Stone/Nøgne Ø/Jolly Pumpkin Special Holiday Ale

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

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!

12oz bottle. Pours dark ruby brown with a small beige head. Aroma of fruit, malt, spice - sage, caraway. Taste is malty, spicey, fruit, caramel. Body is full, carbonation is mild, and finish is smooth. Overall, an interesting brew.

12oz. bottle. Little bit of a gusher. Deep, dark, ruby pour with a small off-white head. Very rich dark fruit aroma. The chestnut and sage aromas are evident but the Juniper is very subtle and I don’t really smell the caraway. There is also some sticky sweet molasses in the aroma, a little bit of a vinous quality, and even some faint oak.. It really almost smells like a spiced English barley wine. Such complexity! The flavor is surprisingly different from the aroma. There is some very strong black pepper flavor wrapped around dark fruit and burnt coffee notes. The caraway and juniper gives a dry bitter finish and the chestnut just sort of lingers faintly throughout. Creamy, medium full body with a fair amount of carbonation and some good alcohol warming. I didn’t like the flavor quite as much as the aroma but it really is a truly interesting and unique beer from 3 amazing brewers.

Crushed with Jakebra. One hell of a combination of masterbrewers. Goddamn. Single the word, double the talk-talk, triple the babble to tell me what they say. Lots going on in the nose. The spices really show through in the nose, especially the sage and the caraway. Flavor packs a punch, with a nice, minty-sage aftertaste. About as good as one would expect from this collaboration, and that’s a compliment.