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RATINGS: 212   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.05   SEASONAL: Winter   IBU: 45   EST. CALORIES: 237   ABV: 7.9%
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COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Like FDR’s Depression-Era Radio Addresses, which were like a kick in the butt and a hug at the same time, our Fireside Chat is a subtle twist on the traditional seasonal brew. We begin with a rich, dark, English-style ale and then we improvise with spices until we know we have a beer worth sharing with the nation. Celebrating the right to be original.


3.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
fidel (1302) - Livermore, USA - JAN 4, 2011
Poured dark brown, lots of spices, roasted malts, little dark fruits, little dark chocolate.

2.8
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 11/20
MadIndian (1902) - Levittown, Pennsylvania, USA - APR 28, 2012
A weird beer, but spice / herb beers always are Some nice chocolate, corriander notes with spice and grass. It was ok.

3.3
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 13/20
JCB (3094) - Durham, North Carolina, USA - APR 18, 2012
Can from Sam’s, Durham. Pretty handsome garnet pour, well carbonated and buoyant looking. Roasty, spicy nose, kind of a generic WW thing happening. Body wasn’t quite as slick as I’d feared, even if the flavors were a bit boringly spicy-sweet.

3.3
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 13/20
ngeunit1 (799) - Mountain View, California, USA - APR 3, 2012
A - Served a dark black-red color with a finger of frothy tan head. The head fades down slowly with some nice lacing. S - Aroma is a mix of toasted caramel malts with spice, lightly burnt malts, and some yeast. T - Starts off with some sweet toasted caramel malts with some dark spices and some light yeast flavor. Through the middle, some more spices come through with some more yeast flavor. The finish is a mix of christmas spices, with some sweet caramel and toasted malts. M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a spicy and sweet finish. D - Very drinkable. The balance is pretty good, but it feel just a touch off. The spices are a bit too rough compared to the rest of the beer.

2.7
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 1/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 12/20
Scrapersnbeer (441) - Boston, Massachusetts, USA - APR 1, 2012
A beer like this is built on the belief that sweet n’ hot spices like cinnamon and clove will contrast with caramel malt in a satisfying way like hops can. Any spiced beer steps far enough out of the mainstream to make it hard to rate. On first pour I didn’t think the additive went well with the sweet malt aroma, but found that it quickly mellows out. After a few initial sips this beer feels like a heavy strong English ale. It has the appearance of one of those premixed black and tans. The body is unfortunately too thin for what the beer intends. This makes it about as easy drinking a a strong spiced beer can be. So it has FDR painted on the can. This is a brewer all wound up in nostalgia.

3.6
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 14/20
XmnwildX12 (457) - Farmington, Minnesota, USA - MAR 24, 2012
Has a nice dark cola color, with a small amount of head. Nice sweet bitter taste on this one. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

3.2
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 13/20
stoneageradio (246) - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA - MAR 1, 2012
Can. $2 at Giant Eagle. A decent winter warmer, but not as good as the Lancaster Winter Warmer I just had last week, not as pronounced. This one had a decently malted scent with spice and dark fruit notes tossed in for good measure. Lots of foamy head over a dark brown appearance. The medium bodied palate had a sticky texture, and the taste was fronted with spice, a cinnamon distinction, followed by sweet fruits making for an apple cinnamon finish that fell flat ultimately (the low point of the beer overall, which made me drop to a 6 for taste). A decent aroma and beautiful appearance kind of set me up for a much bigger beer. Overall, a solid beer, just an oddly disappointing finish.

3.1
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 14/20
someviking (116) - old bridge, New Jersey, USA - FEB 20, 2012
pours a dark ruby brown color with a small tan head. aroma is mostly typical for a winter spice brew.. cinnamon clove and maybe some ginger. almost smells like red hot dollars candy because of the sweetness. taste is pretty much the same... but falls a bit flat for a complex winter spice brew. upfront it has everything you want but completely dies once your tongue tries to decipher the flavors. malts are there but weak tasting. it seems like they built this beer on spices with no backbone to support it. mehh

2.8
   AROMA 4/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 12/20
thorongil2 (498) - , Ontario, CANADA - FEB 16, 2012
(tap) clear dark brown colour with small tan head; faint aroma od spice; balanced flavour, unimpressive

3.3
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 13/20
alobar (1955) - Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA - FEB 4, 2012
Surprisingly dark brown pour with an off-white soapy head. Powerful aroma of cinnamon, clove, and toffee. Cinnamon flavor with clove, toffee,and a hint of chocolate. Decent beer.roasty,

3.6
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 14/20
ross (1913) - weddington, North Carolina, USA - JAN 22, 2012
Can. Red pour with a thick beige head. Smell is very spicy and full of cinnamon and clove. Some alcohol noted but not enough to think its 8%. Pretty good, better than a 3 rating,,


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