Lakefront Holiday Spice Lager Beer

Some brewers make "big" beers with over-powering hop, others with tons of maltiness; this beer overpowers you with spice. I might describe this as a "Yule Tide," but a tide that would pull you out to sea with its overabundance of spiciness. It is probably the spiciest beer I’ve had and I’m having a really hard deciding whether or not I liked it. This beer poured a dirty, hazy-brown with some head. Aroma was very powerful spiciness; I caught nutmeg and my wife identified cinammon and we both were reminded of pumpkin pie. Taste was an alcohol-spice infusion. It was novel and a bit punishing at the same time. Mouthfeel was thick, and combined with all the spice, I would not say this beer is very drinkable; yet it is very festive. I would recommend you it, based purely on its polarizing nature.

Pours a clear copper color with an inch of tan foam. Moderate webby lacing. Mild spicy aroma like mincemeat or pumpkin pie spice. Perhaps the spiciest beer I’ve ever had. I taste dry nutmeg, lots of clove, and a touch of flowery honey. More flavors in the finish and aftertaste, with bitter orange, more clove, leather, and tobacco. I go back and forth whether it is too much spice or not. Good thing I have a few bottles left to help me decide. Medium body, smooth mouthfeel. The alcohol is exceptionally well hidden.

The last christmas beer in my cellar. I’m really sick of them, but I’ve saved a good one for last (I hope)
Deep copper with a huge head. Good lacing. Aroma of Christmas spices (Oranges, cinnamon, nutmeg), brown sugar and sweet malt. Very sweet taste. A little too sweet, but it covers up the high alcohol nicely. Medium body and a little bit syrupy. Pretty good, but it would of been better around christmas.

12oz bottle pours dark amber with a short offwhite head. Aromas of nutmeg, cinnamon and oranges. Flavor is honey sweetness, cinnamon, nutmeg and some orange. Medium body with a pretty smooth palate with low carbonation. Not too bad actually

Wow, thanks mom. She got me a mixed six for Christmas and didn’t do a half bad job (except for the crappy A-B "micro," which actually was not horrible). I really enjoyed it. A nice, lasting head on this one, with a dark burnt red body. "Pumpkin pie" spices and oranges, flowery honey; spicy & alcoholic in nose and flavor. Zesty orange & honey flavors, sweet but bitter, making your lips stick together but leaving your mouth a little puckery. Silky body with drying alcohol. EtOH very well hidden behind spices and sugars. I’m going to have to pick more of this up! Much, much better than I expected...

12 oz bottle, 2006 version. Now this is a Christmas beer! Pours to a slightly hazy burnt orange color, with a tall, white head, that fades, and a soft carbonation. The nose on this beer is wonderful. Lots of zesty and spicy aromas of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and orange peel, mix with some honey sweetness and peppery alcohol. The plate is rich, and oily on the tongue, with lots of good sweet malt, toffee, orange flavor, and honey sweetness that coats the tongue. This beer finishes with more wonderful spicy flavors of clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger that linger with some soothing, peppery, alcohol. This beer is Christmas in a glass. The perfect beer to sip and savor next to a roaring fire, and a beer I will enjoy while reading Charles Dickins’ classic A Christmas Carol.

Bottle. 2006. Sweet honey, alcohol and nutmeg invade the nose...in a good way. Very holidayish. I love making up new words. Dark, muddy, orangish brown body. Large head that settles quickly to an off-white ring with an oil slick of a head whose light color contrasts starkly against the dark body. No lace. At 9.5% ABV, alcohol is quite apparent, and again, in a good way. This is one of the better holiday beers I remember having. Key word: remember. Quite sweet, but never cloying. Full bodied and delicious. Not a flaw to be found. Some aspect of pumpkin pie. I was in Binny’s in Glen Ellyn when I saw this brew. Called my wife who gave me the average rating over the phone which was high enough for me to go for it. Trust me; this brew is underrated. Perhaps the lower ratings are due to previous versions that might not have been as outstanding? In reading the recent ratings, it appears only the last 3 are this year’s vintage. With all due respect to those three raters, they have underrated it. Do yourself a favor and get your hands on some of this. As far as domestic Christmas beers go, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Bottle. Poured brown hue with a large creamy off-white head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Heavy spicy pumpkin pie aroma. Medium to full body with a creamy texture. Heavy sweet spicy pie in a blender flavor and an average sweet finish. Interesting drinkable spicy brew.