Sweetwater Festive Ale

Brewed by Sweetwater Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Bottle, from trade with goldtwins, 2005 bottle in fact. Good aroma. Sharply sweet. Fruity, grape, cherry, cranberry, Seltzer, cardboard. 1st pour was a clean orangy dark brown, 2cd was a hazed orangy brown. Good compact head that stayed a while. Minor lacing. Sour sweet flavor, Like aroma, but all the characteristics are stronger. Medium body, slippery creamy mouthfeel, dry sweet finish. Very nice, must of been intense when fresh. At times the flavor reminded me of NG Belgian red. Has aged greatly. Thanks Goldtwins.

Poiurs a slightly cloudy reddish brown. Aromas of spices galore like anise, clove, cinnamon, and dark fruit. FLavor is very spicy with the clove and anise taking the forefront. A decent floral hop finish makes for a very dry finish that carries the spice to the end.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry & biegaman -- my bottle courtesy of ross. Vintage 2006. Pours a cloudy ruby-brown with a spare diminishing off-white head. Aroma of sweet malt, fruit and winter spices. Flavour follows the aroma with sweet malt, fruit and winter spices and a slightly odd bitter/boozy finish. Alcohol’s well hidden. Medium bodied. It didn’t excite me very much, it’s just O.K.

Pours a dark brown color with a maroon tinge and a small white head that quickly vanishes. Malty aroma with hints of weak cinnamon,spice and pumpkin. Taste is sour malts with hints of pumpkin,cinnamon,coriander and leaves a peppery aftertaste. Not bad.

Bottle (12oz). Shared with blankboy and biegaman, blankboy’s bottle. Mostly clear ruby, small frothy head. Sweet malt aroma, generic sweet spice, light yeast - reminds me a bit of the better pumpkin ales. Taste is a little sour - all that spice combined with some funky hops yield a longish pungent finish. Average body, light carbonation, fairly astringent, slightly dry spicy aftertaste - not much alcohol character - okay.

12 oz bottle. 2006. Clear, but deep, maroon with a brief light brown head. Raisins, blueberries and a bit of brown sugar in the nose. Kind of scotchy; sour currants. Boysenberries? Woody apple. Bitter greens and stale spices hang around in the finish. Medium light with a spritz of carb.

05-Sep-06 (12 oz bottle, 2005 vintage: Obtained 01-Dec-05 in trade with goldtwins, thanks Larry!) Well, last chance for a healthy Festive Ale to sample (until Larry sends me the next vintage, of course). Barely a whisper when I pried off the cap and no head whatsoever when I poured the beer, so carbonation might be a problem. Like the others, it’s also a dark, ruddy brown with a translucence at the edge, but it’s slightly darker than either of the previous two vintages because even when held to a light, I can’t see through the center of the beer at all. The aroma is a huge relief -- nothing unpleasant, just sweet, dark malts, moderate chocolate and earth, and light winter spices. Taking a few sips, there’s plenty of dark malts with light roasty flavor, but also significant amounts of sweet chocolate and earth. Winter spice, especially nutmeg, lend additional complexity. Body is medium-full, but that carbonation issue I was worried about is not worry at all; the mild carbonation is sufficient for the style. (8, 3, 7, 4, 15 = 3.7)

05-Sep-06 (12 oz bottle, 2004 vintage: Obtained 07-Oct-05 in trade with goldtwins, thanks Larry!) Next up is the 2004 vintage. A very hushed cap popping experience with this bottle as I breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, the beer tastes a bit sour and the tart red apple skin is fairly noticeable, so I’d say this one is D.O.A. It’s malty and sweet, clearly less roasty or spicy or intense in flavor than the 2003. Less body as well. Smells lightly sour. About the same color: dark, ruddy brown and translucent when held to a light. Small, light-tan head dissipates rapidly down to a thin ring. So this isn’t in top form either, but whereas the 2003 was drinkable, this one is not. (3, 3, 4, 3, 7 = 2.0)

05-Sep-06 (12 oz bottle, 2003 vintage: Obtained 17-Sep-04 in trade with goldtwins, thanks Larry!) Well, it’s probably time to do this vertical, and I’ll start with the 2003. The very loud expulsion of air from the bottle when I popped the cap off wasn’t a good sign, nor was the tendency to produce a prodigious head during the pour, and nor is the extreme expansiveness from carbonation on each sip. And yes, there are some off-flavors as well, mostly some mild apple skin, but the beer still manages to overcome these issues and is drinkable. Dark, earthy, roasty malts, mild sweetness, a fair amount of bitterness, plenty of spice, and quite a yeasty flavor overall. No real need to go into detail as the beer isn’t in top form and I still have two more recent vintages to try. Not as much in the aroma department though, mostly light roast and bread yeast. The full-bodied beer is dark, ruddy brown in color, opaque through the center unless held up to a light, but it’s definitely translucent at the edges. The light-tan head maintains a full layer atop the beer. Obviously past its prime, the beer is still drinkable, but fails to exceed average enjoyment. (6, 4, 5, 4, 10 = 2.9)

Pours a syrupy dark brown with almost no visible head. Not a whole lot going on in the smell. Get a little smoky bacon and malts. Taste is very unique though. pretty malty sweet and very spicy. Black pepper, coriander, and other spices are very abundant. Pretty unique blend of ingredients that seem to work well together. I enjoyed this one.