Bethlehem Brew Works Rude Elfs Reserve

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

Bottled Via trade with afterexile. Bright amber color with an ivory head that leaves heavy lacing. Right off the bat this beer smells a lot like pumpkin pie. Tons of cinnamon with notes of allspice, green tea, bubble gum and nutmeg. I spent about five minutes with this beer under my nose before I ever tasted it. My wife finally came into the room and announced she wasn’t going to smell it again and that I should just drink it already! The flavor is well...bold, to say the least. Nutmeg and cinnamon predominantly but there’s tons of other stuff going on in the way of bubble gum, dark fruits, allspice, grains of paradise(?) and maybe even coriander. Considerable alcohol warmth. Leaves a very spicy and peppery aftertaste. This is a great example of a beer you only need one of at a time. I actually find it amazing but it would probably take me 8 months to finish a six pack.

Brewtopia 11-12-05. Nose had fruit and spice. Head was tan and fizzy. Color was amber. Taste was all spices and maybe becuase it was so warm, It was not impressive.

Labeled Rudolph’s Revenge: Estery fruit aromas, spice, clovey, banana. Fizzy beige head, slightly sticky. Golden orange amber colour. Allspice, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, sweet butterscotch. Light bodied palate. Sweet and nice winter warming spice brew. Im not terribly impressed, but it is also May, and this is an old bottle. ALcohol smacks ya in the face with this one.

Fruity aromas of banana and peach waft from my glass as I pour this beer. The beer is a clear ruby color when held up to the light. It is topped by a frothy amber tan head. As I go in for a deeper sniff I get spicy notes of clove, allspice and cola. The aroma is spicily sweet. The taste is lightly sweet up front with fruity notes of juicy fruit, bananas and other tropical fruits. The finish is spicy with notes of cola, nutmeg, clove.

This beer is quite interesting, and though light in the body, is still quite rich and appropriate for a winter brew. I am definitely enjoying this beer, the spices are at just about the right level, they enhance the fruity character of this beer as well as adding a rich spice cake like note to it.

Love this beer. Very spicy but not overly so. Alcohol is hidden very well. I look forward to this beer every year, especially now that they bottle it. Big thumbs up.

Very good stuff. Great amber color and nice flavor with surprisingly little alcohol taste at 9.5%. I’m glad BBW finally started bottling this.

Very sweet aroma...thought it was strawberry, but it must have just been the blend of spices. Deep brown color with a light with thin head. Loads of malts combined with cinnamon. Not as smooth as Harpoon Winter Warmer, but a very similar taste. Finish is a little sweeter than the original taste, and just a bit alcohol-y. Feels a little thick in your mouth and warm in your stomach. BBW continues to impress.

I had this at the Split Rock festival and it was actually called "Rude Elf’s Reserve" this year because of some copyright issues. Still, this beer was very good and worth a try this winter.