McNeills Wassail Special Ale

Brewed by McNeills Brewery
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Brattleboro, Vermont USA

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.

Smell cinnamon/cloves/wintergreen/honey. Tastes like pumpernickel bread, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Slight sweetness, moderate breadiness. Warming, well balanced, very tasty....but...aftertaste of chalky....Pepto Bismol....?

Tap. This beer smells like christmas: spearmint, nutmeg, cinnamon, orange. Fairly sweet, spicy, very drinkable.

22oz Bottle: Hazy orange color with a tint of ruby red. Medium bodied, though a touch on the watery side. Aroma is full of spice, but not over the top. There’s cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, orange, clove, mint(?), as well as some caramel and bread. Taste is spicy and somewhat sweet, with notes of gingerbread, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and a bread dough. Just slightly thin, but a very pleasing beer to have around the holidays.

Extreme beer fest '04,Hazy amber in color with a small white head.Ginger aroma.Sweet and spicey.

A whirlpool of spicy quirkiness…Cinnamon candy, nutmeg and clove cake imagery…Melancholic fruit try to overcome the spice tornado and struggle to the very end, helped by some well-positioned biscuity malts…Romantic hop bitterness towards the end, a blessing, considering the fact that the aroma was promising an overdose of spiciness…A cheerful ale…

Extreme Beer Fest 2004: Murky orange/red color with a small rocky head. Sweet cinnamon aroma, watery texture.