3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
33cl bottle from Willow Bend Liquors (Tampa, FL). Pours a dark brown red with thick and creamy light-tan head. Good retention and lacing. Aroma is sweet malt, cinnamon, raisin, dark ripe fruits, hints of vanilla. Flavor is very similar with notes of dark ripe fruit, sweet malt, some caramel and spice. Medium body with a sweet finish. Interesting Christmas ale.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Aroma is reminiscent of a Belgian wheat. Wonderful reddish hue with yellow highlights. Frothy, thick, off-white head that is mostly lasting. 10% alcohol is very noticeable. Also, quite sweet. This brew is hard to drink with all that alcohol. Why they package it in a 18.5 oz bottle, I have no idea. My friend and I split the bottle and both poured most of it out. Not that it was bad, but with a long night ahead, and the tasting accomplished, I didn’t want to put myself into a state of delirium! A brew to be sipped, and perhaps shared.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle from the Whole Foods on Lamar. Dark brown pour with some red edges and an off-white head. Aroma is caramel, dark fruit, and brown sugar. Taste is a little yeasty with dates, caramel, and an alcohol finish.
1.5 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 2/10 PALATE 1/5 OVERALL 5/20
This beer definitely was not for me. Thank goodness I only picked up a single bottle to try. The beer poured a murky brown color. The tan head was soft and bubby at first, but then disappeared almost altogether in a just a few seconds. The nose contains toffee, dark fruit, sour grapes, nutmeg, cinnamon and stale vegetables. The body is rather light and the flavor doesn’t agree with my palate at all. I get an overwelming taste of sour and stale vegetables and tart fruit. I also get some flavors of out-dated herbs and spices. I can’t say this beer is bad or awful or anything like that. The majority of the reviews, which were good, obviously tell that story. It’s just the simple fact that this beer just wasn’t for me.
3.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
On tap. A amber red beer with good head. A good beer with spicy and fruit notes specially on cassis, but with watery notes even if the beer has ten degrees !! Good caramel body, a bit boring.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
UPDATED: SEP 15, 2005 Bottle. Nose smells like candy apples. Sweet brown sugar taste. Has an after taste like honey and brown sugar together. There is a lot more going on here, but I can’t describe it. Prune, candi sugar, malt, apple, and spice come together perfectly. This is very, very good.
2.5 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 10/20
Hazy reddish-brown body with a small beige head. Aroma was sweet, fruity, alcoholic. Medium bodied. Flavor was sweet and syrupy and alcoholic. Not enjoyable.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
UPDATED: DEC 27, 2008 The aroma is of fruit, alcohol. yeast. The appearance is a dark red/brown, decent off-white head. The flavor is fruity, yeasty, bread-like. The finish is slightly bitter from both the hops and the spicy quality of this ale. The alcohol is well hidden, and the mouthfeel is medium. Decent holiday ale.
|
