Stone/Nøgne Ø/Jolly Pumpkin Special Holiday Ale

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

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.

Bottle: Brownish amber, moderate to large foamy light beige head, few rings of lacing.   Spicy nose, cardamom and juniper galore.   Smells somewhat like a Christmas Wreath!   Very very spicy on the nose.   Noticeable alcohol.   Malty on the tongue, sweet, spicy, cardamom and juniper.   The sage and chestnut are light.   Very warming, luckily not that alcoholic as suggested by the nose.   Full bodied, fairly thick mouthfeel.   A little over the top as far as spices go, but rather tasty.   Great Holiday offering!

Bottle (Thanks Svesse) - Brown with a slight haze and a tan head. Fruity and hoppy aroma with malt and spice. Fruity and spicy taste with hops and dried fruit with a delightfully balanced finish. None of the special ingredients specifically stand out, but they combine very nicely.

Bottle. Pours deep amber coloured with a nice dense and lasting light brown coloured head. Aromas of caramel, soapy, herbs, lots of spices and Christmas. Flavours of licorice, warming alcohol, caramel and hops. Super smooth, soft and mellow. Great brew.

Deep chestnut color with a thick, fairly lasting cream head. This beer is really complex and hard to wrap my brain around. Has a sweet, very herbal aroma. It is sweet tasting, but very bitter and with lots of intertwining spice flavors. I can pick out the flavors of the individual spices mentioned in the description, but they definitely form a greater whole. Some alcohol on the finish but it’s not powerful. Overall: this stuff tastes like Christmas more than most holiday ales.

Bottle at home - bought at Systembolaget in Malmø. Black - offwhite head. Smells like an Indian Curry. High spicy, juniper, burned, berries, sweetness, dark bread, caramel, chestnut, smooth body, light hoppy, light bitteress. Nice - but far too spicy.

Dark red chestnut colour with a big and lasting off-white head. Strong spice aroma, mostly of cinnamon and very much reminding me of American pumpkin beers. Some malt and molasses, and vineous alcohol. Sweet malty flavour with lots of spice. Complex bitter spicy finish. Velvet mouthfeel. It’s spiced way over the top, but complex and more interesting than most spice beers.