3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Well geeze, it’s December now so I guess I can start drinking Christmas beers.
Pours a deep red with a big white head and lots of lace.
Smells rich and malty but has a certain chalky element that is weird. Light cherry and stale ashtray. The stale ashtray harkens back to the holidays spent at grandparents house on my fathers side, although I’m not sure that this was the particular emotional response that Breckenridge was going for here.
The flavor is rich, moderately sweet and malty. Some of the smokiness carries through and is pretty nice really and well matched with some of the sweeter cherry and toffee flavors. Lots of cocoa flavors are here as well as some mild hop bitterness. The trouble is that the beer has an aspirin like astringency that does linger. This is not my kind of beer generally but I think without the astringency I would really like this quite a bit.
2.9 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
From the 2011 batch. It does have a nice looking dark amber pour with an above average but short lived head. The aroma is not as exciting as I anticipated with the description. It was your run of the mill dark malted note with a crisp but subtle hop bite tearing up the rear and almost nothing in the way of Christmas spices. The body is pretty good and in the medium range. There is a moderate bitterness in the taste with a vaguely sour afterbite. It could have been one of a dozen different strong ales as far as I am concerned.
3 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Surprising caramel malt and spice flavor after a bland nose. Somewhat ruined by an almost cloying bitterness in the finish.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Poured from multiple 12 ounce’ers to glass - Is this one taking a hit among the ratebeeratarians? I think this one is far above average! Nice sprinkling of spices on a background of caramel malts. Slick texture and satisfying.
3.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 10/20
Aroma: Faint hints of caramel and chocolate.
Appearance: Dark brown with a thick tan head.
Taste: Medium bitterness with light sourness up front, tempered slightly by some sweetness.
Palate: Full body, slick texture, lively carbonation, long finish.
Overall: It’s drinkable, but sort of sour and acerbic. I’m glad I didn’t pay for this six-pack or I’d feel ripped off.
2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 3/10 PALATE 1/5 OVERALL 7/20
Bottle to glass. Poured a nice dark brown color. Tasted bland and while nothing was offensive, totally average at best. Aftertaste was bitter and unpleasant, had to cleanse the palate with a real Christmas beer.
3.6 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
UPDATED: NOV 27, 2011 Draft in a pint glass. Pours clear amber with thin off white head with ok lacing. Aroma is caramel malts and pine hops. Taste is sweet and bitter but in a balanced way. Medium to full body. Texture is oily. Starts off really sweet but strangely turns hoppy. New to me - I’d call it bipolar.
3.5 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle. Pours a copper brown color with a white foam head. Aroma of grapefruit, caramel, citrus, and earthiness. Sweet caramel taste with a nice hoppy nice and a malty finish. Tasty.
2 AROMA 2/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 9/20
Thin watery, bland bad spice taste with chocolate/carmel notes.A very bad spice bittering finish taste. Lots of mineralness and blah. Reminds me of some of leiny’s stuff.Dump
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
A clear reddish brown beer with a small off-white head. The aroma is nutty malt and caramel. The flavor is chocolatey and nutty, nice malt characteristics.
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