Revolution Fistmas Ale

Brewed by Revolution Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Chicago, Illinois USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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Bomber. Pours a clear, brownish-amber. Little in the way of head or lacing. Nose is sorta weak, some malt hint of spice, slightly pissy. Mouth is odd for a ’holiday style’, malty up front with some hops, fades to a medium dry with some ginger. Not a real fan of this one. Give me the GLBC Christmas Ale over this one any day. RBC has done a lot better.

22 oz. bottle. Deep ruby pour with a small, white head that fades to a rim around the glass. Aroma of spruce, pine, ginger. Mild orange, touches of hop and dough notes. Flavor is bitter, piney and sprucey, touches of ginger. More like an xmas tree than a ginger bread man. I mean, whatever you’re into dude. I’m not here to judge. Its medium bodied, fine for the ginger lover.

Pours a deep, clear red with a thinner off white head. Aroma has more spice notes than anything else. Ginger, pine, a bit of caramel, and a bit of cinnamon. In the taste, orange flavors really come out. The pine and spicy notes are still there, but it is really the orange that stands out most. Orange aftertaste lingers with you. Smooth when drinking with a medium body. Not a whole lot of carbonation here. This one is alright. Nothing really stands out to take special notice. It is nice and easy to drink.

On tap at rev in 11/23 Clear red with an off white head. Fresh piney aroma. Citrus and fruity malts. Sweet malts a bit boozey and over bearing. Bitter finish a bit cloying. Too syruppy too much. A lighter and hopper beer would be preferable. 7/4/7/3/13

Tap at Revolution on Dec. 29, 2011. Hmmm - I’m not getting the hype/good ratings on this one, I didn’t particularly enjoy this. Fruitcake and spice elements, but something doesn’t taste right. Just not my cup of tea (or glass of beer).

had this on tap and it was poured into a pint glass. Pours a medium brown/amber color with a quick head good aromas of fruitcake, malts and citrus peels. Kind of straightforward and slightly muted as well Medium bodied with a nice feel and very good flavors of spices, fruitcake and malts A very good christmas beer. If the aromas were more pungent this would be extremely good. It’s enjoyable, but doesn’t lend itself to being drunk a lot

On tap @ Revolution. Poured amber with a white head in a tall Revolution glass. Big Belgian yeast esters with some spice and malty notes. Residual sweetness from the malt and a drying, yeasty finish. Cant put my finger on what is off.

Aroma is hoppy with lots of citrus and grass. Taste is a little harsh and wild. Hops dominate the flavor with a hint of sweetness in there. Creamy mouth. Reddish color in the glass. This is very unique but the flavor has something odd to it.

Rating is a side by side comparison of the tap and cask samples from the brewery. Obviously the same reddish brown color with an almond head. The cask version holds the head for a long time after the tap thins to a small ring around the glass. Tap aroma is fresh, Earthy hops reminding of cut grass and lemons rind. No detectable difference in fragrance between the two. Flavor is a delicious burst of hops. Totally caught me by surprise for a Christmas seasonal but it’s delicious. Big citrus and grassy hops with just a hint of "cascade style" bitterness. (In quotes because I’m not sure if any Cascade hops were used. Probably not but the Nelson Sauvin hops are delicious.). The malt lies nicely underneath the hops all throughout the pour. Mildly sweet like agave nectar. Finish is clean except for a 10 second fading away of the perfumy hop flavors. Good mouthfeel. An excellent beer. The cask version, somewhat surprisingly, lacks the depth of flavor and mouthfeel of the tap version. It’s more like a moderately hoppy brown ale that is thin midway through the taste. I am rating this high based on the tap version.

Draft... Clear dark amber, light tan head, creamy cap, great lacing... Spicy aroma and I’m liking it, light orange, pine needles, toffee... The nelson hops come through nicely on the taste to break up the spice, more orange and needles and I get the ginger now, easy to drink, one of the better xmas ales I’ve had, but a 4oz pour is enough