At $90, it appeals as a trophy beer, of sorts, to be given to various dads, husbands, partners, sons and brothers by their loved ones. And with its sleek, tapered bottle, wax-dripped capsule and neatly packaged in its own padded box, it’s really more about the price-tag than the contents.

All 5,000 individually-numbered bottles will be snapped up, just as they were last year, despite the fact – as readers may recall – the 2010 release had an unpleasant wild yeast or “brett” fault. Fosters master brewer John Cozens confirmed the presence of brettanomyces in last year’s brew, which he reckons almost certainly came from one or more of the wine barrels used in its maturation.

This year, a portion of the beer was matured for three months in a couple of brand new French oak barrels, before being married with the rest which had spent a similar period in a stainless steel tank. And a trained microbiologist was on hand during the bottling stage, Cozens says – presumably to help avoid last year’s scenario.

So it is somewhat alarming to discover – to my palate, at least – that Crown Ambassador 2011 has a mild lactic infection. Lactobacillus is most commonly found in yoghurt but the same sharp, sour note is in this beer – particularly once it has warmed up. Admittedly, it is slight but who knows how it will develop as the beer ages, especially after the recommended three year bottle-aging period.

To be fair, others I quizzed found nothing wrong with the beer and there is a lot going on in the complex palate. But among the chewy toffee notes, hints of yeasty bread and tropical fruit, a sour note lingers – as if someone has dumped in a spoonful of yoghurt.

Personally, I’d be much happier to be unwrapping half a dozen bottles of Little Creatures’ latest single batch release - The Big Dipper – as a Christmas present. Styled as a “double IPA” – the new darling among craft beer circles – it delivers a nicely balanced package of voluptuous malt flavours wrapped around a resinous, hoppy spine and potent strength.

The double theme is continued in Johnnie Walker Double Black, a newly-released brand which claims to offer “a more intense whisky experience” for lovers of Johnnie Walker Black Label. It’s not often that big companies deliver on such hype but, in this case, it is a winner.

I suspect the blenders at Johnnie Walker have upped the single malt content and lengthened the oak-aging regime, and the result is a vastly more complex and flavoursome Scotch than the standard Black Label. It’s the sort of dram which wouldn’t be out of place with a plate of Christmas pud.

Merry Christmas.

TASTING NOTES

CROWN AMBASSADOR 2011 (10.2%)

Copper-amber, hazy; pours with generous, rocky head. Aroma: citrus, caramel and sour yoghurt notes. Palate: layers of toffee, yeasty bread yeast, vanilla bean and greengage notes are undercut by the sour/lactic characters. Overall: oh, dear.

JOHNNIE WALKER DOUBLE BLACK (40%)

Rich golden-brown. Aroma: juicy malt, toffee, spice, praline, toasted coconut. Palate: chewy caramel with praline hints initially; mid-palate shows dried orange peel and hints of peat smoke; smooth, rounded finished. Overall: complex, integrated and flavoursome.

LITTLE CREATURES THE BIG DIPPER (7.8%)

Deep gold. Aroma: lime marmalade, honeycomb, spicy and sappy. Palate: substantial, mouth-filling malt; rich and resinous citrus-edged hop flavours roll through the mid-palate; finishes with a stinging hop bitterness which is nicely matched by the voluptuous malt characters. Overall: potent strength is well-concealed.