Breckenridge Christmas Ale

Brewed by Breckenridge Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Denver, Colorado USA

Clean aroma with very little smell. No gunk on the bottom of this bottle, pours a dark clear root beer look. Little carbonation on the tongue. Rootbeer pop flavors with bitter ale attributes. Perhaps some roasted malt can be detected. Initially has an alky laced flavor about it but not anything near the apparent 7.5% listed here. Overall another spiced beer that leaves a medicine linger behind on the palate. (although this is in the ASA style)

Pours a clear, light brown with a creamy off-white head that laces well. The nose is slightly odd: malty and lightly spicy but a bit disjointed and certainly not something that elicits thoughts of Christmas. Medium-bodied with super-soft carbonation and a lightly dry and lingering roasted finish. The flavor is a blend of caramel and light chocolate malt with a roasted, nutty, moderately spicy finish. Just a hint of hop bitterness pokes out at the end, adding nicely to the mix. While I can’t say this beer is toward the top of my list of holiday brews, it is pretty decent and would pair exceptionally well with honey-glazed ham or pork loin.

Deep copper colored pour. Average head retention with a nice, but slightly overdone, malt character. Needs more hops and possibly a Belgian yeast strain to impart a nice spicy character.

tasted at crescent moon winter beer tasting. Brown beer with a molasses aroma. Brown beer with high malt content doesn’t have a stand-out particular flavor. Mostly just a brown higher alcohol beer.

A so so American strong. There are some Christmas beers that I consider "Christmasy" and this just doesn’t fall in that category. Aroma of caramel malt with a hint of alcohol. Pour was a nice amber with just a hint of a white head. Taste was like a subdued Arogant Bastard with a hint of spiciness and not as much flavor. That’s the best I can describe it and it barely works.

A fine looking beer, pours a deep mahogony with a light tan head. Smooth palate, but the aroma and flavor were unremarkable (at least, when compared to other winter beers). Not bad, to be sure, but nothing really jumps out at me here. I’ll probably repeat this one, but I’ll reach for another winter beer first.

dark amber-red pour with very little head. Aroma is not "Christmas-y at all", and I can’t even put my finger on what it is other than to call it a malty-earwax like smell. Flavor is of darker malts, with some nutmeg-like spices present. A bit flat on the tongue. Not impressed overall.

Poured a clear dark copper color with some ruby highlghts. The head was barely one-finger tall, off-white and only lasted for a moment. Flecks of lacing struggled to survive. The aroma was mostly malt with some thin hints at nutmeg and roasted nuts. The flavor was of an average ale doused with nutmeg. A lot of dryness in the mouthfeel that I’ll attribute to the nutmeg, not the hops. The alcohol provided a nice kick.