3 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 10/20From the bottle: Amber with nice barely off white head. Smooth with a balanced blend of hops and malt. Relatively subtle spices are a mishmash but not offensive. Pleasant enough and light enough to have several.
3.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Bottle into a goblet. Pour is a dark amber with a light head. Aroma is a rich malt and spice. Taste is a dry malt with a holiday back, that?s nice in may. Finish a warmth. A good Lager.
2.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 8/20
Bottle. Pours a clear amber body with a small fizzy beige head that retained as a thin covering. The nose is a bit of a spice overload, lots of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a sweet caramel malt base. The sweetness and the heavy spicing almost reminds me of a lot of pumpkin beers. The flavor is something out of pumpkin beer territory as well. Lots of caramel sweetness, but more nutmeg and cinnamon on the finish. There seems to be a bit of an odd chemical like note that lingers a little too long on the finish. Medium bodied with a little too much stickiness and fizzy carbonation. Can’t say that I dig this one too much. Maybe Harpoon has some extra pumpkin Ale and they just rebranded it for the winter?
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
12 oz in Boston. Roasty dark Scotch winter flavors. Bananna bread, toffee and cola. OK beer
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
12oz bottle - pours medium amber with small offwhite head and good lacing. Nose is nutmeg. Flavor is potpourri. Spicy and a little sweet. another holiday beer.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
12oz bottle. Pours a dark copper with a thick off white head. Decent lacing. On tap at The Office. Aroma is of cinnamon, cloves, some caramel and peppery hops. Taste is cinnamon, cloves, some caramel, cherry fruit and peppery hops. Nice holyday brew.
3.5 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 12/20
Reviewed 2/4/13. 12 oz bottle into a pint glass.
A: Pours a crystal-clear tawny copper color that is honestly quite beautiful. The head is a one finger offwhite shade with great texturing and lacing. It doesn’t retain itself the best, though.
S: The most shamelessly cinnamon forward beer I’ve ever encountered. It’s almost as if Harpoon took a page from Southern Tier’s book on "how to make something smell exactly like what you’re advertising". Okay, so Harpoon didn’t advertise this as "Cinnamon Bomb", but you get the picture. I don’t care for super-spiced brews - still, I wish most scented candles smelled like this.
T: Flavor-wise, there was no chance in hell of living up to the aroma. Still, spicing comes through quite strongly on the midtaste and finish. Ultimately, the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and coriander overpower the timid malt base quite thoroughly. As a result, the balance is sorely lacking. But you know what? It’s not bad - as a showcase for the heavy spicing, I’d even call it good.
M: Very creamy and almost lush. It slides down a bit sluggishly due to the thick texture, but becomes quite clean (not to be mistaken for dry) past the aftertaste. Carbonation is unintrusive.
O: Fairly underrated in my book. It’s not great per se (nose notwithstanding), but I wouldn’t be averse to having this again. In a way, I’m glad Harpoon went for the ’unsubtle, hop-devoid spice bomb route’ with this instead of the ’wassail meets Arrogant Bastard’ route. This is NOT for everyone, though.
2 AROMA 2/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 8/20
Try again guys! Looks good at the pour, though the head is thin and disappears quickly. Aroma definitely includes banana. It’s easy to tell when a brew starts with quality malt and hops, that’s not evident here. Seems like more emphasis is placed on adding in flavors, rather than starting with a quality product, then enhancing it with spices. Alcohol bite stands out and spoils the finish.
1.1 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 1/10 PALATE 1/5 OVERALL 1/20
What crap. Nice cinnamon spice aroma mixed with caramel malt like it wasn’t over done. What a nice statement but then it’s all over when you actually have to taste it. All the disgusting nasty mistakes a brewer could make all wrapped into one. Good malt totally ruined and too syrupy hidden by bad medicine, cough drops, rotted maraschino cherry sauce, and a touch of stale pine sol.
Instant drain pour.
3.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
These are not the flavors I expect from a "Winter Warmer", nor the ABV. A better label would be "Winter Spiced Ale". Liked the spice blend, but mouth feel is too thin. Nutmeg and sweetness in the nose.
3.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
UPDATED: FEB 20, 2013 Very nice scent. It smells like a busy holiday party kitchen full of gingerbread cookies and spice cake. Thin, watery mouth feel and a fleeting, vaguely spicy-sweet taste. I would like this beer if the taste were stronger, but it’s still rather decent. I’ve come to enjoy it the more I’ve tried it.
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