Allgäuer Weihnachtsbier

Brewed by Allgäuer Brauhaus (Oetker Group)
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Kempten, Germany

Quickly dissipating white head. Nice mildly sweet smell and taste. Slightly spicey. Goes down easily. I can easily imagine drinking this beer on a snowy evening sitting by a fire in the Bavarian countryside (the image generated by looking at the label on the bottle.)

My label looked exactly like the picture, and the alcohol content was the same (5.5%) but mine was called Winterfestival. Since their website shows no such beer, I’ve concluded it is this one. Better hopping than most. Very nice flavor, and an impressive malt taste. Mild crispness and some dryness. Very good.

1/4/03. Clear gold color with a thick white head. Light hoppy aroma. Slightly hoppy flavor with sweet, malty flavor with hints of caramel. Faint spiciness too. Easy to drink. Threw me for a loop when I first poured it. Not what I expected for a winter beer!

Draft at Zum Schneider. Holds a creamy white head for a few minutes then collapses pretty quick. Aroma is pretty hoppy with a nice dose of pale malt. Flavor is pretty straight forward and it tastes pretty bold for a 5.5% beer. There’s a nice honey and bread thing going on also. There’s really nothing to not lime about this.

I think this is the same beer..says Winterfestival on the label..suppose it is the English version..label looks the same otherwise. Bought in the euro-style pint bottle, nice shiny/sparkly label. Quite an unusual appearance, its almost murky like a hefe weissen, slightly darker gold though with a pure white head. Smell is mostly quite malty for a German beer, with some linger spicy tones. Very malty taste again and balanced by peppery spiciness, some hops evident at the end. Exceptionally smooth on the palate. Nice easy drinking winter beer..

This was a good break in a session that featured lots of heavy Imperial stouts and bocks. Grain and light pear aroma, with a bread yeastiness. Hazy gold, absolutely great label. Grainy, fairly bland, yeasty, light sweetness. Quick finish, bready with a bit of lime.

sweet honey aroma, nice and rich malt, pours a nice orange amber color, not much taste to start, just some sweet malts, then turns to aspicy sweetness which is very honey and carmelesk.

Pretty label, all fancy, glittering iridescentdesigns in the logo, and the borders...oooo, shiny! But, how about what’s inside? Hazy, light peachy coloration, sufficient, yet slim, foam cap. Aroma, a little sour at first, largely citric, funky orange, loads of yeast...not at all what I’d expect from a German beer...especially one labeled a "kolsch", at least here...deep and earthy... Taste: smooth, tasty, rife with pulpy fruit sensations, slides effortlessly off the tongue, leaves only slight traces. An unusual choice for a winter seasonal, and not at all a kolsch, I’ll just skip speculating on category, and call it as I drink it. A welcoming brew on the palate, on the lips, down the throat, very light, but not insubstantial, hangs handily along the palate, light as a sprite, but with considerable character. This particular brew defies category...better suited among wheat beers, but possesses a certain fruity/spicy feeling that goes beyond most of them. a joy to drink down.