Miasmatic Review

Great Lakes Christmas Ale

As Christmas Season is upon us and it was my Grandmother’s favorite time of the year, I’ve decided that I’m dedicating tonight’s review to her memory. Actually I’m going to stick with the theme all month and do nothing but Christmas style beers for the next three weeks. Tonight we are starting off with Christmas Ale by the Great Lakes Brewing Company.

The standard 12 oz brown bottle once again graces us with its presence. The label is black. In white lettering at the top is the name of the brewing company and at the bottom is the name of the beer. In the middle in a gray square is a green toy train car holding red Christmas ornaments. There is short description of the beer on the label as well. It brags a sturdy 7.5% Alcohol By Volume (ABV).

It has a nice dark copper color with a slight amber hue. The body is clear with no sign of cloudiness. A quarter inch off white head formed when poured into the glass. The head faded into a film on the top of the beer. It left some lacing on the side of the glass, but not a lot.

Cinnamon is the first scent you notice to this beer. There is a mixture of raisins, ginger and honey also noticeable. A touch of coffee malts can also be smelt. The taste starts off with a strong cinnamon flavor that is followed by ginger, honey and coffee malts. The flavor covers the higher 7.5% ABV. The combination leaves no doubt in your mind that this is a Christmas beer.

It’s a medium bodied beer. The carbonation gives a little bite to the tongue, but not much. With the higher ABV, one would think it would affect the drinkability of this beer, but it really doesn’t.

It’s a little sweeter then I normally like, but it’s not a bad beer. I don’t know if I would go out of my way to buy it for anything other than maybe a Holiday party, but I definitely wouldn’t turn one down if it were offered to me. I’m going to rate this a 4.5 out of 10.