Sweetwater Festive Ale

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

Deep brown, thin light tan head. Soft aromas of milk chocolate, spruce, nut, cinnamon toast, and citrus. Flavor was x-mas spiced chocolate malt throughout with a nice hop bitterness late to provide decent balance. ABV was non-apparent. Full bodied and slightly syrupy, pillow soft carbonation, spiced finish. Good festive brew for sure...

Poured from a bottle this beer (2005 batch) appears a dark brown with a thin head. Aroma is spicey, malty with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. Spicey cinnamon on the tongue with plenty of malty sweetness. The nutmeg (mace) really comes through in the finish along with a roasty smokiness and hop characteristic that balances the sweet flavors. Some lacing on the glass as I sip. Full mouthfeel with just enough fizz and the 8.6 ABV is barely noticeable making this a sneaky beer. A nice holiday brew.

Bottle: Courtesy of aracauna via trade. Very spicey aroma with lots of nutmeg and light clove. Pours a dark brown with virtually no transparency and an insignificant off-white head. Lots of nutmeg and light clove up front with a touch of molassesand brown sugar. Hints of roastiness in the background. Moderate cinnamon in the finish.

On tap and out of bottle here in Atlanta. Great beer this year, goes down so smooth. I’m not usually a huge fan of the darker beers, but this is great. The alcohol is well hidden, I can’t believe it’s 8.6%.

Thanks to CaptainCougar for this beer.

Poured dark with ruby highlites and a fizzy light tan head. Aroma of dark fruit, caramel, cinnamon, allspice, like a rich fresh bread. Taste is lightly sweet with a smoky spiciness, with dark fruit and cinnamon dominating. Very subtle flavors. Aftertaste is dry and hoppy. The alcohol is well-hidden. Big thick velvet body on this one. Nice winter ale.

Dark brown, with a tan head. Taste is malty with a slight spice taste. Fairly thick and subdued, the spice appears in the finish. A little dry, it lingers on the tongue. Fairly pleasant, could possibly benefit from a somewhat stronger bite in my opinion.

12oz bottle from Goldtwins..thanks larry! Pours a dark brown color with a small fizzy/foamy light tan head. Nose is kinda smokey, some spices involved, def quite a bit of smoke goin on here though. a pretty good thickness to this brew as well. Very thick taste, a hint of chocolate at first, then becomes bland and fizzy, a slight bitterness, followed by a dry mouth. my mouth feels filmy. there are some hints of winter spices, no smoke in the mouth at all, quite a bit of oily, velvety ness though. good palate but lacking tastes!

Just picked up the 2005 rendition of this wonderful seasonal. This beer had a slight toasted aroma mixed with nutmeg and clove with a hint of coriander. There was virtually zero head. I could just get the head to cover the surface, but it disappeared instantly. The body was a clear black.brown. Initial flavor was midly sweet that finished long. Body was medium to full with a syrupy texture. Virtually no carbonation. The finish was only slightly alcoholic. Surpisingly little for a 8.9% beer. Seems to taste a little less spicy than last year’s model.