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Score
9095
OVERALLStyle

bottled
common

on tap
unknown

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RATINGS: 239   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.45   SEASONAL: Winter   EST. CALORIES: 285   ABV: 9.5%
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COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Timed to coincide with the holiday season, a very special lager is brewed with honey, oranges, and spices. This beer uses two pounds of honey per pound of malt in its brew, making it an exceptional fortified holiday specialty beer which will keep for years. The spices and hops balance the sweetness of the honey and malt to give this lightly hopped beer its perfect flavor.
Alcohol ABV varies from 9.5% to 11% each year


most recent ratings

2.7
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 10/20
steve1966 (75) - Florida, USA - JAN 4, 2012
Unbalanced lots of nutmeg, and pumpkin flavor. If this is trying to be like Anchor Steam Special Ale it falls well short. Mainly taste the alcohol in it and it does pack a pretty good punch, Wouldn’t seek this out was not impressed with their Pumpkin beer when I had it years ago. Nice try but it misses the mark.

3.5
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 13/20
J_man (536) - Tustin, California, USA - JAN 3, 2012
Strong spicy cinnamon aroma! Nice clear medium amber with an off-white head. I thought this would be way to cinnamony from the aroma, but the other spices somewhat balanced this out so it was actually quite enjoyable. Still, as the beer warmed, the cinnamon became more pronounced along with the clove and started to become more like a cinnamon stick. Contrary to what I almost always recommend, I’d suggest drinking this colder rather than warmer unless you like a strong cinnamon burn. Other than that, this was a very well balanced and tasty spiced ale. Nice honeyed caramel sweetness that helps tame the spice and probably some hops in there, but it’s hard to pick them out of the spice. Just noticed that this is listed at ABV 9.5%, which if that’s true it’s very well hidden! It would be interesting to age this a year or so and see what happens with the balance between the sweet and spices.

2.4
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 4/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 9/20
GJF (1078) - Mount Vernon, Iowa, USA - JAN 2, 2012
I’m not really connecting with the good reviews on this one. A nice dark pour and a nice aroma of mostly clove. But I find the flavors really unbalanced and muddy and overpowering. I didn’t finish mine.

3.5
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 15/20
stangger (571) - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA - JAN 1, 2012
12 oz bottle from hawksfan77... thanks guy. Medium brown pour, minimal lacing or carbonation. Caramel, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg in the aroma. Taste is a punch of spices - clove, nutmeg with a strong alcohol presence. The spices really overwhelm any other characteristics, and the alcohol is very noticeable. It’s decent but no way I could drink more than one.

3.8
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 15/20
alobar (2300) - Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA - DEC 27, 2011
Pours chestnut brown with a creamy off-white head. Aroma of clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and orange. Thick creamy body with clove,cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange flavor. Excellent lacing. Well done.

3.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 12/20
dekester1 (260) - Neenah, Wisconsin, USA - DEC 18, 2011
Pours a very dark brownish red with a beige lacing. Aroma was of malts, spices (e.g. clove, cinnamin, etc.) with a slight fruity tinge. Taste is extremely rich - malt and spices with a heavy alcohol backdrop but not really ’fuelish’ taste of a HG malt liquor. I also caught a slight prunish hue due to the mix. Palate was nice and thick. Overall, basically a nice holiday season meal-in-a-bottle. Be prepared, this stuff has punch as well.

4.1
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 15/20
Chalsk (936) - North Caldwell, New Jersey, USA - DEC 18, 2011
On tap at Capone’s. Pours an amber color with an off white head. Aroma of grapefruit, caramel, pine, and earthiness. Sweet resinsy, caramel taste, with some grapefruit notes mixed in. Really excellent. Has the characteristics of a hoppy red ale.

3.8
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 15/20
HighlanderOne (881) - Bergen County, New Jersey, USA - DEC 17, 2011
Poured from bottle. Aroma of brown sugar and orange peel. Cloudy mahogany, tan head. I taste citrus, cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin with a warming alcohol essence. Odd, sort of hybrid feel to it. Flavors tend to get heavy toward the end. Still, an interesting unique beer.

3.2
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 12/20
jcwattsrugger (10000) - Florida and, New Jersey, USA - DEC 15, 2011
12oz bottle-pours a rich tan head with copper color. Aroma is spice, sweet medium malt-toffee. Taste is spice hops, sweet medium malt-toffee/some cocoa, alcohol.

2.9
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 10/20
dimenhetfield (2354) - , Florida, USA - DEC 11, 2011
Bottle poured into snifter. Well the aroma is definitely in the Christmas spirit but the flavor is just a big malty mess. Too spicy and sweet for my liking.


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