Stone/Nøgne Ø/Jolly Pumpkin Special Holiday Ale

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Escondido, California USA

Bottle shared with C. Amber in color with a little off white head. Spicy, chocolatety malty aroma. Caramel clove notes. Hoppy spicy malty flavor. Light chocolate and peppery notes. Medium bodied. Finish is spicy. Drinkable.

Courtesy of sebletitje. Pours amber with brown edges and thin tan head. The aroma has varied notes of spices to go along with faint pumpkin and malts. Overall the aroma is on the mild side. The taste has an initial pulse of pine hop bitterness and a bit of tangelo and grapefruit hop flavors. Just beyond the hops are notes of sweet pumpkin, winter spices and sweet malts. Midway and to the finish the hop bitterness wells up before a mild note of Brett tartness joins in the fray taking the experience into the finish and after taste.

Served cold from bottle. Aroma is spicy with hints of pine and caramel. Pours amber with a tan(ish) head. Very spicy flavor, medium-bodied, and some maltiness too. I really enjoyed this one.

A - light peppery spices evident, caraway and juniper stand out on the nose with what seems like ginger as well. A little muted to really stand out. V - the pour is a rich brown and it settles with a covering for a head. T - pepper on the initial taste, little bitter at the back, lots of spices, get a feel for a nutty end note. Palate is fine.

Bottle shared by beastiefan2k. Pours a lightly hazy reddish orange with a thin beige skin at the surface. The nose is of minty juniper berry, a Nutella-like cocoa and anise. On the light side of medium-bodied, the mouthfeel is soft and slick. Similar to the nose, the flavor profile is a minty/spicy blend of juniper, spice (sage?), evergreen/spruce and a bit of anise. Interesting stuff, but not a repeat performer. Thanks for the opportunity to try this one, Eugene.

Bottle from WeeHeavySD and shared with tjthresh: Ruby brown hue with a small frothy off-white head and spotty lace. The aroma is a huge dose of pine needles, ginger, juniper berry, rye bread, caramel, candi sugar, prune, and fig... big and bold... MIKEY LIKEY! Spicy as expected flavor profile with dark fruits and sweet malts as well. Piney but not hoppy bitterness. Can really taste the sage and caraway on the finish. Aggressive and biting mouth feel clears away the malt sweetness nicely, an in-your-face beer. WOW, very much a Holiday Ale, big spicy profile taken right to the edge but not falling in the pit of the over spiced. (Tom did not agree with me and thought it was over the top (2.9)...kids these days, what you gonna do?)

Bottle: Pours nice deep amber/brown with a dense khaki head. Evident rye malt character in the aroma. Lightly chocolaty with American west coast hop spicy fruitiness. Not much of the spice comes through- perhaps just a kiss of caraway/pumpernickel bread character. Slick oily feel. A touch of spiciness in the fore flavor- peppery sage, hearty rye malts give a very mild chocolaty character with apparent American hop bitterness. A spiciness is present throughout, however it’s fairly nondescript. It tastes like dipping sweet pumpernickel bread in a pesto dip that’s made with American hops. Pretty good and tasty, but lacks the complexity I expected.

Bottle. A murky mahogany pour with a big khaki head. An intense aroma that features lots of berries, grapefruity hoppiness, vanilla, some rye bread, and a rich nuttiness underneath it all. Goes down full-bodied, rich, and smooth. Flavor starts with a good deal of very sweet caramel, chocolate, anise, dark berries, rye bread, and vanilla extract. Toasty chestnuts and roasted malts in the transition. Finishes with some Mandarin oranges and bitter grapefruits that linger just a bit. Warming alcohol is present throughout. An intense brew!