Custom Brewcrafters Christmas Ale

Brewed by Custom Brewcrafters
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Honeoye Falls, New York USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

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2004 growler compliments of GoldenSpunky. Pours a dark amber-auburn with some dark brown hues and a smattering of off-white head. Aroma of light yeast, dough, cherry cola, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Flavor is dry, with the nutmeg and cinnamon apparent right away. Gains a touch of sweetness, some light clove notes and a good amount of actual malt flavor. Good to see that this one isnt an over-spiced watery mess like some other X-mas ales. Not strong at all, but what it lacks in strength, it makes up for in drinkability. Medium body, some caramel, light fruit notes from the yeast. A great session christmas ale, just right when you’re looking for something of which you can have 10-12 pints while opening presents. . . .

Bottle. Pours amber orange with an off white head. Sweet malty aroma with cinnamon and other spices. The flavor has sweet and toasted malts, light spices, and a light fruity sweetness. Decent.

I enjoyed one of these while watching the Cowboys dismantle the Saints Sat. night at the distillery. Nice dark brown pour. Aroma of Christmas spices of cinnamon,ginger and nutmeg. Malty body with flavors of cinnamon nutmeg and the like. Enjoyable

In years past it has been better. This is the first year it’s been available in bottles, and only as part of a mix pack. The color was a nice red that went well with Christmas, and it poured with a nice head out of the 12oz bottle. Carbonation was good, but it didn’t have the spice characteristic of previous years. It tasted more like a yeasty red, than the Christmas Ale I’ve come to expect. It’s still good, just not as good as years past.

draft. pours orange amber with one finger off white head. sweet, and somewhat spicey (ginger) aroma. dry palate. tastes of brown sugar and stale malts. carbonation is fizzy. overall it was not unpleasant but the stale and sugary flavors made it less than crisp. kind of hung in the mouth. tastes like a lot of their brews, this time with some spice. meh.

Draft. Dark red body, small head, spice and malts in the nose. Spicy, malty, forgettable.

Rated while drinking: Pours a very ruby red color with a small off-white head. Sweet malts and as others have mentioned, quite a bit of ginger stuffed in there. The gingerbread aroma carries over into the flavor ten-fold to make a very different type of "Christmas Beer". The palate seems a bit harsh at times, but drinking directly out of the growler probably doesn’t help that. Worth a shot.

draft- super caramel, much like many of the cb brews, with some nice munich maltyness, and hints of spice. Drinkable.

(growler) Dark ruby red color with a thick and puffy tan head. Aroma is light and malty with some hints of spices, cloves and gingerbread. The taste is loaded with flavors of gingerbread cookies with a sweet and slightly bitter finish. Very watery, however the ginger taste is very unique and delicious.

Out of a growler bought at the brewery, pours a deep red, very dark, with a thick, foamy, off-white head that lasts the whole way down. Nice lacing. Smells malty, light hops, some ginger. Tastes like a ginger bread cookie. Also some graham cracker, lightly bitter at the end. Really unique taste, but I’m not a big fan of ginger bread cookies, so I can’t give this one two thumbs up. Not bad though.

UPDATED: DEC 19, 2006 Pours a deep amber with small head and minimal lacing. Nutmeg, clove, cinnamon and Christmas cookie spice. Spices are not too overpowering. ABV is low as a Christmas Ale should be. Good brew. Re-Rate Christmas 2006. Grolwer from the brewery. Taste is more complex this year. Better balance of nutmeg and clove. This is NOT a winter beer. It is a limited release holiday brew. Just the right "kick" for a punchbowl substitute.