Bethlehem Brew Works Rude Elfs Reserve

Brewed by Bethlehem Brew Works
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania USA

Beers like thisare why I love seasonals. Although this is not the best Christmas beer I’ve tasted, it is one that I travel to get each year. Not the most balanced Christmas beer but it is of high quality and craftmanship. The spice and sugar make for great Christmas brew, like ginger bread cookies!. It has a beautiful red-to-brown hue. I think all Christmas beers should have a red tint to them to honor one of the colors of the season (green is for another holiday:) After all Jesus was born to die; shedding His red blood for us (JOHN 3:16)! "Bethlehem" is where it all began! Jesus Chirst and this brewery are well worth seeking. Jesus first, of course!

Good yellowish head; slightly hazy amber chestnut beer. Very perfumed nose, some pine & resins, cypress, etc., and definitely spices: cinnamon, allspice - and bogmyrtle. It’s a bit like an aftershave, in smell. Very spicy taste, exorbitant aromatic oils from cloves, allspice, cinnamon,... Way overspiced. There’s a bit of sweetness lurking, but the typical spicy bitterness holds everything under its sway. Burning MF, oily, the spices are not strange to that. Medium bodied, but I have the impression it is heavier than it seems. " In die Beschränkung zeigt sich der Meister". This might have been a lot better with some more caution on dosage. Thanks, Mike!

12 oz bottle courtesy of hopdog… thanks. Dark amber beer with a fast fading head. The aroma is very spicy, nutmeg and lots of cinnamon. Spiced bread and plum pudding. Raisins and cloves. Flavour is quite spicy and peppery. Shows prominent alcohol and a fairly thin body. The spicing is quite nice though with enough bready malts to really back it up. Some sweet peach and plummy malts but then finishes strangely dry. An odd duck, this one.

12-oz. bottle provided via trade with hopdog. Pours clear red with an average frothy off-white head, somewhat diminishing, fair lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, caramel), average hops (perfume), average yeast (dough) with notes of light alcohol, clove, banana, nutmeg, cinnamon and coriander. Full bodied, sticky texture, lively carbonation and a slightly bitter finish. Average duration, moderate sweetness, heavy acidity and bitterness; spicy mouthfeel.

Bottle from Hopscotch. Thanks Eric. Lots of cloves on this. I know that most BSA’s have the clove/coriander notes and this one had a lot. There were some other flavors here that made this a good brew like caramelly fruits but the main event :cloves.

(bonus brew from someone,thanks someone!)clear reddish body with not much head.aroma is watermelon,cinnamon,cloves,brown sugar,and caramel malts.flavor is much of the same with a buttery finish.

12 oz. bottle via trade with hopdog - Pours a deep clear mahogany color with a small off white head. Very light lacing. Aroma is very spicey. Lots of nutmeg and coriander. Flavor is much of the same. Sweet and nutmeg. Beer lingers on the palate. Medium body. These holiday beers take some getting use to. Worth a try. Thanks Steve.

12 oz bottle via trade with hopdog! - thanks Steve! - Pours copper with a nice short tan head that fades quick. Aromas of nutmeg, corriander, caramel, cinnamon, and vanilla. Flavor is yeasty with good caramel sweetness, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Sweet throughout. Not much carbonation and sticky sweet medium body. Not bad..