Review – Great Lakes Christmas Ale
From Great Lakes: AVAILABILITY: November – December , TYPE/STYLE:
Holiday Ale: A robust style of beer made with spices to celebrate the festive season. , FOOD COMPLEMENTS: This festive brew is a perfect addition to big holiday feasts and goes particularly well with the fruit cakes and breads of the season. , BRAND NAME: In the spirit of the giving season, this special brew is crafted to be the perfect holiday gift.
Great Lakes Brewing Co. – Great Lakes Christmas Ale – 12 oz. bottle poured into my New Belgium glass. 7.5% abv. Obtained in a trade from Jim M. on ratebeer.com.
Appearance: Dark translucent red. A faint gathering of suds at the top, almost no head.
Aroma: Cherry pie filling, cinnamon sticks.
Taste: Tastes like Christmas. Lots of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, ginger. Finishes with a moderate hop spice note.
Mouthfeel: On the thin side. Very smooth.
Overall: Too bad this isn’t easier to get. This gives Anchor Christmas a run for its money, as for a beer that screams Christmas Beer!
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This is my personal favorite holiday offering; I make sure that I get at least one 6-pack every Christmas. Also, since I live in the city, I make it a point to go to the brewpub and get one on tap each year, also.
This year, however, it doesn’t seem to be as good as in years past — it tastes to me like it was pulled out of secondary fermentation a few days too early: it doesn’t have its usual hoppy, zesty finish, which probably is what gave you the impression that it’s thin in the mouthfeel department; it’s normally a robust, full-bodied brew.
Don’t get me wrong — it’s still excellent; I just don’t feel it’s as good this year as in prior years.
They doubled the amount brewed this year (it’s hard to find in Cleveland in mid-December!), so any lack in the beer can be chucked up to growing pains for GLBC. Certainly nothing else over there has changed — which is a Good Thing.