Sly Fox Christmas Ale

Brewed by Sly Fox Brewhouse
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Royersford and Phoenixville, Pennsylvania USA

A drinkable beer, but not much going on flavorwize. Aroma was weak but could pick up caramel malt. Pour was a beautfiul dark amber with a huge pillowy 4 finger tan/white head that stayed most of the drink. Taste was very weak. Could pick up some caramel malt and maybe a hint of spices but nothing strong enough to decipher. As it warms, there is a little nutmeg in the aftertaste but that’s about it. Nicely carbonated and the flavor barely breaks through the bubbles.

Pours a light amber color with a thin yellowish head. Aroma is very weak with lots of cinnamon and not much else. Taste was very watered down with loads of cinnamon and cherry and a slight hoppy dry finish.

Bottle 2006: The initial pour is almost all tan head. It eventualy settles to a n amber beer with a fizzy fading tan head. The aroma is sweet and papery with tons of ginger, not much else. One of the most carbonated beers I’ve had. Astringently bubbly, to the point where it’s an effort to get down. The flavor comes through all the bubbles with a cinnamon hint upfront, followed by some clove & ginger hints. The finish has a toffeeish character. Not much depth and the spice presence is lacking. Way too carbonated as well.

Second bottle drank at Thanksgiving. Drank this right after Pumking. What a dud! Really struck out in every way. First off, the bottle was over-filled to the point that the cork was oozing some muddy syrup, which had grown a bit moldy from being in the air too long. Pop the cork and the beer was about .75" below the top of the neck. And then the pour... it was embarrassing pouring this into a pint glass and having 100% head. No beer at all to be seen. The bottle wasn’t gushing at least, but come on.

Anyway, on to the beer. Overly spiced, harsh palate, lacking in any and all refinement. Malts were nowhere to be found. Total crap.

Orange-red pour with an off white head. Aroma of spices, yeast, musty malt and candied fruit. Flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg...almost like a candied pumpkin pie. Medium body, spicy with a spicy/malty finish.

Name: Christmas
Date: 06/07/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Vintage: 2005

cloudy dark amber, thin fine beige head, sweet spiced cinimon and nutmeg aroma, lots of spiced flavor, gritty brown suggar sweetness, long spiced bitter finish

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4
-------- /> Name: Christmas
Date: 03/14/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Vintage: 2006

clear dark amber, frothy beige head, sweet spiced malt aroma with plenty of cinamon, rich dark caramel malt flavor, touch of sweetness, lots of spices, a yeasty bread character blends in very nicely with the spices to create a spiced Christmas cake

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

July 2005 - First off, I typically do NOT like these seasonal spiced beers...but this was really good. Poured a beautiful amber color with a nice foamy head. A perfect balance of spices, malt and hops. Not over the top like so many others of its kind. Cinnamon and other spices were a warm reminder of the holiday seasons...this stuff is like Xmas in a bottle! Rerate Nov 2006 - Not nearly as good as last year’s version. Spices seem much more harsh with much more cinnamon and coriander. Less subtle and less hard to finish. Had to downgrade this one a bit.

2006 vintage. Red-brown body, thick, creamy buff head. This bottle was shaken (thankfully not stirred) in a vehicle for about a week, joining me on trips to the UP’s finest patterned peatlands, cedar swamps, red pine forests, and granite outcrops, and then, finally, to my glass (hotel cup). I think the cork shot through the ceiling, but there was no Mulholland Drive-style yelp from the room above. The aroma is classic holiday fare, with abundant spices; nutmeg is what I pick up the most strongly. Malty body with strong but not overwhelming spices, again including nutmeg; cinnamon also abundant. There is a cider-like quality to this beer due to the spices used. Chewy, creamy mouthfeel. 750 mL is a bit much to drink, but the cork wouldn’t let me save this to share, so I’ll try...