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5594
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bottled
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on tap
unknown

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RATINGS: 228   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.12   SEASONAL: Winter   EST. CALORIES: 159   ABV: 5.3%
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COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Brewed with a special blend of domestic and Belgian malts for a delicate nut-like character, you'll love this lager's rich taste and signature hop aroma. The exceptional full-bodied taste reflects our brewery's extraordinary commitment to brewing beers of the highest standard of quality. We hope you'll enjoy it. Happy Holidays!


most recent ratings

3.2
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 13/20
bhensonb (8995) - Woodland, California, USA - DEC 9, 2009
Bottle from joshuahfl. Pours dark copper with a two-finger fine beige head. Rather malty aroma. Medium body with sharp carbonation. Flavor is something roast malt, suggestive of nuts. No particular nut though. Finishes with a rather grassy bitter. Flavorful and pretty smooth.

3.2
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 13/20
Pawola22 (3101) - Chicago, Illinois, USA - DEC 6, 2009
12oz bottle. Pours a clear, copper colored body with a finger-width, frothy, off-white head that dissipates quickly and leaves a moderate, petri dish looking lace. Aroma is nutty, light to medium sweet malts with some caramel, and an underlying earthy fruit. Flavor is a light earthy and grassy, grapefruit hop up front with a dry, nutty, lightly sweetened malt balancing this out. Finishes crisp and dry with a lively carbonation and a good amount of fllavor after a light to medium body. Finishes and lingers with nuts, grapefruit bitterness, mild spiced caramel, and a hint of toast. Overall, this was a lot more flavorful than I anticipated, especially towards the end. Its nothing crazy, but it has a fairly decent bitterness to go along with the lighter, nutty malts. Very sessionable and an enjoyable winter lager.

2.3
   AROMA 3/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 4/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 10/20
rader58 (695) - Leawood, Kansas, USA - NOV 28, 2009
Pours a clear deep reddish brown. Aroma of molasses and horse blanket. Tastes better than it smells. Slightly bitter on the initial taste with a slight molasses and malt flavor through the end. Not that good

2.6
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 2/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 11/20
sebletitje (5416) - Enghien, BELGIUM - NOV 21, 2009
pours brown, beige head. Aroma, malty, nutty, some pine/citrus hops. Flavor, caramel malts, nutty, had this notable Belgian malt aspect, thin bitter finish of pine hops. Finishes with hints of nutty / bready malts. Not that great.

3.1
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 13/20
beernovice39 (2778) - Montana, USA - NOV 18, 2009
This is not bad, but not great either. Going down the singles section at toast looking for new stuff. Decent flavor, bit thin. Would drink again at $1.50.

2.9
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 11/20
Barrios (1241) - Nashville, Tennessee, USA - OCT 18, 2009
Pours a lasting ring of beige head with a copper body. Aromas of caramelized malt and some hops. Flavor is caramelized malt, butter, grassy. Finish is roasted and bitter.

2.8
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 4/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 12/20
MmmcKay (1018) - Brentwood, Tennessee, USA - OCT 18, 2009
Pours brownish copper. Nice aroma of roasted nuts, malt, and caramel. Tastes watery wet. Stale water and malty nuts. Tastes thin. Bitter malts and stale flavors. Not real exciting. Bottle might be old and past its prime.

3.8
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 17/20
williamherbert (1121) - Syracuse, New York, USA - AUG 12, 2009
Clear and glassy reddish brown. Puffy styrofoam head. Takes on a ruby/mahogany color in the light. Slightly bitter, nutty malt. Some sweetish toffee. Really well-crafted. Bitter, very nutty but biscuity. This smell is the definition of the term "nutty" in a beer. Real real good. Malt is dark and roasted. Very nutty. Not the brown sugary taste many browns have, not at all. Dark and roasted, like amber malts bitterly mingling with darkly sweetish toffee and caramel. Bitterness of a red, sweetness of a brown. Light-bodied. A bit ashy; feels like an amber/red. A solid beer, bitter in the amberish malt, sweet in the caramel malts. A good offering.

3.1
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 11/20
Rciesla (5499) - Exit 15W, New Jersey, USA - JUN 17, 2009
Bottle. Pours a copper body with an off white head. Some caramel and nut character with a nutty earth y finish and a hint of dried fruit. Not bad.

3.3
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 13/20
Gregis (1270) - Shawnee, Kansas, USA - JUN 1, 2009
Pours a clear, dark, reddish brown with two fingers of creamy beige head (and sheeting lace) that diminishes with time. The nose is of sweet nutty and caramel malt notes with a pleasant supporting notes of floral and herbal hops. Light-bodied with soft carbonation and a tight, light, yet significantly bitter finish. The palate turns a touch astringent and drying at the finish. With food, this could be a plus. As a standalone beverage, however, I find that characteristic a tad off-putting. The flavor more-or-less follows the aroma with some Munich malt character thrown into the mix and the herbal hops cranked up beyond what is detected on the nose. Overall, this is a nice interpretation of the style and a pleasant surprise from Saranac.


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