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Left Hand Snow Bound Winter Ale

 (RETIRED)
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8390
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RATINGS: 355   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.32   SEASONAL: Winter   EST. CALORIES: 258   ABV: 8.6%
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COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Fight cabin fever! Made with Rocky Mountain water, malted barley, hops, yeast, honey, orange zest, and other spices.

Editor’s Note: beginning in 2006, Snow Bound became the name for Left Hand’s strong winter seasonal beer made with honey and spices. It was previously known as XXXmas Ale. Below is the original XXXmas Ale description for reference.

XXXmas Ale is a spiced strong ale, using all natural ingredients to give it its festive nature. We brew this beer from a relatively high initial gravity to give it strength and body. This is (in our opinion) appropriate to a winter beer, and it helps to balance the numerous spices added. Honey is also added to increase fermentable sugars and give additional sweetness. Northern Brewer and Saaz hops are used sparingly, to allow the spices to evidence themselves. We add ground nutmeg, whole cloves, crushed cinnamon, orange zest and chopped ginger to spice the beer. Carbonation is kept low to accentuate the flavor of the beer and spices. It’s like a liquid cake. Brew water is relatively soft.


3.1
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 15/20
Kaya161 (1128) - San Diego, California, USA - JAN 13, 2003
Rhubarb, malty, sweet, spicy flavour. Reminds me of anchor holiday ale. eh...

3.4
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 14/20
PBOYNY (316) - Westchester, New York, USA - JAN 6, 2003
malty,nutty, somewhat thick and full of debris, not bad, but i’ve had better!

3.4
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 13/20
omhper (15965) - Stockholm, SWEDEN - DEC 23, 2002
Bottled. Dirty orange brown. Cinnamon aroma. Rugged malt profile, medium body, big gingersnap flavour. Medium bitterness. Liquid cake?

3.6
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 14/20
Aubrey (3193) - Bellingham, Washington, USA - DEC 19, 2002
UPDATED: DEC 10, 2006 2002: Big-bubbled head seems to die quickly; turns into a white edging. Ultra spicy and sweet, "eggnog" nose. Rather thick-bodied, smooth and soft on the palate; very nice. Low carbonation. Full of flavors, indeed: eggnog, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and pepper (even if they didn’t put any in), to name a few. Malts are sweet and chewy. Dryish hop bitterness in the finish... and the hop bitterness lingers in the aftertaste, along with many other spices. Cinnamon and nutmeg seem to take rank, overall. Pretty well balanced and well made, though a little overdone in the spice department for my personal liking. Although, if you like spicy and warming winter brews, you could quite possibly love this one. 2003: Very similar to last year’s, but I find this year’s a little more cloying and a little too sweet. Chestnut brown ... nutty, allspice, mild roast, some bitterness but not quite enough.

3.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
Ernest (5187) - Boulder, Colorado, USA - NOV 21, 2002
UPDATED: NOV 10, 2006 2006 bottle. Head is initially small, frothy/fizzy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is dark amber. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (cookie), lightly yeasty (dough), with notes of nutmeg, honey, and cinnamon. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, lightly to moderately alcoholic. If you like the holiday spices to stand out, this is a perfectly serviceable winter warmer. Pleasant.


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