Great Lakes Christmas Ale

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

bottle. Pours a really cloudy copper color with a white head. The aroma is vinous with fig and cinnamon scents. The body is thinner than I was expecting. The cinnamon is the dominant flavor, especially in the finish but never becomes overbearing. There are some mild fruit notes and tame woody notes as well. Definitely not unpleasant at all, but it kind of makes me crave a more robust Belgian style ale.

Finally digging this one out from the back of the fridge from the holidays. Shiny copper pour with no head. The aroma is almost nonexistent - some mild caramel malts with a dusting of cinnamon. The malts and spices are much more pronounced in the body - butterscotch, caramel and toffee are combined with more cinammon and nutmeg spice. This creates a real ginger snap cookie/snickerdoodle cookie taste. Medium body and soft carbonation make this really drinkable. Although good now, this probably only gets better the fresher it is consumed.

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.