Great Lakes Christmas Ale

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

Nice amber/orange color, with a tan head. Aromas are various and numerous spices, and malt. Flavors are spices and fruit, with some malt. Interesting...

Good color of copper and medium body. Nice spice flavor with a nice bitter bite at the end. I really enjoyed this durning xmas 04, thanks aaron.

Much thanks to some forgotten Rater for sending me this Ale!

Rating #790
Pours with a beautiful ruby and amber body with a downy cream colored head. The aroma is splendid and definitely evokes thoughts of the Holliday season! Wonderful spiced notes of exactly what the bottle reads, ginger, cinnamon, honey, and I get a spot of nutmeg as well. The flavor brings all the same spicy notes, tones of ginger and cinnamon but adds in a great touch of biscuity malts along with a fruity complexity; apples, plums, spiced orange, black cherries, it’s brilliant! This brew is truly like a mild holiday fruitcake….. And I got a little bitterness in the finish, but mostly a finish of never too sweet malts and holiday spice!

First off, Gotta love the 7.5%. It seems that this beer changes slightly from year to year, and I remember 2003 being much tastier than this year’s offering, however, it remains my favorite Great Lakes offering, and I can’t wait ’til Christmas!

I am reasonably fond of this brewer in general. This one has been sitting in the back of my beer fridge since the holidays and I just now got around to trying it for the first time. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer pours a dark caramel color with only a trace of a white head. The aroma is sweet and very spicy with notes of cinnamon and allspice. The flavor is strong and spicy with nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice noticeable. There is a moderately thick body. It is fairly sweet. The spiciness lingers on the palate. Sadly I will have to wait until next holiday season before buying more.

Great beer,spicyness was great, as was the flavor, so many different flavors blender together well, I really liked this one

Semi-translucent amber in color with a fizzy body, as bubbles rise to the top and break on the head. Aroma is nice - cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, anise, hops, honey and saffron. Flavor unfolds from the aroma, accentuating ginger, honey and cloves. An herbal lightness joins with a crisp sweetness and gentle resonance on the palate. A modest dance of sweet malts and 40 IBUs of floral hops leads to a crisp, clean, sweet and light finish. I know it says "Christmas" on the label but this is damn good on a hot, humid day. Plus, for a sixer on clearance for $2.99 that shows no sign of infection, this might trump any other beer bargain I’ve encountered.

I dont know what took me soo long in rating this beer. Maybe it was the fact that i got wasted due to the 7.5%. Anyhow, it is a warm spice pick you up for those long cold winters. Cant go wrong with a case of this guy or a case of anserson valley winter seasonal or sierra nevada, all are in the realm of holly jolly beers.