Once again, only 4 votes seperated the top 2 beers in this poll…

1. Magic Rock Bourbon Barrel Bearded Lady 10.5% ABV

Normally we’d get a guest blogger to write the piece about the winner but I couldn’t think of a bigger Magic Rock fanboy than me! So here’s what I thought when I sampled the 2013 version last Christmas… After I got through the wax seal and cracked the top I was instantly greeted with sweet piney, roasted aromas. The pour is thick, black (even though it’s a brown stout) and leaves a lovely creamy brown head. There is a big boozy aroma from the glass and you get coffee laced with cream while at the same time almost getting a whiff of JD and coke. The taste is like nothing I have ever sampled before. It’s like a smooth espresso and the bourbon ageing is coming through in every gulp. But it’s not harsh, it’s smooth, it’s warming and it just makes you keep going in for more. Big piney aromas continue throughout the drink, there is a thick flavour and finish, but I just can’t get over how smooth it is. As I near the end of the glass the smoothness continues, but the roasted flavours begin to give way and there’s slight fruit tones in there. This is so well balanced and so well delivered.

2. Brewdog Paradox 15% ABV

3. Kernel Imperial Brown Stout London 1856 10.1% ABV

4. Siren Shattered Dream 10% ABV

5. Harviestoun Ola Dubh 8%

6. Buxton Tsar 9.5% ABV

7. Redchurch Old Ford Export Stout 7.5% ABV

8. Thornbridge Raspberry Imperial Stout 10% ABV
See what we thought of this beer as part of 2013’s #12BeersofXmas

9. Highland Orkney Poter 9% ABV

10. Old Chimneys Good King Henry Special Reserve 11% ABV
Hear what we thought of this beer when we reviewed it at the end of season 4

Magic Rock’s Bourbon Barrel Bearded Lady now joins Kernel India Export Porter, Beavertown Gamma Ray, Camden Town Hells and Marble Dobber in the winners poll later on in the year. Before that though we have one more poll to get through.

The UK Top 10 Ales will features blondes, goldens, bitters, ales, reds, rubys and milds. It’s a bit of a catch all but the interest in these polls in waining so we want to finish the series before the end of the year.

You can nominate your favourite alesin the comment box below or via Twitter using #UKTop10Ales until Friday 5 December. The poll will run from Thursday 11 – Sunday 14 December and the winner will also be added to the UK Top 10 Beers poll at the end of the year.

Thanks to everyone who took time to cast a vote, we hope you enjoy giving these beers a try.