Saint Arnold Christmas Ale

Brewed by Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Style: English Strong Ale
Houston, Texas USA

(12oz bottle) Hazy copper body topped by medium beige head. Aroma is moderately sweet, orange, allspice, bread. Taste is moderately sweet, candied orange, bread/caramel, spice/allspice, some raisin. Medium body, alcohol warming. Good, but a bit too sweet for my liking.

Lightly hazed orange/umber color. Just a thin lid of light beige bubbles. Quite sweet and grainy in scent. Aromas of corn silage and alcohol. This really brings back memories of feeding the cows just prior to milking. Heavy malty flavors with a with caramel and light fruit. A touch of floral hops help keep things a touch sweet. Mild spice in the finish and linger. Some dry grain and malt flavors in the linger. A stronger malty amber ale.

Pours a rich red/brown, carbonated, fluffy tan head; great looking in the glass. Aroma of medium strength, some grassy hops as well as fruity malt. An initial bitterness gives way to sweet, a slightly viscous mouthfeel and warm finish, hops again with some interesting maltiness there, a touch of caramel. Lasts. Quite well done.

Clear copper color with moderate tan head. Nose is slightly malty and fruity with hints of plums. Flavor is fruity and spicy, but not much hops.

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with 123456green, thanks Louis!) Not a fan of how this Christmas beer tastes. It’s very sweet, fruity, bready and malty, and lightly bitter. Quite spicy, herbal and tea-like too, but the beer seems somewhat oxidized and exceptionally woody to me, and the overall flavor is not appealing to me at all. Spicy, peppery aroma is very prominent amidst the malty, bready nose. Medium-bodied with typical carbonation. Very hazy orange-amber in color. Small, beige head settles to a ring and some sprinkles, but leaves only a hint of spotty lace on the glass. Even after more than half the pint, this beer still hasn’t grown on me. I don’t care for it and won’t be drinking this again.

Pours a brilliantly clear, rich reddish copper color and is topped by a frothy, initially one-finger thick, tan colored head. The aroma is sweet and malty with notes of toffee, caramel, rum, raisins and perhaps a beginning of some oxidation. There is a light candy sweet note that seems to mix with a note that reminds me of some zesty orange peel, but I can’t quite decide if this is hop or malt derived. All in all the aroma is quite malt dominated and rich.

The beer has a nice heft to it as it rests on the palate. Not too heavy, but enough that the beer sticks just a bit to the mouth. The beer is not nearly as malty sweet as I would have guessed from the aroma, instead it has a rich maltiness to it that while not sweet is fairly substantial. In the finish is a nice, though light, herbal bitterness and a lingering suggestion of toasted malt. Solid notes of toffee and caramel combine with a hint of oxidation; all of which contribute to the nice malt character of this beer. Despite the heft of this beer it seem a bit thin, it just seems to disappear from my tastebuds faster than I would expect. Something just seems to be missing here, for some reason I am expecting a richness to this brew that is just not here. It is enjoyable though, and I definitely would not turn down another go at this beer.

Poured a hazy copper color with a thin off white head. Sweet and malty aroma with some notes of maple syrup. Light spice. The flavor too was sweet and malty. Very spicey on the flavor. Almost burns. The finish was dry and spicey.

12oz bottle via trade with Walt! - Thanks! - Pours amber with a creamy offwhite head that stayed fairly well and laced the sides of the glass slightly. Aromas of floral notes, caramel, and a touch of spice. Flavors include copper sweetness, light floral hops, some nutmeg, and a touch of brown sugar. Smooth creamy palate and medium body makes this an easy drinker.