#109 Homebrew - Holiday Spice Ale.

This was my first beer to be made from a recipe and not a kit, and the first to use a yeast cake from another batch of beer. I used the yeast cake from an IPA that had some remaining hops. The recipe was a basic ale that I had originally planed to use to make a pumpkin beer, but after all the bad pumpkin beers I had I didn’t want to make one. After a few weeks I added 1 star Anise, 1 whole nutmeg, a few cloves and 2 slices of fresh ginger all ground to a plump and left in the secondary for a few weeks. It was less than 1 ounce of spices for 5 gallons of beer, it looked like way too little.

The smell is nothing but spice, strong star anise licerious aromas, and not much other spice can be detected. The color is a hazy brown with a huge head of foam. The foam is massive, lots of large light brown bubbles. The head has tons of retention, it has been a few minutes and it is still thick in the glass. The beer was primed with boiled white sugar not corn sugar.

The taste is nothing but spice star anise, and maybe a touch of ginger. The finish makes my mouth water with some remaining sweetness and a little bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin, but since there isn’t a big malt profile it is ok.

As long as you like star Anise or licorice this beer will be good, and it is a good match with some spice cake. If you don’t like those flavors, then this beer is way too strong. In the future I will use less star anise or add it to the boil instead of the secondary.

#108 Samuel Smith - Winter Welcome Ale

More Christmas beers, since I took a break from them yesterday.

The aroma of this beer is full of caramel and malt. While the beer warms up I am getting light hop aromas. The color is light brown that is clear enough to see through. There is a full head of foam on the beer when first poured, but it drops off with a bit of time.

The beer has malt and caramel flavors with a sharp bitter taste. I am not getting any hop flavor to go with the bitterness, and the bitterness is strong through to the finish. I think the mouthfeel is a little thin, and doesn’t go well with a heavy malt beer. The bitterness leaves a bad taste in the back of my mouth, and drys it out, I think all the malt was cooked at a high temp to get the bitter taste.

This isn’t the worst Christmas beer I’ve had, but it is not much of a beer, and there is nothing very Christmas like about the beer. I think the heavy malt does lean towards the Christmas Ale beers, but this is a thin too bitter beer that is nothing much of a beer.

#107 Kasteel - Rouge (Kriek)

I got this beer at Rich O's Public House is New Albany IN while visiting family in Louisville KY. Rich O's is a bar in the back of a Pizza restaurant in a small town. This place is a complete sleeper, I would never expect such a beer selection from such an unassuming place. They have a huge selection of draft beers, and more Belgium beers any store I've ever seen. Rich O's is #19 in Beer Advocte's top 50 places to have a beer.

This beer has a sweet cherry aroma. The color is a dark red, almost blood red, with very little foam. The lack of foam is common with a beer than has fruit or spices added.

The taste of this Belgium is pretty one sided with the Cherry. It's a bit sour, but mainly just cherry flavor. It's a good beer, but I like more taste, so the server recommended mixing Rouge chocolate stout and brought me a ounce of stout. The mixture was perfect. A good sweet creamy chocolate with a sour cherry flavor.

The Kasteel Rougue by itself is a little plain. It's perfectly drinkable and many people would enjoy it, but I like more to my beer. With the Rogue chocolate stout the two were a great treat. I know mixing beer can be a no-no for a beer purist, but I think it's a good way to go for these two.

#106 Wychwood - Bah Humbug

Another Christmas beer tonight.

This beer has a fruity, sweet cake smell, that makes my mouth water. The color is a clear red, with a thin head of foam.

The flavor of this beer isn't as sweet as I expected from the smell of the beer. The taste even drys out a little with some bitterness that quickly takes away from the sweet flavor. The mouthfeel is very thin and doesn't help the flavor. The finish is dry and bad tasting.

I really don't like this beer. It's a thin sweet smelling bitter beer. The label is nice and the smell seemed like it would match well with a Christmas beer, but the taste is no good. I can't even start to talk about if this is a Christmas beer because it's hardly a beer.

#105 Winters Bourbon Cask Ale (Anheuser Busch)

This is Anheuser Busch's attempt at a bourbon cask ale. I wonder if they aged the batch entirely in a bourbon cask or added chunks of the cask to the ferments like the do with the beachwood. I was in Schlafly's cellar for the Homebrew Competition and saw their old bourbon casks, I was told they won't be used again and will be distributed as promotional material for the brewery and the distillery that they got the barrels from.

There isn't much smell to this Bourbon cask ale. A basic sweet malt smell with only a hint of bourbon. The color is a clear brown that is a bot on the orange side. The foam is very low, only a litter ring around the edges, it poured with some activity, but died down before long.

The taste has some bourbon flavors but they are poorly balanced. There is some sweet malt taste that is ok with the bourbon since bourbon is sweet. But there isn't much else to the beer beyond the bit of bourbon taste, it's too thin to be paired with the bourbon, very much like the Kentucky Ale Bourbon barrel. There is some bitterness to the beer, but it goes poorly against the bourbon taste.

Like the Kentucky Ale, if you want to use bourbon casks you need to make a big beer. Lots of malt and rich flavors. Throwing any old beer in a bourbon cask doesn't make a good beer. Like last nights beer, just because it has Christmas label doesn't mean its a Christmas beer.

#104 Heavy Seas - Winter Storm

Heavy Seas was kind enough to put a note on the beer telling the style of the beer. This is a category 5 ESB extra special bitters. It's an English style that isn't too far removed from and English IPA.

The smell of this beer is very rich with hops, nice earthy grassy hops. There is also a hint of malt in the aroma, but just a hint next to the big hops smell. The appearance is a reddish color that is clear with a few bubbles coming from the bottom. There is a light ring of foam at the top of the glass, just on the edge.

This is a bitter beer, the bitterness caught me off guard and made me wince at the first sip. There is a pronounced bitterness that has a bit of malt sweetness to back it up. The hop bitterness is making the back of my mouth water. There is also some carbonation in the beer that is tingling on my tongue lightening the taste some.

The overall impression of this beer is bitter, and that is what an ESB is supposed to be. I was arguing my dislike for ESB verse my love of IPA's recently and I am glad this ESB backed up my feelings. I want hop flavor in my beer not just bitterness. What makes this beer a Christmas / Winter beer? The label is the only this I can tell that distinguishes it.

#103 De Dolle Brouwers - Stille Nacht

When ever I get a Belgium brewery that I can't fine information about I also wish I could speak Dutch, French, or German one of the languages of Belgium so I could learn more about the company. But with only my English I can't find too much reliable info about the company. I did find that Stille Nacht is "Silent Night" in German.

This beer starts with the Belgium beer aroma of spices and Belgium candi sugar. The pour is fizzy with almost no foam, and a steady flow of bubbles from the bottom, much like a Sprite. The color is amber, but cloudy with sediment floating in the beer. The sediment is shown in the closeup picture.

The beer starts sweet with a honey flavor, is quickly followed by a Belgium spice taste. There are fruity esters of bananas which is common with a Belgium beer. The mouthfeel is thick and smooth reminding me of honey and blends with the initial taste. The fizz from the pour only causes the beer to finish a bit dry, and doesn't add anything else. There is a light alcohol flavor to the beer but nothing strong enough to indicate this is a 12% beer. I am not getting any yeast flavors from the sediment, which is nice.

I really like this beer, the only Christmas characteristics are the extra sweetness and the high alcohol. I wonder if my bottle might be old since it had so much sediment and so little head. Regardless this is a fine beer.

#102 - Gouden Carolus - Noel

Gouden Carolus is a Belgium brewery that I am not familiar with, and can only find mention to other seasonal beers they make. With all the time spent of labels I am going to start getting better pictures of the more choice labels.

This beer smells like caramel and sweet malt, with a hint of fruit and hops. The color is a dark brown, but clear enough to see through. The head poured very thick, but has subsided to just enough to cover the top of the beer. The foam has good retention and is sticking to the side of the glass.

The taste is really different, lots of malts and sweetness, and almost a maple syrup flavor. The beer also has a good hop side to the flavor with some with some fruit taste. The fruit and the sweetness blend well with lots of dried fruit flavors raises and plums. The beer has a thick mouthfeel, that mixed with the syrup flavors comes across a bit too sweet. I think there

I think is this is great Christmas / Seasonal beer, but I don't think I would want one any other time of year. This is far too sweet and syrupy for a beer any other time.

#101 Sam Adams - Old Fezziwig Ale

Yet another Sam Adam's beer.

The smell of this beer is malty with a good deal of holiday spice, there is some nutmeg and clover smells. The color is a dark brown that is opaque keeping light from coming through. The head isn't very thick, but has good retention and a nice brown color.

This beer has a great holiday tastes. There is plenty of nutmeg, cinnamon, and other Christmas spices with a strong enough taste to make the tongue tingle. There is only a hint of chocolate from the dark malts, and not much other malt characteristics. The mouthfeel is fully and tingly from the spiciness.

Normally I think Sam Adams beers are good examples of beers for the style, but a bit short of making a great beer. This beer has one of the highest levels of spice of all the holiday beers I have tried. I am really impressed with this beer, it is a great Christmas beer.

#100 Boulevard - Nut Cracker

I had this beer at Ciceros a bar well known for their beer selection. I previously didn't think much of there selection until my last trip there, they have a huge number of beer on tap and plenty of less common beers. I had this beer while on a Pub crawl with the St. Louis Brew home brew club and asked some members for there opinion, and I wasn't too far off the mark for the "experts". Then I waited a few days before writing this post so I only have notes to go on and feel like I won't be doing the beer a fair Justice, oh well.

The smell was heavy with malt and only a slight aroma of malt. The color is a medium brown with a thick head.

The taste was malt sweetness with some well balance hop flavor. There were fruity esters of prunes, and other dried fruits. There was also some carbonation in the mouthfeel leaving a tingly taste. The finished was bitter and a little too dry.

From my notes it seems like it was a good beer, but it was a long pub crawl and this was my last beer. The heavy malt flavors seem to be common among the Christmas beer and this one had the malt for sure.

#99 Anderson Valley - Winter Solstice

Another Anderson Valley beer bottles normally have a picture of bears with antlers. I guess the bear could be seen as a Christmas bear dressed like a reindeer. The bottle also has a paragraph about getting out winter cloths and drinking beers to keep you warm. I think a beer to keep you warm is a good approach to Christmas / Winter beers.

This beer has a spicy smell, but it's a hop spice not a winter spice. It's a good smell with fruity notes. The color is a medium brown that is clear except for all the bubbles. Tons of bubbles are floating up from the bottom making the beer look a little like champagne. The head is just thick enough to keep the top covered but it is long lasting thanks to the flow of bubbles.

For the hoppy smell the taste is very malty. The taste is sweet like caramel and cherries, balanced against the malty toast flavors. There is a little buttery diacetyl taste and slick roof of the mouth flavor left behind. The finish is a but bitter, but I think it's from the amount of grain being used and the not hops. I am really supprised the hops smell isn't present in the taste.

This is an ok beer. I was excited for lots of hops from the smell, and ended up with more malt, I really like my hops. I think this is an acceptable example of a Christmas / Winter beer, it's malty and rich with a bit extra alcohol.

#98 Samuel Adams - Holiday Porter

Another Sam Adams beer. I always think Sam Adam's are such straight froward beers that they could be used for beer competitions to base the style on, or as calibration beers for to make sure the Judges are all judging the same. Just regular drinking beer.

There is a nice roasty, malty smell to this beer with a touch of caramel. The color is a very dark brown almost black, clear but too dark to see though. The foam is nice and thick, with brown bubbles.

This beer tastes malty and rich, with some coffee and caramel flavors. There is also a nice hop spice to the beer that complements the malt well. There could be some other spice flavors, more than just hops, but I am not getting them. The mouthfeel is a bit thin for such a dark malty beer, but I've seen the thin mouth before on porters. The finish is clean with a hint of chocolate.

I am not sure what makes this a "Holiday" porter, it's just a regular porter as far as I can tell. Malty and and easy drinking beer, nothing too fancy. Like a Sam Adams beer, it's beer and it's fine, nothing amazing nothing bad, just beer.

#97 Great Lakes - Christmas Ale

Today I successfully choose a Christmas beer to review. I have plenty more Christmas beers to drink before the month is over. This beer has a very pretty label, unfortunately it's hard to photograph because of the curved bottle, but it's a train full of Christmas tree ornaments. From looking at Great Lake's site it's clear they put thought into all their labels.

This beer has a nice Christmas smell, with the fruit smells of cherries and apricots, and the spice smells of cloves and cinnamon. The color is a clear brown with tons of bubbles floating up. The beer poured with a nice head, but it has since passed and just a ring of foam is left behind.

The beer tastes strongly of Christmas spices clove, cinnamon and the most pronounced is ginger, but over all well balanced spice profile. There fruit tastes are not very strong at first but in the finish there is a nice fruity taste. There is also a full mouthfeel to there beer, and plenty of carbonation making it takes light.

This is what I am looking for in a Christmas beer, nice spice and fruit tastes. This is a beer that was made as a Christmas beer, and I think Great Lakes did a good job.

#96 Casta - Super Premium

Tonight as I went to the beer fridge to get a Christmas beer I choose the first 12oz bottle I found, surprisingly the beer is not a Christmas beer. My friends Joe and Rachel got me this beer when they went to Mexico over Thanksgiving and got engaged. Casta is a Mexican craft, who developed an interest in brewing after studying in Philadelphia.

This is an effervescent dark beer, with a caramel and toffee aroma. There is also a sharp hop aroma to the beer, it gives a balance with the caramel. The color is a darker brown, but very clear. The beer pours with a lot of foamy head, but it quickly fizzes away. The foam is more like the foam on a citrus soda a sprite or 7-up.

The taste is sweet, and malty with a hint of spice but over all the taste is thin. The finish is a little bitter, and leaves a bit of aftertaste on the tongue. The real enjoyment of this beer comes from the fizzy light mouthfeel. This is like drinking carbonated water, or root beer.

I could see drinking lots of these beers on a hot Mexican day. I think the alcohol is on the low side, and with this light mouthfeel and not strong tastes. This is a big change for the heavy Christmas beers, and it's a nice surprise. Thanks Joe and Rachel this is an fun unique beer that I might otherwise not get to drink.

#95 Rouge - Santa's Private Reserve Ale

This Rogue beer mentions hops of the bottle and I am remind of the hop shortage. Because poor harvest, low profit, and a new trend towards growing corn for bio-fuel, there is a shortage on hops. Home brewers can't get some variety of hops, and the prices are going up. Brewery's like Anheuser Busch have purchased all of 2008 hops in advance make some variety only available to them. This might mean a lot more malty beers next year, and less IPAs on the market.

From my first whiff of this beer I got lots of hops. The smell is full of citrus and fruit aroma's that are common with American / California hops. The color is a dark red that reminds me of Santa's suit. The head is very thick and bubbly, much like an IPA.

Hops, and more hops is what is present in the beer's taste. I am only getting a hint of malt on the initial sip, but that is quickly overrun by the hops. The hops are sharp and bitter like unripe pineapple, leaving my mouth tingling and watering. The mouthfeel is a bit thin, unlike the sticky thickness of an IPA. The finish is a nice level of bitterness, giving a good taste.

This is a great beer for a hop head, but I have no idea what it has to do with Christmas, unless Santa's a hop head. I think the hops are a little over the top, and could use some balance against a bit of malt. A fine beer for someone liking hops, but stay away if you don't like bitter beer.

#94 Delirium - Noël

The beer smells like a Belgium beer with fruit and spice. The color is a pale brown, and very hazy. The bottom of the bottle even has some particles, maybe yeast, floating in it. True to Belgium beers the foam is thick, but with no bubbles from the bottom.

This might be the most different Christmas beer so far. The taste is sour, and fruity with a bit of spice. The fruit taste is like raisin or some other dark fruit. There is also a warming to this beer, it might be from fusal alcohol, an off taste present in some beers. The sourness seems to mellow as I drink the beer which is good since I am not a fun of sour beer. The mouthfeel is heavy and smooth, except when too much sediment gets drank. A clean finish with just the warmth and a bit spice.

This is a fine tasting beer, I think the other Delirium beers are better. Not sure what make this any more Christmas than any other Delirium's. I am a little concerned about the sediment in the beer, maybe something was off in the bottling. I've included a picture of the sediment.

#93 Sierra Nevada - Celebration

Sierra Nevada has been putting out this seasonal for a few years. I talked with someone this weekend that said he always buys a case of the Celebration and lets it sit for a year before drinking it. I think I will have to try this.

The smell was rich and malty, with a slight hop smell, with a hint of alcohol in the aroma. The color is a clear brown, with a good thick head of foam, and plenty of bubbles from the bottom of the glass.

The beer taste hoppy, and spicy. There is a bit of the thick malt taste that has been common with the other Christmas beers, but more hops than others. There is a good alcohol warming from the beer that I think should be present in a Christmas beer. I think all the hops made the beer too bitter, and took away for the beer some. The mouthfeel was full also like a good Christmas beer.

A good example of what I think a Christmas beer should be. Very enjoyable.

#92 Schlafly - Christmas Ale

Another busy weekend another late set of posts. This weekend was busy one with the St. Louis Brews Home Brew club Competition. I drank LOTS of different beers. I stewarded the judging for category 18 Belgium beers, 10A APAs, and 23 Experimental Beers. Sitting with the judges I got to get some insight on beer judging that I hope I can add to this blog.

This beer came directly from the Schlafly taproom, I think its only on tap. On the smell I am getting sweet Cherries and some spiciness. The color is a Reddish brown with very little foam. It was served in a smaller snifter glass which help in the aroma.

The smell of the Cherries carried to the taste. It wasn't an artificial cherry taste or a citrus hop taste that some IPAs have, it was a nice sweet fruit taste. There is also a good amount of spice flavor to the beer from a combination of hops and spices.

I've had plenty of Christmas beer where I think a brewery took a normal batch of Ale and cranked up the malt, or adjusted the mashing temp some and called it a Christmas beer so they can say they have a Christmas beer. This is a beer that can no be mistaken for anything but a Christmas beer.

#91 Abita - Chistmas Ale

Abita brewery is from 30 miles north of New Orleans Louisiana. They started as a brew pub seating only 100 and has grown to a large 62,000 barrel brewery. I've heard a lot of good things about the brewery and will look for other beer from them.

This beer has malt and caramel aroma, with a little hop and alcohol smell. The color is a clear brown, almost the color of the bottle the beer came in. This beer has a thick head of foam, that risked over flowing the glass when I poured it, and the foam has a good staying power.

This beer has a harsh tannin taste, that is a lot like the beer from yesterday. The taste is grainy, biscuit like, with hints of coffee. The finish is very dry, leaving a harsh taste at the back of my mouth. The mouthfeel is foamy and smooth, maybe the best part of the beer.

I am not too crazy about this beer. It is a lot like yesterday's beer, too much malt, and dry with tannins.

# 90 Breckenridge - Christmas Ale

On their web site Breckenridge brewery has a recipe for pork chops made with this beer. I always love food cooked with beer. Maybe next year I'll do a "year of food cooked in beer", it would be hard on the days when I'm not home.

This beer has an earthy smell, like dust or dirt. There is a hint of malt to smell, but mainly I am getting the earthiness. The color is a dark brown or amber, and clear enough to read through for such a dark color. There is only a hint of foam to the beer, and there was no foam up while pouring.

The earthiness lightens in the taste, but is still present. The beer has a biscuit or toasted taste to it. I can taste the dark malt tannins and a hint of coffee. The mouthfeel is crisp, with plenty of bubbles on my tongue, a surprise of the amount of head. I am getting some hop spice, but not much, and there is some bitterness in the finish. The beer is 7% alcohol and I can't really taste it.

Overall this is an ok beer. I think the tannin taste is a bit too harsh, and not desirable. I think it is a good choice for a winter beer. This isn't a beer I would get a 6 pack of, but it's a fine seasonal sample.

#89 Seriously Bad Elf

This is my last elf beer. I've got plenty of more seasonal / Christmas beers to drink. I heard that this beer's label got the beer banned in a state (forgot which Maine?) because it showed an elf with a sling shot. The interview with the Dan Shelton of the Shelton Brothers was on Craft Brew Radio coved the story, and gave a back ground into the last few beers.

This beer has some orange peel aroma, that reminds me of Belgium beer. There is a some smell to the beer maybe clove, or coriander, and there is a yeast smell too. The color is a dark yellow almost straw color, and very clear. The head is nice and thick.

The taste is very full of flavors, some fruit and spicy flavors. I am getting some strong banana flavors, nice and sweet. The spices in the beer make is a good example of a Christmas beer. The mouthfeel could be a little heavier and I don't really taste any hops. The finish carries the strong spice and fruit through the beer, making this beer very enjoyable.

I am really enjoying the fruit and spice in this beer. As the elves got worst the beers got better. I know there is also a criminally bad elf on the market but I don't know where I can get it. If it contiunes like the other 3 I would love to try some. THis beer is great.

#88 Very Bad Elf

Today's beer is the very bad elf. I just love the art work on these bottles. I heard an interview with from the Shelton Brothers that import the Elf beers. They get beer made at brewery and relabel to be imported to America.

This beer has fruity aroma, with some hops aroma, and some strong ale alcohol smells. The color is reddish brown, and very clear. There are lots of bubbles coming from the bottom of the glass, and slight ring of foam, just thick enough to block the view.

The beer has a rich taste with only a bit of hop flavor, but plenty of hop bitterness. There is a little lemon taste to the beer, making me pucker a bit. Also some alcohol wamness to the beer which is appropriate for a winter beer. The mouthfeel is thick, and reminds me a little like a Belgium beer. The finish bitter and sour and dry.

I like this beer it is tasty, and a lot better than the Bad Elf. Maybe a little more holiday spices would be be appreciated, but I think this beer is a good example of a Christmas \ Winter beer.

#87 Bad Elf

This is beer part of a trio of beers imported from the Shelton Brothers with a holiday elf theme. I've included a closeup shot of the label because I really like the label.

This beer's smell reminds me or lager beer more than the Ale that it is. There is a sweet aroma, but with a hint of a spice. The color is a hazy dark yellow, I am almost see through the beer, but not fully. There is bit of foam ringing the glass and just covering the top.

The taste is slightly sour taste, with some yeasts. I think there is a high amount of hops in this beer but mainly bittering hops. The beer has a thick mouthfeel that reminds me of a Belgium beer. On the finish of the beer I am getting a light sweet fruit taste, and some bitterness.

I am not a big fan of this beer, I think it is too bitter. I am sure hope my this trend of not liking Christmas beers, it might be a long month of beer.

#86 Samuel Adams - Winter Lager

For the month of December I plan to drink all Christmas and winter beers.

This smells like a lager, but a bit stronger. There is some spice aroma to this beer. The color is a brownish red, and clear. There is only a bit of foam surrounding the top, and a few bubbles coming up from the bottom.

This beer has a strong barley wine, bourbon aged, strong beer start but it doesn't seem to really have the follow through. I can't distinguish any spices but there is a spicy taste. There is a little hops to the beer, which might be giving the spice the taste. This beer is like many Sam Adams beers, just doesn't go all the way of making a great beer.

This beer has plenty of taste, but it's not that great. I am hoping for a better holiday beer tomorrow.