly established her status as a commercial baker in the region. Clare Youell writing in Essex Live back in 2017 reported, “in the first year she sold 600 of her beautifully gift-boxed Christmas puddings to shops, as well as 500 mini puddings to restaurants and pubs. In the first year, she trebled her turnover, selling 2,000 of the desserts to shops and private customers and 3,000 to eateries.”[5] Both the traditional pudding and the gluten free version take up 20% of the company’s total orders. The puddings were sold to businesses based all over Essex, including retail stores, pubs, restaurants and garden centres; in 2017 alone, a total of 20,000 puddings were created in order to meet demand. Building on this success, these puddings have received a number of Great Taste awards including most recently in 2021 when it was finalist in the hot puddings category and managed to get the Highly Commended award. To this day, the puddings continue to be sold online and are widely available in retail outlets across Essex.

Although the instances of breweries producing and releasing Christmas puddings is vanishingly small on the scale of things, it remains an intriguing cottage industry. The idea of breweries risking commercial disaster in order to release a Christmas pudding utilizing one of their beers understandably puts most breweries off the idea, however for the ones who have taken the plunger like Adnams, Chiltern and Harvey’s for instance, the results have paid off and have proved successful, even to the point of serving as a useful marketing tool for their beers. Sometimes the relationship goes the other way round, rather than being produced in-house or on a commission related basis, there have been examples of a number of independent and commercial bakers who have taken it upon themselves to produce a Christmas pudding using a locally produced beer. The likes of LillyPuds are perhaps the most successful and enduring example of this practise, where through perseverance it has sowed a lot of good fortune for the company. Although there are number of beers out there that go well with a Christmas pudding, such as Saint Petersburg (7.4%) – Thornbridge, Plum Porter (4.9%) – Titanic, 1845 (6.3%) – Fullers, or Plum Pudding (4.8%) – J.W Lees, some of which are mentioned in this fascinating article from the Morning Advertiser. The idea of combining iconic beers directly in the production of Christmas puddings remains an intriguing one, and when the opportunity of finding a commercially release Christmas pudding out there that features a beer in its recipe, the opportunity is difficult to resist.