From May 2007

This one poured a clear deep amber with an ample head of foam. The foam shrank a bit during the session but never left and there's plenty of lacing.

The smell was sweetish. I noted caramel malt and just a touch of hop.

The taste on first sip has a good caramel malt flavour with some fruitiness....sweet cherries. Swishing the beer in my mouth I'm getting some light hop bitterness that balances out the sweetness nicely and making for a very smooth taste overall. It finishes crisp and dry. Plenty of flavour here and very drinkable. I like it.

From Mar 2007

The Doppel Jabi poured a clear ruby red with a smallish head of foam and some lacing.

The smell has huge hop character; I note pine, grass, and grapefruit.

The taste is as huge on the hops(see above) as the smell is up front. Tons of bitterness circulating in my mouth and then, I get some good malt sweetness that adds some balance to this DIPA. More sips in and as I get more familiar with the brew, I'm admiring the complexity and interactivity of the flavours. I'm also getting some of the alcohol kick which, btw, my bar keep says is around 9%abv and not the 11% that's listed. Maybe a change of formula since the original review? But hey, DIPAs are for sipping and savouring and I appreciated the fact that Coopersmiths serves this beauty in 10oz glasses only.

Bottom line: I enjoyed the heck out of this one and I hope to have it again before they run out but if I miss out, I'll circle Feb 22 on next years calendar for sure. ;^)

From Dec 2006

Poured from 750ml capped and foiled bottle(2006 bottling) a clear(until the second por) light reddish gold with a large head of foam that dissipated slowly leaving a solid layer with lots of lacing.

The smell is very spicy. I can get nutmeg, cinnamon, some banana, clove. Pretty darned complex.

The taste is as spicy as the smell. Cinnamon seems to dominate but I can taste everything I mentioned in the smell plus there's Ginger and some dark fruit in there as well. Hint: The tastes are at their *peak* when you take really small sips; larger sips seem to blend all the flavours together too much and so, imo, diminishes the enjoyment of this Ale.

Oh, and I notice a fairly abundant amount of solid bits of floating yeast and although on the small side, the fact that they're there takes points, for me, off the appearance score but doesn't change the fact that this is a tasty Spiced beer. A more careful pour would probably stop the majority of them reaching your glass but, like I said, they're *really* small.

I notice that there's no given abv given for this brew and if I were to take a guess, I'd say it was somewhere between 7 and 8%abv as there's no alcohol in the taste and there's just a bit of warming.

Bottom line: Coopersmith's bottles a brew and I like it. I think the name Jingle Ale is appropriate because it does "feel" like Christmas drinking it. Give it a shot, I say. ;^)

From Jun 2006


On tap at the brewery:

Poured a reddish gold with a nice head of foam that dissipated slowly. Lots of lacing.

The smell was all fruity and yeasty with strong notes of banana and clove.

The taste was fruit dominated....the banana is stronger in this belgian style ale than any other I've ever tried, but there's also clove and yeast tones so it isn't exactly one dimensional. I thought the body was a bit on the thin side but, over all, this is a brew worth trying and I know I'll be sampling it again when I visit this fundamentally sound brew pub.

Bottom line: A brew worth trying in my book!

On tap at the brewery. Pours a dark brown with small beige head that lasts. The aroma is wood, vanilla, bourbon. Medium body, wood, vanilla, chocolate, cream, light finish, good.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a hazy copper with small off white head that lasts. The aroma is candy sugar, wood, dark fruit. Medium body, caramel, oak, candy sugar, boozy finish, very good.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a hazy red gold with small off white head that lasts. The aroma is cherry skin, oak, vinegar. Medium body, cherry, leather, acidic, very sour, good.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a clear gold with small white head that lasts. The aroma is pear, apple skin, oak. Thin, apple, pear, light tartness, decent.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a dark brown with medium creamy beige head that lasts. The aroma is roasted malt and brownie. Medium body, cream, roast, dark fruit, light dry finish, decent.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a dark amber with small beige head that lasts. The aroma is roast and resin. Medium body, cocoa, raisin, bread, light finish, good.