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Gritty McDuffs Christmas Ale

Score
8695
OVERALLStyle
Serve in English pint

bottled
available

on tap
available

Regional Distribution

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RATINGS: 107   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.36   SEASONAL: Winter   EST. CALORIES: 186   ABV: 6.2%
COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Our Christmas Ale is a robust E.S.B. (Extra Special Bitter.) This brew has a lovely, dark red/amber color and a rich, full-bodied, malty taste with a slightly roasted undertone. We brew our Christmas Ale to an original gravity of 1064 (about 6.2% alcohol by volume) using only the finest English Pale and Crystal Malts with a touch of Roasted Barley as well. A blend of Clusters, Styrian Goldings, Saaz and Yakima Goldings leaf hops round out this hearty brew. Gritty’s Christmas Ale has no additives, fruits or spices. It’s just a good honest ale, perfect for the season. And to top it all off, it’s already gift-wrapped! (Available on draft, in 22 oz bottles and 5 liter Mini-kegs from November through January)

12 oz. version, which is filtered, is brewed at Shipyard Brewing in Portland; 22 oz. version, which is not filtered and only sold locally, is brewed at Gritty McDuff’s in Freeport

3.5
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 12/20
BeerFanDan17 (801) - Land O Lakes, Florida, USA - DEC 18, 2011
Very malty with hints of pumpkin spice, butternut squash, and apricot. Mild hoppiness.

3.2
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
Leafs93 (868) - Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, USA - DEC 10, 2011
Pours amber with an off-white head which dissipated quickly. Aroma is caramel, cinnamon and grass. Taste is sweet with very very light bitters. Light mouthfeel, was expecting something a little more substantial.

2.4
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 9/20
jeff789 (1206) - West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA - NOV 28, 2011
12 oz bottle, clearly filtered brownish amber with a quickly fading off white head... deeply malty aroma, some dark sugars, light light fruits, caramel aroma... pretty sweet flavor, tastes like it should be sticky, lightly roasty, a light grassy hop tries to cut the sweetness and kinda fails, medium body that drinks heavy bc of the sweetness... i dont get much of a traditional esb type flavor out of this, i guess one could argue that is on the lines of an english strong ale or perhaps even a thin scotch ale...

3.1
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 13/20
jsmerig (409) - Pennsylvania, USA - NOV 22, 2011
Pours dark brown with red tones. Aroma is of cinnamon and other spice. Taste is malty at the start with a nutty finish.

3.7
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 15/20
BroSpud (1124) - , Massachusetts, USA - DEC 24, 2010
12oz bottle. Pours a dark amber with very little head and medium carbonation. Primary taste is malty caramel with enough hop bitterness to keep it honest. No spices whatsoever which I find odd for something labeled as a Christmas beer.

3.9
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 14/20
damzz (69) - USA - DEC 19, 2010
Head is light brown with lacing in streaks. Aroma: hoppy spice nose. Appearance is translucent mahogany. The body is lighter than I had expected buy fine. The immediate taste on the palate is the spiciness of the hops, which I first thought was added spice but there aren’t any. This is all brew. The maltiness is quickly overtaken by the hops. This keeps to the spicy character of a Christams Ale without the added spices. Enjoy!

3.6
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 15/20
beerbill (2850) - Laurel, New York, USA - DEC 18, 2010
12 oz. bottle. My first rating for this brewer. Pours a clear reddish amber, more red than amber, with a thin-moderate linen white head that lasted through the first quarter of the glass and left light lace. Light aroma of malt and really not much else. The flavor is malty with some light roast and just a bit of sweetness. There is some light spice present in the flavor as well. Light bitterness at the finish. Medium bodied. No problems.

4.1
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 15/20
TATE (120) - Lubec, Maine, USA - DEC 6, 2010
Bottle. Gritty’s have some of my favorite beers. Aroma is nutty and roasty malt. Color is dark amber with an off white head. The middle has a bit of roasted somewhat burnt flavor mellowed by a nutty flavor ending with a little hop bitterness. It has a full mouth feel and medium body. Very nice on a cold snowy day.


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Rating Notecard:
Beer: Gritty McDuffs Christmas Ale Rating Avg: 3.36 No. of Ratings: 107
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