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Left Hand Snow Bound Winter Ale

 (RETIRED)
Percentile
76
overall

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
3363.32/5.03.31/5.0Winter8.6%83.2Lager glass, Tumbler
Commercial Description:
Fight cabin fever! Made with Rocky Mountain water, malted barley, hops, yeast, honey, orange zest, and other spices.

Editor’s Note: beginning in 2006, Snow Bound became the name for Left Hand’s strong winter seasonal beer made with honey and spices. It was previously known as XXXmas Ale. Below is the original XXXmas Ale description for reference.

XXXmas Ale is a spiced strong ale, using all natural ingredients to give it its festive nature. We brew this beer from a relatively high initial gravity to give it strength and body. This is (in our opinion) appropriate to a winter beer, and it helps to balance the numerous spices added. Honey is also added to increase fermentable sugars and give additional sweetness. Northern Brewer and Saaz hops are used sparingly, to allow the spices to evidence themselves. We add ground nutmeg, whole cloves, crushed cinnamon, orange zest and chopped ginger to spice the beer. Carbonation is kept low to accentuate the flavor of the beer and spices. It’s like a liquid cake. Brew water is relatively soft.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 beerbill (1943), Laurel, New York, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/103/513/20
Jan 12, 2008  
22 oz. bottle. Pours a clear coppery red with a moderate linen white head that left a layer of lace after each sip and faded to a film around mid-glass. Very nice aroma of cinnamon, allspice, cloves and brown sugar. The flavor is mostly about the spices with weak caramel malt up front follwed by cinnamon, allspice and cloves. The spices in this beer are more reminiscent of Fall than Winter. A bit one dimensional, but otheriwise a decent brew.


 tgncc (809), Bellmore, New York, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/513/20
Jan 9, 2008  
Nice ruby color, off white head, relatively low carbonation. Aroma is yeasty, doughy, like a cookie maybe, with autumn spices like cinnamon and pumpkin. Flavor is yeasty, bread-like and sweet, also like a cookie or pie. Very interesting. Very akin to a good pumpkin ale. Thick mouthfeel. Spices dominate on the finish, which lingers considerably. Very nice beer. More like a fall beer though.


 Veer (355), Landskrona, Sweden
3.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/56/103/513/20
Jan 9, 2008  
Aroma: sourish, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, honey, malty, sweet, strange cookie.
Flavour: mm... cookies, milky, bitter, surprisingly dry... Very weird... Winegum with less sugar. Not bad but the spices get very tiring after a few glasses. Coke + gingerbread + [looks like I’ve wrtten "chateau/milk" - ?].
Appearance: deep orangey red w/ tinted head. Thin, clinging foam leaving scattered film.


 after4ever (2711), Brier, Washington, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/56/104/514/20
Jan 6, 2008  
22. Pours grainy and opaque dark brown with a fairly dense (if thin) moussy tan head. Plenty of splotchy lacing. Huge sweet nose--almost smelled like an infection until I noticed honey and orange zest in the ingredients. Floral and sugary, then. Body’s on the high side of medium with a fair bit of tingly carb. Rich brown bread, nuts, and spices on the mid-palate, with plenty of lively pie spice, especially near the finish. This is a little too sweet and sticky today; might be a nice one in a few years, not sure. Pretty hard not to like it, pretty hard to love it. Good for cold winter nights, and tonight seems to be trying to qualify for that honor.


Newtype2001 (3), Madison, New Jersey, USA
does not count click to see why this rating of Left Hand Snow Bound Winter Ale does not count
3.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/56/103/513/20
Jan 5, 2008  
The cinnamon, clove, and allspice notes really come forward. Approachable despite the alcohol burn on the way down the throat.


 georgekappus (296), Brookfield, Connecticut, USA
2.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
5/104/56/103/511/20
Jan 4, 2008  
Bottle. Pours a deep dark amber with a thick frothy off white head. The aroma was quite weak, making it hard to discern what was in there. However, there were some underlying spice notes, cinnamon and nutmeg. The taste was sweet and spiceful with a touch of soy sauce? The spices, especially the nutmeg, became more apparent as the beer warmed and approached the bottom.


 riversideAK (2674), Shoreline, Washington, USA
2.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/55/103/58/20
Jan 3, 2008  
Brown orange. Super spicy aroma. Like gingerbread men, pumpkins, oranges. Flavor was spiced beyond belief with some noticeable alcohol. This was too much for me. Aroma was the best part.


 Stine (1380), St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
3.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/56/103/513/20
Jan 3, 2008  
Tap at the Muddy Pig. Rusty orange; clear. Muddled and very sweet aroma of orange peel, cinnamon and honey; drying touches of cloves, cardamom, and pickled ginger. The nuances are each present in their own right but somewhat hard to distinguish or to appreciate within the heavily sweetened pumpkin and carrot cake construct they serve. Strange. Flavors of bubblegum, banana, strong vanilla and creamy cotton candy; spices are less apparent although they glimmer dimly and mysteriously around the edges for the duration; clover and heather honey tends to dominate with a very sticky and restive type of sweetness. Top heavy, but lucidly presented, and cleanly balanced. Smooth and medium bodied with gentle carbonation; soft with a marshmallow and salty spice touch in a loose finish. Surprising; not too messy.



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