Christmas Ale (All through 2016)
Bell's Brewery in Galesburg, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Scottish Ale Winter Out of Production|
Score
6.58
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The basic inspiration for Bell’s Christmas Ale was to create a sessionable holiday beer, using locally grown malt, which would stand apart from the array of spiced winter warmers that are typically introduced this time of year. In contrast to many other seasonals, Christmas Ale doesn’t contain any spices: all of the dry, toasted notes & subtle toffee flavors come from the 100% Michigan-grown barley, custom malted by Briess Malting, while a blend of hops from Michigan & the Pacific Northwest lend earthy, herbal aromas. At 5.5% ABV, it stands as a smooth, highly drinkable beer intended to complement holiday menus, not overshadow them.
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.
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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6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Bottle 35,5 cl. Courtesy of TheCheeseMan. Pours a hazy amber with an off-white head leaving a little lacework - comes gushing. The nose is dominated by sweet caramel. Medium body, lively carbonation. Fruity and caramelish with a subdued hoppiness. Pleasant but perhaps a little bland. 150311
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Mar 2011
at 11:22
6.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6.5
Great looking beer. Reddish bronze with a nice off-white head. Sweet malts, fruity, light fresh citrus, caramel, and a bit toasty. Medium to thin body. Flavor is lightly sweet fruits, some caramel malt, a bit of toasted malts, too. Aroma is great but the flavor really falls off. Not bad just forgettable, which from Bells is quite a disappointment.
Tried
on 09 Dec 2010
at 18:24
6.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
12 oz bottle. Pours amber with some tiny particles and an off-white head. Peated malt aroma that reminds me most directly, to be honest, of a corn tortilla, with toffee, dark fruit, and caramel. Flavor is toasty, earthy, lightly peated malts with toffee, caramel, and a dark fruit flavor, with some spicy hop tones as well. Rather light on the palate. This is pretty tasty at first, but it kind of turns into an average amber ale after a while, losing most of its interesting characteristics in favor of toasty maltiness. I also wish the flavors were stronger.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Nov 2010
at 00:11
6.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Picked this up from Archer Liquors in Chicago, IL, poured from 12 oz bottle after getting a new kitten. Aroma mostly of malt, a slight amount of caramel and spices. Appearance is a cloudy amber / copper with a thin head. Taste is mostly malt with a hint of spices. Not bad, just average.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Sep 2010
at 19:57
6.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle. Pours a clear amber color with a small off-white head. Has a sweetish malty caramel aroma with some spicy hints. Fruity malty caramel flavor with some hoppy hints and some spicy hints. Has a fruity malty caramel finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Jul 2010
at 02:11