Saint Arnold Christmas Ale

Brewed by Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Style: English Strong Ale
Houston, Texas USA

Serve in English pint, Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Bottle: Pours a nice orange mahogany color with a thin white head. The nose is spicy and sweet with some herbal hop character and a caramel/raisin malty note. The flavor is balanced, a light tartness in the tail and a little yeasty candy note. Not too big of a body for the sweetness involved. More herbal hops in the tail. Very well conceived winter strong ale.

Bottle. Pours clear amber. White head. Nose and taste of candi sugar, sweet caramel and light spices. Creamy mouth feel. Medium body.

Draft @ Hoppy Monk El Paso. Has no head but the holiday festive hue is red and pleasant. Aroma has spiced candi sugar, candied cherries. Is sweet but thankfully not cloying, there is a dry finish bc of the spice. Cinnamon. Thin flavor/body and not hot but feels strong in the head. Not bad, just too thin.

( 12oz bottle 2008 vintage thanks to BA zdk9) Pours clear orange with thin ring of film on top. Nose of brown sugar, caramel. Taste of roasted malt, coffee, and earthy hops. Nice roasted creamy finish. If you get a chance to have this aged it smells SO much better than fresh.

Draft at Flying Saucer/Addison. Amber with a pleasantly frothy front. The aroma is light and hoppy. Moderate maltiness is up front, but this settles into a decently balanced session brew. Even keeled. (#4039, 12/14/2010)

Bottle:   Caramel, slight ruby hue, thin sudsy off-white head, sparce lacing.   Mealy aroma, slight cereal and cardboard.   Seems like one of those English Strong Ales that try too hard.   Biscuity, cardboard, and slightly earthy on the tongue.   Not enough sweetness to make me forget what just happened.   I lick my lips to see if there is anything there I rather taste than this beer.   The trap has been laid, and Saint Arnold fell right into it.   A mediocre English style Strong Ale.   Body and mouthfeel are moderate.   Finish just seems a bit cardboardish to me.   The sweetness that is required is not there.   It finishes very mealy with a sense of "Who cares what you say, this is how we do it in Texas!"   The Rahr & Sons version was better than this one.   I guess thats all I can really say.   Thanks Bill!

UPDATED: DEC 1, 2012 first bottle was a single from U-Stop... . . what an interesting brew, It has a good uplifting smell and has no real head at ALL. No bother, the taste is like ,wow! CRAZY sweet assortment of flavors, could use a tad bit more carbonation but not really seeing as this is a sippin good night brew, but wow! NO surprise here, ANOTHER great beer from St.Arn’s! .. . . i got spice in my eye

Strong fruity aroma with raisin and hints of vanilla. Brown color, off-white head, fair lace. Smooth, sweet, fruity, little bitterness. Long lasting finish with raisin and a alcohol burn. Not bad at all. Reminded me of some good but macro ales from Belgium.

Lightly hazed orange/umber color. Just a thin lid of light beige bubbles. Quite sweet and grainy in scent. Aromas of corn silage and alcohol. This really brings back memories of feeding the cows just prior to milking. Heavy malty flavors with a with caramel and light fruit. A touch of floral hops help keep things a touch sweet. Mild spice in the finish and linger. Some dry grain and malt flavors in the linger. A stronger malty amber ale.

Bottle shared by Azurelimits. Served in a tulip. Pours a copper-bronze color with a very thin head that quickly fades into a thin white color. There are a few bubbles on top as well. The nose is quite plain with just a tad bit of pine and cinnamon along with some caramel backing. The taste is along the same lines--pine and a bit of faint spicing plus a bit of caramel sweetness. Medium body with average carbonation. Overall, nothing offensive as it doesn’t take the spicing too far, though it’s quite boring. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 12-20-2010