Great Lakes Christmas Ale

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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Draft. Amber color with medium white head. Aroma of spices....ginger, nutmeg. Good beer but definitely a seasonal for me. ----Hophaze out

A very nice Xmas ale from Great Lakes brewing. Pours lager brown with a short head. Nice spice notes with nutmeg and cinnamon at the head. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottled. Pours pale to medium amber, with creamy white head. Light, slightly tart fruit aroma blends well with spice aromas; ginger and clove, perhaps? The flavor opens with cinnamon and mellow, sweet malt. These flavors are balanced by a touch of hop bitterness that picks up in the middle. Finish is sweet, but not cloying. Thin, smooth mouthfeel, light to medium bodied. Well-balanced combination of flavors, evokes the holiday spirit well.

on tap @ Union, just put this on and poured some into a juice glass. Nice lively white head which stuck around for a few and left some excellent lacing. Nose is a little subdued, malts + scintilla of honey. I smell no cinnamon. Color is spot on to the commericial description, although I see orange around the perimeter indicating it might be a little less than coppery/red. Taste medium sweetness, lightly bitter, mostly malty malt malts which often does not make me happy but somehow G.L.B.C. pulls it off for me (I like Conways Irish Ale too, weird). The sweetness + spice is all upfront and plays fast and loose with the malts and those damn malts finish it all off. I like those carmel malts that they use. Overall this style of beer usually is not for me, but I will knock back a glass of this here and there throughout December... Cheers!

12 ounce bottle into signature pint glass, best before 2/22/2013. Pours lightly hazy copper amber color with a small 1 finger fairly dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Spotty minimal lacing on the glass. Aromas of caramel, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, toast, brown sugar, cherry, raisin, bread, and herbal spiciness. Very nice aromas with good strength and balance. Taste of caramel, bread, toast, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, honey, brown sugar, raisin, and herbal spiciness. Slight spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, toast, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, clove, bread, and herbal spiciness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice malt/spice flavor balance with good complexity; zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a lightly creamy and slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with hardly any warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a damn nice spice amber ale! Well balanced with good flavor complexity; very smooth and easy to drink. Very enjoyable offering as expected.

At first taste I am thinking what is all the hype about.But as I savour this ale I realize I am comparing it to Jubilation,Hibernation and Anchor Steam XMAS ales.This beer is unique.Cinnamon and honey abounds.Not real malty and leaves a nice after taste.Something different for the Holidays! Enjoy.I am.

BW3, Dayton. Flat. No head. Copper. Slight cinnamon, not overpowering. Clove-like. Not bad. Wouldn't want to drink it every day. Pumpkin pie aroma. Mild medicine palate. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Draft at the brewpub at CLE. Pours a clear copper color with a thin white head. Various spices in the aroma. Some cinnamon, ginger, and honey. Light and not overpowering. Nice sense of the spices. You can definitely sense the honey and I like that. Very unlike other xmas ales that I have had.

Too much ginger and spice for me at this point. Perhaps just not a beer I was ready for at the moment. I dont feel like having a beer with the gingerbread man, but I guess thats what this is. Clear orange. Malt and spices. Sweet taste. On tap at coles.

About freaking time I get to try this. Bottle shared at the Richmond Industry Gathering. Pours a clear copper color with a thin creamy white head. Good head retention. Aroma of brown sugar, toffee, nuts, toasted malts and a spicy finish. The taste is brown sugar, toffee, nuts, toast, and a mild lingering hoppiness. Medium bodied. Nice beer.