Christmas Ale (All through 2016)
Bell's Brewery in Galesburg, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Scottish Ale Winter Out of Production|
Score
6.57
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Admin Note: This is the original Bell's Christmas Ale which was last brewed in 2016. In 2017 the brewery revamped the recipe completely and created a Scotch Ale. This entry should only be used for backlogged ratings.
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Strong pecan, medium roast nose. Cloudy copper, many fine floaties, medium lacy yellow head with pretty good retention. Slightly sweet pecan at first, finishes drier with malt and dried leaves. Light body, moderate carbonation. Better than most scotch ales, IMO, because it is not as cloying. No British malt character though probably more of an ABA.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Pours a nice copper from a bottle. Very good sweet toffee maltiness with a slight bitter end on the tongue.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 7
Tap at Gingerman. Quite boring for Christmas. Light copper pour nose is toffee. Tastes of toffee, faint malt, grains, light earth. Semi sweet palate kinda flat. Overall dull but not offensive.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
Amber Color, Huge And Long Lasting Foam Head, Lots Of Lacing. Although It is Rather Fresh Beer. It has Lots Of White Floaters, Therefore A Little Unappealing. Cooked Vegetables Aroma Reminds Me Of Pumpkin Beer. Malt, Cooked Vegetables. Medium Body, Light Bitter. Drinkable, Pretty Decent Besides It’s Label, does not really have anything to do with Christmas... Still Worth A Try...
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
12 ounce bottle into signature pint glass, bottled on 10/22/2014. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy deep orange/amber color with a 2 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of lemon, orange zest, pear, apple, plum, caramel, toasted bread, light honey/nuttines, floral, grass, and herbal/yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance of bready malt, earthy hops, and fruity yeast ester notes; with solid strength. Taste of lemon, orange zest, pear, apple, plum, caramel, toasted bread, light honey/nuttiness, floral, grass, and herbal/yeast earthiness. Light herbal/spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon, orange zest, pear, apple, plum, caramel, toasted bread, light honey/nuttiness, floral, grass, and herbal/yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Nice balance and robustness of bready malt, earthy hops, and fruity yeast ester flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light dryness from bitterness as well. Medium carbonation and body; with smooth, fairly creamy/grainy/bready, and lightly crisp/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5.5%. Overall this is a nice and pleasant Scottish ale style. All around good robustness and balance of bready malt, earthy hops, and fruity yeast ester flavors; and very smooth and fairly crisp to drink. A nicely enjoyable offering.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
12oz bottle pours with a deep copper body that has small floaties everywhere and supports a lasting tan head of foam. The aroma offers up apple, cantaloupe and winter spices. The taste starts off with a mix of spices and red apples and then it picks up a dash of roasted malts. Right around the edge of the flavor are mild mango and cantaloupe notes. This is on the spicy side with its winter like spices but fruity sweetness, malts and some mild roasted maltiness creates some balance.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Bottle pour to shaker. Dark, orange/amber color. Taste not characteristic of scotch ale; it’s like it doesn’t fit neatly into a style. Bit of fruitiness; malt. Just so-so.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 4.5
Poured from a bottle it is a cloudy ale that is reminiscent of ungiltrred apple cider in Colorado. It has a slight head. The atoms is of ginger and malt. The taste follows along the same lined with a bitter aftertaste
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
From a 12 oz bottle shared in Avon NC. Pours a fairly clear light amber with an off white head. Malty nose with bit of fruit. Flavors of citrus hops and light caramel malt. Light to medium bodied with high carbonation. Crisp, clean, bitter finish.