McNeills Wassail Special Ale

Boisterous effervescent gingerbread and cinnamon-nutmeg nose emitted from the bottle upon opening. Poured like an erupting volcano science project that rivals many highly carbonated Belgians. Persisted a three-finger almond cream colored head that looked spoon-worthy. Body continued to bubble vigorously after several moments. Rich copper color. Stinging mouthfeel from carbonation and Christmas spices. Lingering slightly metallic (infected?) finish. Sweet and unbalanced. Probably not enjoyed at the right time of year (May).

Hazy amber coppery colored, with aroima of caramel malt, some hops, a lot of Christmas spices. Medium to dense palate with caramel bready malt, hops, big spices, getting a bit spicier as it warmed.

2005 bomber consumed on 3/30/06
Light amber with copper tresses and a huge amount of beige head, fairly dense, consisting of very compact, tiny, bottle conditioned bubbles. Prominent lacing in wisps.
Nose begins with soft gingerbread and light cookie dough malts. Vigorous, tiny bubbles move up through the liquid, carrying the aroma strongly from the glass. Cinnamon, allspice and tastefully done ginger. Refreshingly similar to Anchor OSA of years past. Spicy, but with a full backing of cookieish malts. Fresh yeast mixes with the spice to refresh the senses at every sniff.
Flavor is spicy with light licorice dryness, that lingers on the palate, while ginger adds to the spice level. Not as sweet as the nose would suggest, with more dry pale malts, caramel sugars (though dry) and maybe a touch of crystal malt? Light breadiness on end, with a mild sourdough note that melds well with the sugars, adding complexity. Ginger and light licorice linger on end creating a balance. Though the spice is prominent, the round, sweet malts soak it up and the chewy-smooth texture rounds the astringency in to spiciness that simply refreshes. 45 minutes later, the balance even improves, if that’s possible. Engaging, tight carbonation with an unfiltered, substantial texture and no sign of alcohol.

22 oz bottle - thanks once again to gputty for splitting this with me. Pours a golden orange, off white head. Nose is lots of orange and clove. Other spices and fruits are in there, but mostly orange and clove. Flavor is orange rind (a touch tart and slightly bitter) and winter spices, esp. nutmeg and clove. Finish is fairly clean, a bit of orange rind lingers. I rather liked this one.

22oz: Medium bottle-conditioned orange, leaving a dull fading off-white cover. Christmas fruit cake drowned in spices dominate the nose. Hard to pick up malts shine and annoy by their absence while an enumeration of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves...) form a row that strikes the senses one after the other without much attention for cohesion. Faint crystallized cookie malt background. Flavorful, but hardly balanced, sweet and repetitive from sip to sip, the carbonation enhancing the beginning of a metallic feel and growing a sloppy character that loosens and waters down the already not very tight components. Lazy and unpolished.

bottle. orange-brownish body with a small white head. the aroma is nice at times with lots of orange, spice, biscuit, with a touch of minerals. spicey and bitter flavours with a bready back. it’s certainly interesting but not all that great.

Classic golden ale with a thin white head. Intense nutmeg and cloves in aroma. Light ale with light hops, with spices being less pronounced than expected. Medium bodied. Refreshing. Quaffable spices beer. Enjoyed at YEHa!05 Christmas Party on Dec. 17th, 2005.

(750ml bottle) Sampled at TiggMTL’s Montreal Crew YEHa!05 Christmas Party on December 17, 2005. Pours a deep, cloudy orange body with a thin white head. Nose of nutmeg and cinnamon. Flavour is malty sweet and terribly spiced (too strong). Good but not outstanding...