Lakefront Holiday Spice Lager Beer

Brewed by Lakefront Brewery
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA

Bottle. Pours a cloudy brown with nice head and lacing. Smells of ginger, cinnamon, and malt. Taste is like a liquidfied iced gingerbread cookie with honey and a bit of acidic orange in the background. Hides the alcohol REALLY well. This was almost a drain pourer. Too many spices thrown into this one.

Bottle courtesy of StewardofGondor. Pours mahogany with tan head. Aroma is very bisquity ginger bread. Flavor much the same with some caramel roastiness through the finish. No alcohol detectable whatsoever. 9.5%? Nice fall/winter transition brew.

Bottle. Hazy medium orange/amber pour with a light layer of well-retained short off-white head. Lots of well-suspended sediment in the beer. Oranges and wintry spices were loud and proud in the sweet, warming aroma. Flavor was also powerfully sweet, and the description of "honey, oranges, and spices" is very accurate. I really liked the honey base, and this brew would be great with some rich carrot cake or pumpkin pie. I’ll definitely be picking up more of these for some cold winter nights around the fireplace.

Somehow, Lakefront managed to get malt, honey, orange, and spices blended to have an aroma that’s a ringer for egg nog. Dark orange in color, this has a well sustained, creamy beige head. The flavors become more indiviually distinguishable in the taste. Caramel malt, nutmeg, ginger, nuts, white peppers, and a hint of orange skillfully melded into an enjoyable drink. I didn’t realize this was as potent as it is until now, but it helps explain my behavior later in the night.

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I got this for $0.39 and can understand why it was marked down, over and above the typical seasonality basis. This is a beer with a somewhat drab brown appearance yet has a great head and very thick lacing. Aroma starts off pleasantly spicy but mutates into a malty version of the smell of changing a vacuum cleaner bag. Flavor is very Campari-like at the start but mutates into a very unpleasant, cloying honey-and-grits finish. Perhaps a good beer for intelligent winos who want to try something different and get smashed on a cheap 6-pack, but beyond this Lakefront Holiday Spice is nothing to write home about.

Bottle courtesy of StewardofGondor. Bottled the first week in November. Hazy reddish/brown pour with huge fluffy sandy head. Cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, ginger, cloves and some citrusy hops present in the nose. Smooth and easy drinking. Tons of cinnamon and ginger linger on the tip of the tongue. Like licking a gingersnap cookie. Sweet, medium/full body with a spicy, somewhat bitter hoppy finish. High ABV is well-hidden. Only a little warming at the end. This would’ve made my Christmas much more enjoyable.

My batch is certainly past its prime, so this rating might not be totally fair--however, it may help show how this brew ages. Smells of moldy nutmeg, but it must have been bright and festive three months ago. Rich brownish-amber pour with some head, lasting almost a minute. Body is decomposing into separate nutmeg, honey, malt, and hop--all in proportion, but not blending together well at this point. Mouthfeel is malty and a bit thick, finishing in an explosion of large bubbles. I’ll keep an eye out for this one next November and see what the new batch is like. UPDATE: I just checked the stats on ratings by month, and, sure enough, this lager has run its course. Try it next year.

Hazy darker reddish amber with a large frothy light brown head. Slightly musty aroma of gingersnaps, molasses, nutmeg, clove, caramel and a hint of orange. Medium watery body with a moderate amount of carbonation. Slightly oily and alcoholic. Very spicy flavor of nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, ginger, cookie, and orange peel. The name Holiday Spice is very apt. The flavor doesn’t hold up to the aroma, it is overpowering and a little confusing - although the obviousness of the 9.5% dissapears after a few sips. Either way, a decent beer for the holidays. Good.