Breckenridge Christmas Ale

Tried it at the brewery, better than the amber ale. An ok beer with avrage taste. Good after taste.

A dark red body with a winter like feel. A nice aroma with light hops. The caramel and chocolate malts help this beer give you that warm feeling when its cold out.

Bottle: Pours a pretty ruby mahogany color. Little head, nice lacing. Nose of light spices and caramel malts, I’m surprised it’s not jumping out at me more. The flavor is lightly sweet, nutty, some fig and bread, nice dried fruit; apricot, plum, mango. Clean finish. About what you’d expect from a winter ale for drinking pints of. I usually don’t see these as big drinking beers, but I could get a nice buzz off this one. Nice.

Rated 11/22/06: Comforting warmer to mellow you out. Roasty aroma some coffee and caramel and a good helping of hops, wish it were stronger. Dark brown pour with a thin head but ample lacing. Medium mouthfeel but it’s rich and filling with a real easy finish for such a sturdy beer. Flavor is an excellent bundle of roasted toasted malts, mild hops, some minimal spices, and a touch of coffee and rich brown sugar. This is like the Christmas rum cake of beer.

12oz. Bottle Bottled 5th week of September Poured a warm looking clear mahogany into my pint glass. A one finger beige head sits up top but fades to a solid cap after a couple minutes. Leaves billowy lacing when you tip the glass but it falls back into the body after a few seconds. Looks good. The smell is a tough thing for me to pick apart for whatever reason. Theres a unique freshness to this that smells faintly like fresh hops. Unfortuanately after that there’s not much else that impresses. Maybe some toasted grains and light pine. As it warms I pick up a mild nutiness. Still hard to pick apart. The taste is on the weak side. All flavors are muted including the alcohol which is surprising at 7.4%. I’m picking up the same flavors as in the nose.Toasted grains start things off. Mid-palate a small but noticable dose of hops wash across the tongue and ends with a mild alcohol spicyness. If the flavors came through more this beer would be a lot better. It’s just average right now though. The mouthfeel is strange. When I first take a mouthful it feels medium bodied and creamy. The closer it gets to the throat the more watered down it gets. Theres some alchol fumes rising after the swallow that are minimal but there. Drinkability is average. Nothing special but goes down pretty smooth. This beer was worth trying for the fact it’s a seasonal. I’ll pass on it next time I see it so I can either try some new winter seasonals or old favorites. That being said It didnt get the highest ratings from me but in no way was I disappointed. 12/5/06

Shared bottle with Brewfiend. Pours a clear caramel/brown brew with a small, fast dissolving white head. Very good lacing. Aroma of nuts, diet cola, some mince meat spice, and citrus. Taste is very sweet, smooth, creamy and full bodied. The finish is a little acidic and bitter, but has good depth.

Nice dark amber color with thin off-white head. Spicy nose with a hint of malt. Thick chewy texture with a malty taste and less of the spice I so enjoyed in the nose.

The 12 ounce bottle poured a crystal clear dark reddish beverage with a creamy off-white head that was mostly diminishing and left good lacing on the glass. The aroma was slightly sweet and malty with notes of molasses, honey and roasted nuts. There was also a subtle backdrop of old leather. It had a medium-full body with soft carbonation and a thick smooth creamy texture. The flavor starts out sweet with molasses, caramel and some honey coming out. The sweetness lasts throughout the medium-long finish diminishing only slightly. There is also a nice warming in the chest at the end.