Crooked River Yuletide Ale

Crooked River Brewery (Snyder Intl)
Brewed at Black Box Brewing Co
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Frederick, Maryland USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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(From the 2011 batch) Slight dark fruit aroma, with just a touch of spice. Pours a clear ruby red, with a thin off white head. Nice spice flavor, with a hint of cherry in the background. Very nice Christmas ale, a bit more fruit notes then most of the ones around Cleveland. This is one I’ll be recommending to others.

2002 bottle consumed 8/18/09. Pours a hazy brown with some protein globules floating about and a surprisingly well developed head. Smells of muted spice, roasted malt, some chocolate sneaking in, some fruity hints. Tastes of sweet and roasted malt, velvety, spicy, some dark fruity elements, a nice touch of cocoa present. This must have been an amazing beer when fresh. Even with 7 years on it, it is still drinking well.

03-Sep-06 (12 oz bottle: Obtained 21-Mar-05 in trade with jeffin7, thanks Jeff!) I’m becoming a believer that these spiced winter ales age wonderfully. I actually have two bottles of Yuletide Ale, and although pushing two years now, the beer is delicious! Malty, chocolaty, roasty, lightly spicy and a bit earthy and smoky. Spices are surprisingly subdued, perhaps diminished from the aging. Malts are moderately sweet, and with hops playing little role here and the roast not contributing much in the way of bitterness, the chocolaty malts really dominate. Perhaps there is a hint of butter in the background when the beer warms up, but even warm, it remains a tasty brew. Body is medium and carbonation is light. The malty nose is chocolaty and lightly sweet. The initially hazy, brown-colored body turns fairly clear once all the particles settle to the bottom. Small, light-tan head dissipates somewhat rapidly, leaving just a thin ring as a quiet remembrance. Very enjoyable, one of those pleasant cellaring surprises for me.

Reddish-brown color and a tannish head. A spicy aroma and a decent finish.

Reddish brown with an offwhite head and aromas of citrus, dark fruit, and malt. The flavor has some earthiness and spice accompanied by a bit of malt. Finish on the palate is slightly astringent.

UPDATED: FEB 21, 2006 Reddish-brown body, slightly congealed looking in glass, with bubbly sediment. Head is eggnog colored, decently thick for being 3 years old or so, and very longlasting (till the last drop). Aroma is cherry, dates, malt of course, and snappy citrus hops. Fun! Taste is jampacked with flavor, nothing mild about the palate on this oldster. Heavy malt, plum, and dark cherries rounded out with caramel backdrop and lemony hops. Alcohol sizzle and caramel round out the aftertaste. Solid beer, deserves a better ranking. Picked this up in a "discount" crate (unfortunately, the date had worn off) at Chevy Chase Liquor and Beer, in our nation’s capital, Washington, DC.

Crooked River Yuletide Ale pours to a beautiful, bright, tawny brown color with a thick and creamy tan head, and a soft to moderate amount of carbonation. The nose is wonderful with lots of sweet and caramel malt aromas paired with very nice spicy aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg. The palate is rich and delicious with lots of big sweet and caramel malty flavors. Slick malty flavors of butter scotch, toffee and caramel slide over the tongue. Yuletide Ale finishes with more wonderful malty flavors up front, then ends with slightly warming, spicy cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg flavors that linger.

Generous hops and malts in aroma, suggesting great subtlety of caramel, raison, alcohol, and spices (nutmeg). But it doesn’t appear in the tasting. Thin, too, fading quickly from the palate, though there was still much potential. Amber and sticky looking. Bottle.

Sweet potato aroma with light spice. Looks like a red ale. Becomes more flavorful and aromatic as it warms. Unremarkable but not undrinkable. This being late August, maybe it was just old.

bottle from brickskeller. a nutty, gingerbread-y aroma that fades into a spice-fest. this tastes like drinking pumpkin. sweet, with too much confusion to really enjoy.