Blue Mountain Lights Out Holiday Ale

Brewed by Blue Mountain Brewery
Style: Old Ale
Afton, Virginia USA

12oz bottle, enjoy by 06/2009. Pours copper in color with brown head. Aroma sweet, malty and citrus hops. Taste malty and bitter citrus hops with bitter finish.

12 oz bottle. Pours dark mahogany with tan head. The aroma is toast, some caramel, and little bits of tobacco and earth. The flavor is sweet caramel and toffee with just a little bit of woody bitterness of English hops. There is a bit of a honey-nut quality to the finish, but the aftertaste fades quickly. Once in a while I pick up an interesting roasty or smoky note. Not bad.

12oz bottle courtesy of CrellMoset poured into a pint glass. Pours a deep clear copper with a decent off-white head that lingers as a swirl on top for a while and leaves a little lacing. The aroma is pretty subtle with some toasted malts and spices in the background. There is a faint sweetness from sugar or dark fruits as well. The taste has the toasted malt up front with a strong sugary sweetness on top. There are more hops in the taste than the aroma suggests and they linger through the finish. There is also the faintest bit of tartness in the background, possibly from dark fruits but I cant place it. The mouthfeel is fairly light for the style with lots of carbonation. This is a very interesting take on an old ale and certainly drinkable. I cant place the tartness in the taste, but otherwise this is pretty solid brew.

Bottle. Mahogany pour. Medium sized tan colored head. Very rocky but sturdy. Aroma is spice laden with hints of toffee, nuts, dark fruit and roasted malt. Taste is very spicy with more roasted malts, hops, dark fruit and toffee. Caramel coming through as well. Some sweetness tries to come through but is dominated but hop bitterness. Body is medium-full with a moderate carbonation. Soft alcohol warmth. Finishes with more nuts, spices, roasted malts, hops, caramel and light toffee. Lingering bitterness throughout.

Bottle courtesy of dkachur. Pours brown with a rocky white head. Smells of spice, caramel, some fruity hints. Tastes earthy and peppery with some nice molasses hints. Enjoyable.

(bottle) Dark mahogany color with a small, but creamy tan head. Aroma has roasted malt, spices, wood, some fruit (cherries, maybe), and a slight hop aroma, too. Medium bodied. Alcohol is noticeable in the taste. Dark roasted malt, coffee flavor. A significant hop bite on the end - at least, more than I expected.

From my review at cvillebeergeek.blogspot.com... bottle from Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville.

Appearance: How’s this for specific? The color is a clear brown-tinged ruby red. The half-finger head is very fizzy and doesn’t last long. Not very inspiring, but not totally inappropriate for the style. 3.0/5.0

Aroma: Fairly malty and slightly roasty with definite notes of spice and dark fruits. Nice, but it could stand to be a bit stronger. 3.75/5.0

Taste: Roasted malts are complemented by dark fruits and a distinct hop bitterness and oddly, crayons. And before you go on wondering how I know what crayons taste like... we all went through kindergarten once! 3.5/5.0

Mouthfeel: The malts and hops balance each other fairly well. The body is slightly on the thin side. Definitely on the thin side for the style. There is a nice alcohol warmth present 3.0/5.0

Drinkabilty: This is a nice, smooth beer with a moderate alcohol content. The point is to be a nice warming sipping beer, which it is, though I do seem to be downing this one quite quickly. A very nice effort. 3.5/5.0

Overall: This is a nice beer, though it would have been a bit nicer with more body and a thicker texture. But it does do its job. and it represents another solid brew from Blue Mountain. 3.35/5.0

Nice to see this finally bottled! Poured into a snifter. Deep red, adding to a cola coloured brew... a finger of head topping it, slightly off-white. Aroma is roasted malts and alcohol spice. A slight nose of dark currant. Almost a burnt character to the malt profile. Quite nice and rich. Flavour is of spicy alcohol, a deep roasted malt flavour. Like the aroma, there is a currant like hint of fruity sweetness in there. Both the aroma and the flavour have much in common. A medium body, rather soft and smooth, with a lower carbonation just adding a little character. With a few swirls to get the most of the aroma, that prickle dies off. A fairly mellow sipper, and a nice tasting beer. Another fine offering from Blue Mountain. I’ll be looking forward to a bit more over the season.