Dunedin Christmas Farm Ale

Formerly brewed at Dunedin Brewery
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Dunedin, Florida USA

Bottle from Santa - cloudy copper pour (hurray for unfiltered beer!), with a huge, frothy head - strong gingerbread aroma, with some doughy/yeasty hints - quite an earthy smell - quite sweet, but not overpoweringly so - the honey is quite evindent, and it mixes quite well with the ginger and nutmeg - bread/dough character from the yeast - it gets a nice zing from the orange zest near the end, before closing with a long finish of clover honey and herbal flavors - a nice change of pace from most Christmas beers.

Bottle at Cock & Bull, Sarasota, FL. Poured hazy brown color with a large fizzy white head that was mostly lasting with excellent lacing. Moderate spicy sweet yeasty aroma. Medium body with a sticky texture. Heavy sweet spicy flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration.

A near-perfect balanced blend of citrus and cloves tastes. High malts with an almost equally amount of hops. goes down very smoothly. Enjoyable

The aroma is not as strong as I imagined since the flavor is so diverse and complex. The aroma is sweet with some hops and a little yeast. The appearance is a deep copper with a small head. The flavor has caramel, pine, orange, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. The palate is typical for a winter beer. The aftertaste in spicy.

Bottle courtesy of Degarth. Cloudied copper body with a small fluffy tanned head. Nose is laden with ginger and orange peel and not much else. Very spicy and semi-sweet. Taste is also very gingery and spicy. Little too much on the spicy side and not enough on the sweet malts and hops. Some light cocoa coming through as well as oatmeal raisin cookie but it’s kind of too little, too late. Body is light with moderate carbonation feel. Finishes with yet more ginger and orange notes and light breadiness. Not horrible, mind you but a little one-sided.

Spicy cinnamon hides beneath a cloak of butterscotch and cabbage in the aroma. Hazy tan body with dense and lasting, fine bubbled, off white head that leaves some lacing on the glass. Strong pine and biscuity, gingerbread flavour with some higher alcohols and light butterscotch. Spices are apparent in the finish. Medium light body with spritzy effervescence. Bottle sampled at DenverLogan’s GABF wrap-up.

Bottle from the World of Beer in Clearwater. Definitely a dark amber pour, a head starts to form but is basically gutless as it fades away. Definitely gives itself away in the nose, lotsa spices fighting for attention...cinnamon, pumpkin spice, etc...I like those smells. I’m not a huge spiced holiday ale fan, but given that this is the holiday season I’m feeling very giving so I’ll let this one ride. Taste isn’t terribly different than the smell. Flavor is equally spice laden, with a evergreen bite thrown in. Not my bag man, but I’ll finish it. Not as full bodied as I would like but that’s ok. I like Dunedin beers, but this isn’t my fav. I’m sure I’ll try this again during some future holiday season.

Bottle on a locals trade from Degarth. Pours a nice dark amber with a thin quickly disappearing head. Aroma reminds me of potpourri. Aroma is like something you’d expect on a glazed Christmas ham. Has ’holiday spirit’ written all over it. The taste is said ham glaze. Reminds me of mom’s spice cabinet - ginger, nutmeg, clove. Has a sweet hint. I tend to wonder how it would taste warm, as it’s almost nutmeg apple-ciderish. I could see coming back to this annually as a holiday brew, as it’s not bad, but it’s one of those you’d probably only want once or twice a year.