Church Brew Sleigh Wrecker

Brewed by Church Brew Works
Style: English Strong Ale
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in English pint, Trappist glass

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This was a nice seasonal strong ale. Heavy dark color and heavy malt flavor. Big hit of alcohol through the finish.

Sample at Church. Opaque brown pour with a medium beige head. Nose of grainy malt, some roast and earthy hops. Fruity flavor with some sweetness before a bitter hop and roast finish.

Enjoyed via draft in a pub glass at the brewery. The beer pours a deep brown color with an ivory head. Carbonation is medium-low. The nose brings a combination of fruity English yeast esters, along with some high crystal and roasted malts. The palate initially mirrors the nose, showing caramel/toffee and roasted characters up front, followed by an almost-but-not-quite-balancing bitterness, and a moderately fruity finish. The yeast seems to make its presence known with a little too much vigor, and the brewer might do well to switch to a less assertive English strain. Overall, rough around the edges, but inoffensive.

Sampled on draft at the brewery this beer poured a black color with a medium sized creamy tan head. The aroma was tangy with light cocoa, a touch of wood and light vanilla. The flavor was bitter, malty, toasty and semi-sweet with notes of vanilla, wood and smoke. The beer turns a bit dry towards the finish with notes of wood and vanilla lingering. Fairly full bodied. Interesting.

Draft at the brewpub. Arrived at the table a hazy brown with a skim of a tan head. A malty aroma of caramel, cocoa, milk chocolate, roated coffee, and some vanilla extract. Medium-bodied. Tastes pretty much like it smells - lots of caramel and chocolate upfront with bittering coffee at the tail end. A drying finish that lingers. Roasty qualities throughout. The alcohol (which is now listed as 7%) is not very noticeable. Not a bad beer, just nothing too memorable.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a dark brown, murky, with a medium white head. A strong malty, coffee toasted nose. The flavor is chocolates, a more roasted malt, sweet and smooth. A nice earthy primal brew.

Draft… Clear, very dark ale (ruby, but only when held up to bright light) with a small, fizzy, white, head that doesn’t last long. Can’t pull much of anything out of the glass, aroma-wise... maybe some chocolate and ground espresso. Medium to full-bodied and mildly creamy with laid-back carbonation. Favors the burnt, bitter side of balance, but only by a hair. Finishes charred and a little bitter.

This poured a dark brown color with a small off white head. Aroma was pretty bland but with hints of sweet malts and some chocolate. Flavor was very sweet with hints of dark fruit and sweet chocolate. Nothing special but really drinkable.

A decent English strong. I can tell you this. EXTREMELY drinkable for an 8%. Aroma of mostly caramel malt. Pour was a nice deep dark brown (near black) with a 2 finger tan head. Taste was (as a lot of CBW brews are) a little watery but with a nice semi-sweet maltiness and a hint of plum in the aftertaste. Very malty and sweet but after the swallow, there is nothing. Nice but not great.

dark brown colour, average body, has a sweet matly aroma. taste is a sweet roast malt, maybe a hint of toffee, not bad.