Marin Hoppy Holidaze Ale

Brewed by Marin Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Larkspur, California USA

Complicated aroma of winter appropriate spices. Hazy golden amber color with a frothy head that tries to leap out of the glass. Starts with cinnamon and other spice, and some malty sweetness. The hop bitterness is thoroughly mixed with spice, herb and malt. Grand finish of balanced flavors. Not so obnoxiously spiced as many Xmas ales. This one tickles the palate. Quite a treat.

22oz bomber-Has an aroma of cinnamon,nutmeg, and spices with no head on a light amber body. Taste of a strong bitterness followed by nutmeg and spices. I found it having too many different tastes.

bottle at Dickinsonbeer’s on 1/20/07. thick foamy off-white/light tan head. hazy golden color. aroma is like a pumkin beer with nutmeg and cinnamon, but still a little hoppy. flavor is carmale malt, some allspice, nutmeg, and tangy hop.

A very nice beer. Not what I would consider to be a normal winter brew. It does have nice cinnamon and nutmeg flavor that very nice. Overall its a nice ale with good hoppy flavoring. Pooring is carmel brown.

04-Sep-06 (12 oz bottle, 2005 release: $3.59 at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) I remember being really excited to finally find this beer last summer -- the 2004 release and it was on tap. Unfortunately, I also remember being disappointed right from the first sip. Well, this is the bottled version and whether it’s a modified recipe or maybe it’s the bottle conditioning, I’m much more impressed this time around. Very spicy, most notably with nutmeg and cinnamon, with a slightly grainy maltiness enveloped by a honey-like sweetness. Hops are quite mild and only lightly bitter (despite the beer’s name), so this really ends up being about the spices to me. And the vanilla! Yes, I’ve saved the most prominent component for last because the strong, sweet vanilla will be the lasting impression of this beer for me. The beer is medium-bodied and is saved from a cloying nature by the spices. Spices are evident in the nose, but as with the flavor, actually even more so, the sweet vanilla just jumps out of the glass demanding to be noticed. Golden amber color is made hazy by the small, soft particles in suspension, but the thick, dark layer of sludge lining the bottom of the bottle indicates that it could be a much different result if I were less careful with the pour. Smallish, off-white head eventually settles to a small ring leaving no lacing on the glass. Perhaps a bit heavy-handed with the spices and especially the vanilla, so some might be turned off. I think darker malts would lend more balance to the spice and vanilla, but I still find this to be a fairly enjoyable holiday beer.

12-Jul-05 (Draft: Stuffed Sandwich in San Gabriel, CA) Hmm, reminds me of some of those east coast winter beers I used to drink years ago. Very spicy, nutmeg, gingerbread fairly sweet, lightly bitter, all on top of a caramely malt base. The spicy nose features obvious nutmeg and gingerbread to me, and is lightly sweet. Light-to-medium body is much thinner than I expected with a clean finish, also unexpected. Medium golden color is fully clear in appearance. Off-white head is very large on the pour and shows good retention, taking its time to fade down to a slightly broken film. Disappointing in almost all respects. (7, 3, 6, 3, 13 = 3.2)

(Bottle) Pours a lightly hazy golden body with a creamy off-white head. Aroma of orange peel, nutmeg, lemon, and other spices. Flavor of cinnamon, nutmeg, citrus, vanilla, malt, and more spices.

I was pretty impressed by this spiced beer from Marin. Poured a medium amber color with an off with head that bailed some what quikly. Nice aroma of hops ....some spice as well.

sampled from a bomber. Aroma is citrus and floral hops with spices. Taste is also citrus/floral with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla. very weird beer. Did I see mace in the description?