Breckenridge Christmas Ale

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

12 oz bottle. Tasted this and the Goose Island Xmas Ale back to back on Christmas Eve. Amber, light brown color. Light white head. Fruity, hoppy aroma. Some malt, not much. Floral, hoppy, sour flavor, acidic? Dry, sourish finish. The Goose Island was the far better of the two.

Brown in colour with minimal carbonation. Malty aroma with notes of cola and just a touch of spice. Flavors are of toffee and caramel, but not much else. Sweet but quick finish. This tastes more like a very average brown ale, rather than an American strong ale. There’s nothing interesting about it.

In the bottle. YUCK! Smells and tastes like vinegar. My guess is an acetobacter or lactobacillus infection. One certainly does not expect this kind of mistake to get out of a commercial kitchen. I give it the Death sentence rating until Breckenridge ships me a free case to compensate me for my emotional trauma.

Dark coppery color thats clear and bold with a finger high cap of softly lumped dark ivory. Resides to keep a bubbly collaring and the lace is stretched-thinner-then-thin in a sheeting effect along with some tiny dotting. Aroma is of a dry wood, slight ginger, and rosemary-like musk and a bit of cooked vegetables; seemingly quite light and takes a good wiff in to get it. Flavors insist on following the smell; why oh why? Its light and pale, bordering a boring and very understated taste. Quickly sweet, wiped away by a strange woodish mint thing and the continued vegetable musk. It does remind me alot of deep-fried mushroom appetizers, and that is not something I want to find in a seasonal winter ale. Feel is close to medium approaching thin, definately empty and nearly depleted of anything that would perhaps help this concoction. No sir, I didn’t like it.

Clear caramel-y brown is the color, the head is a small thing, soon gone, best unremarked upon. Aroma, cola-ish, coffee tones and nuts, a smidgen of spice? No, not really. Taste: a bit dull, brown ale-ish, just a touch of toffee, but all in all, dull. Light in body, with nary a finish to be found. Unremarkable all the way. Warm? Not much. Wintry? by a long stretch, maybe...nothing very Christmas-y about it..."malty and warming in character, with a semi-sweet, full-bodied flavor," says the label...it’s a slight stretch of the imagination, but true in many respects. Very run-of-the -mill, just malty and wintry enough...actually gets better as we get further in, but I’m no more impressed. Yeah, I can drink it, but it’s nothing to shout about.

12 oz bottle, fresh: hazed orange brown with a thin tan cream. Citrusy, caramel hop aroma with bits of holiday spice and anise. Fairly thick palate, with dark fruits (black cherries and raisins) and nicely hopped. Acidic hoppiness finishes a beer that would have been bitter with a bit more depth and malt character…

12 oz bottle - Whole Foods, Austin, Tx. Pours a orangeish to medium copper color with a tight khaki colored head - decent lacing, good bubble action. Sweet aroma - reminiscent of caramel and overripe frut. Flavor has some nutty notes to it with a bit of cotton candy sugary sweetness, but it starts to fade quickly. Fades a tad near the end. Mouthfeel is a tad thin for a "Christmas Ale" and turns a bit metallic. Alcohol hidden well. Not bad, expected more though.

Malt and alcohol aroma. Standard strong ale appearance, dark with a red hue. Flavors of malt, alcohol, light spice, and sugar. Sweeter than many strong ales. Thin body.