Great Lakes Christmas Ale

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Pours light clear brown with active carbonation and medium white head. Aroma is warming spices - cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger are noticable. While I’m drinking this in April it smells like Christmas. Smooth initial maltiness with spice, then the spice really kicks in especially the cinnamon. Lots of smooth carbonation really deliver the taste everywhere in the mouth. The spices take over to the point that it is hard to find the beer in it. The finish has the spices and a slight underlying sourness. This could very well be to the aging of it - I’m not sure of the aging abilities of this, but the best by date is 01-19-06. However it has held up fairly well. Further down the glass the sourness fades quite a bit as well as the spices mellowing out a bit. A nice beer worth trying, very unique. Not sure how much of this I would want in a year. I will have to get a fresh bottle next year and update the rating if needed.

a great holiday beer - the right combination of cinnamon and ginger spices help this one go down easy and leave a lasting impression

Looks brown/gold. Appropriately, the aroma is very "christmasy"! Smells nice, like ginger, malty, sweet, maybe a touch of orange, cinnamon. The ginger, along with a good deal of spice become very strong in the flavour- too strong. Its also malty with a bit of caramel. Palate is not exactly smooth- I’d probably describe it as grainy.

Pours a light bronze with a loose ephemeral white head and a few streams of bubbles. Smells like, well, christmas. Cinnamon is strongest, with some ginger (which I couldn’t figure out until taking a sip) and some light caramel malty sweetness and yeast. The mouth feel is a little sharp from the CO2 though slightly more viscous/slippery than water. The flavor is utterly dominated by cinnamon and ginger secondarily. There’s also some peppery flowery hoppy notes and a definite underlying sweetness--close to cloying for the style of the beer, though not in a malty brandywine sort of way. I gave this beer the slight benefit of the doubt because after getting it home I noted the Jan 19, 2006 best by date... but it was in the walk in cooler at the packie, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this beer doesn’t taste any better when fresh. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t auwful. I could imagine this as a nice substitution for other liquids in the batter for a fruit cake!

12oz - Jan 27, 2006 - (stuffed in my box on the way out the door of jsquire’s apartment) Aroma is snappy with spice. Cinnamon and ginger as advertised. Transparent dark brown with small head and good lacing. Flavor is thankfully more balanced with malt than the aroma. The spices are still there but not overpowering. Palate is sticky. Good hoilday brew, but not something I would seek out again.

Copper pour, small white head. Notes of honey and ginger along with some cake and bitter spiced nuts in the flavor. A great Christmas Ale.

Has a faint cinnamon aroma to it. Decent amber color, with little head. Nice cinnamon flavor to it. Has a decent body, and pretty good carbonation. Overall, it’s not too bad, it definitely fits in with Christmas.

Barrel Draught from the jug at the GABF, Colorado Convention Center 29/09/2005 Golden coloured with some alcohol present. Spicy aroma. Crisp malt finish.