Stone/Nøgne Ø/Jolly Pumpkin Special Holiday Ale

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

Location: Had this brew on tap at the Blind Tiger in late fall/early winter of ’08

Overall Impression: I’ve got this down as a pretty good beer. Not a lot of notes here, just the score. I’d like to re-rate this one at some point to give a more thorough opinion and rating.

Bottle. This is one of the best beers I have had from Stone. Odd it took me so long to rate it. Nose is very candi sugar and root. Flavor is more root, chocolate, tea, strong tannin, rice and holiday spice. Dark brown-red color. Very smooth, very relaxing.

This beer has a very dark amber color to it. It’s not really translucent, yet it is if held up to light. There is a thin dissipating tan head which leaves decent lacing behind. The aroma shows a great deal of spices like nutmeg and ginger. There is also some chocolate and a bit of coffee in the aroma as well. The spices are the most prominent feature in the aroma. The initial take is spice but is quickly followed with a light berry flavor. Then the spices come back very aggressively. I believe the ginger is the strongest spice here but there is also nutmeg, pumpkin spices, and all the spices that remind of cold winter holidays. Not surprising, the finish is well, spicey but there is a hint of juniper berries hanging on there in the end. This is also a bit boozy at times but the spice is definitely the most notiable feature of this collaboration.

Bottle from auction. I love beer collaborations. Brown pour with off white head. Spicey aroma and hints of caramel malts. A mild chocolate spice taste. It was ok.

Dark brown murky pour. Aromas leap out of the glass. Notes of holiday spices, spiced pumpkin, lavender, ginger, ginger bread, cinnamon. Tasting notes are similar. Wonderful holiday beer. Almost perfect....Still its pretty heavy, and it will give you some righteous burps.

Pours a fading biege head with a brown body that has some copper. Aromas of ginger and spices. Flavor is similar to some indian cuisine dishes. Lasting finish.

Bottle shared with slines and mmmckay at woody’s. Pours a murky reddish brown with minimal ring of tan head. Nose of ginger, cinnamin, anise, clove. Flavor is much the same with a potpouri complexity and a great chewy body. Great holiday brew.

In short: A strange spicy roasted floral beer. Entertaining in small quantities.
How: Bottle 12oz. A few times. This rating for an eight months old bottle
The look: Cloudy bronze body topped by a medium beige head with medium retention
In long: The unusual but pleasant nose is both perfumy (romantic flowers) and spicy. Taste is a bit weird. Strong unusual spicy character, chestnuts, roasted malts, garden flowers, berries, bananas (no kidding!), more... Alcohol is a bit apparent. The beer is very sweet but the spices almost detracts the attention away from the sweetness. Not a boring beer, each sip kept me entertained with all these weird flavours. But after the bottle is over I found myself asking if I would ever want to have it again. A rather a lazy beer, but a clever name given to it by Lost Abbey, the actual brewer.