This is a great holiday ale! It warms the insides yet does not overfill like many hearty winter ales. An awesome beer to enjoy in the colder months. If you like this, grab some Halloween Ale in the fall as prep.

NIce ruby color with a fluffy head and lotsof lacing. Sweet malt aroma with a hint of light floral hops. Rich and malty flavor with some lingering bitterness. Slighty spicy at the back of the throat with a floral hop flourish at the end. Very tasty. Many thanks to Yankeeheel (BA) for the sample.

ORIGINAL RATING &#40;late 2005&#41;: Rather good ale. Rich and flavorful, but a little sweet for my taste. Nonetheless, worth trying, delicious, and worth having once a year. I liked the Halloween Ale better, though. <br /> <br /> RE-Rate: Dark copper body with ruby-red highlights and a little over an inch of offwhite head. Smells roasty with some diacetyl. Scent is not that strong. Tastes roasty, malty, yeasty with hints of spice and diacetyl. Medium in body. Tasty little brew. I like it, though not as much as I like the Halloween ale.

The beer pours from the 22 oz. bomber a limpid deep ruby color with the head mountainous in size and semi-creamy in texture, the color a beautiful light tan with the lace a thick and glutinous sheet to meld with the glass. Sweet malt dominates the nose, citrus like crispness with hints of green apples, light floral hop aroma present, start is thickly malt and sweet, top is moderate to full in feel. Finish is quite hop spicy and the carbonation brisk, very dry and the hops stay with you till the very end, quite a quaffable tis’ true, another great brew from a favorite brewery.

An absolutely lovely Christmas ESB. Dark ruby color with minimal head and excellent lacing, well balanced dose of malt on the tongue gives way to a lingering dry, floral hop flavor. This is always nice to look forward to every year.