Victory Very Merry Monkey Spiced Holiday Ale

 

Victory Very Merry Monkey Spiced Holiday Ale.

9.5 % ABV, 25 IBU, Victory Brewing, Downington, Pennsylvania. 

Clear, burnished golden color, large and lacey ivory head. 

In the nose: gingerbread, orange, nutmeg & clove. Christmas cookie time. 

In the mouth: hot, fierce, filling, sweet, spicy. The base beer slowly emerges, golden monkey crawls from the crumbs. Full bodied, warm and wonderful, holiday flavors baked right in….mmm, I’m digging it. 

Add a little bit of SPICE. Your favorite holiday tradition, Merry Monkey, returns with a lively hint of gingerbread in this Belgian-Style Tripel. Notes of cinnamon, sweet molasses and an oomph of ginger will remind you of all that's great about this classic cookie.

Two Roads Holiday Ale Biére de Noel

 Two Roads Holiday Ale Biére de Noel.

7.3 % ABV. Two Roads Brewing, Stratford, CT. 

I know what you're saying. You're saying, Al, what's up, Christmas was a month ago, why are you drinking this now? How to explain this? Okay, these cans came into my possession shortly before the holiday, and I enjoyed can #1, stashed the second away for another day and the note-taking. And that day become today because I am a terrible procrastinator. I've definitely done worse. You don't want to know. Believe me.

I didn't purchase any before that day that they became mine because there are so many new beers coming out around the holiday season, it's impossible to get them all. Some fall by the wayside, and, actually, holiday-themed beers aren't my top priority. I like 'em, just don't live for them. 

But every good holiday ale can be enjoyed anytime, and why not now, with snow piled up and temps in the teens. (At least we haven't dipped below zero yet. Fingers crossed.) We're not out of this for a long while. Brrr...

Clear, auburn hue, slim whitish head. 

In the nose: Deep, dark fruit, and slight spice. Figs and berries. Mostly malty. 

In the mouth: More spices grace the palate along with waves of malt. Moderately hopped. Some small sweetness. Like mulled fruit with spices. Definitely delicious. I'm liking this one. I'd drink it anytime of year. 

Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Christmas Porter

Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Christmas Porter
6 % ABV. 33 IBU. Three Floyds Brewing, Munster, Indiana

More Three Floyds beers are being released into our market, including some I've never had before. But, because I can't take all the beers home on the bus with me, I had to pick one and that one was this one that I first had 15 years ago. Acquired a bomber in a trade with an Indianian (?), and reviewed on BeerAdvocate.com in November, 2004. Here are those notes, warts and all:

deep brown color, with crimson highlights peeking through, blessed with a thick, prodigious cocoa-tan head...

Aroma: mmm, roasty-toasty, cinnamon, ginger, toffee, coffee, and cream...oh, yummy, oh, very good...nice as it gets...

Taste: Very smooth, yet terribly dark and full in the body, full in the flavor, ...a spicy, tastiness rings through the edges and uplifts and illuminates every aspect of the experience...nutmeg and clove...

Body never flags, stays full, and continually delivers flavor...finish isn't as strong as I'd like, but hangs on well enough...

overall, an excellent winter warmer/spiced ale, not a surprise from this outstanding brewery...wish it were easier to find though...

In 2019, would I change these notes? Less ellipses, more capitalization, better grammar and punctuation. About the beer, no. I wouldn't pull back on the enthusiasm. Maybe throw in a "yum, a dum, dum." And I'm so glad it is easier to find, now days.

Town Hall Festivus 2014

Town Hall Festivus 2014. Town Hall makes 3 seasonal brews every holiday season, some change and some don't. Grinches Grog is always some kind of a pale ale, Elves' Elixir seems to always be a Baltic Porter, and Festivus, for the rest of us, is the one that is drastically different every single year. This time it's a barrel-aged red ale with spruce tips. Something like that. I had it on tap some time after release at the pub, enjoyed a glass, and picked up a growler weeks later, last Wednesday. Thinking back, remember what I tasted before, I think back to what I wrote a few days ago in praise of the mini-growler, and wonder if this one would also be a good candidate for the smaller vessel. We can only find out for sure once I crack open this 64-ouncer.

Appearance: Clear, bright crimson coloring, slim, soon gone head.

Aroma: Lightly spicy, fruity, floral, a little sweet and mostly malty.

Taste: A big bolt of sweet at first, That spruce shines through it all. Wood-aging at work, too. Big spruceness meets a flash of sweet. Rosy, fruity and sweet. 'm almost ready to go ahead and call it a spruce bomb. Just because. The spruce is matching the malt, and threatening to stay on top.

In the end, I have to think: a noble experiment, but not what I want. Based on that, I do wish I had chosen a mini-growler for this one. four pints is a bit more than I feel like getting into. But, I made this bed, and I will lie in it.

Don't get me wrong, this is right on for a fun holiday ale, but only if you're having a few, and that's it. (Amend that to "only if I'M having a few"...to each their own, of course."

Alesmith Yulesmith Winter Holiday Ale

Alesmith Yulesmith. All of the Alesmith beers I've recently purchased have been beers I've already tried, via trades, over the years. I thought this would be the same until I noticed that the Yulesmith that I sampled so many years ago was listed under Alesmith Yulesmith Summer, not Winter. This appears to be winter. And why shouldn't it? I bought it in winter. The brand wasn't available in Wisconsin in summer. And the label has Winter Holiday Ale on the label. And away we go.

Clear, bright crimson hue, , large and long head, puffy, creamy foam, leaving lace.

Aroma: malt-tastic, fruit-ariffic, a touch of vanilla, a whiff of cherry. Cocoa lurks below, caramel, too. A mystical mix. Ever-so hoppy.

Taste: Big fat mix of malt and a generous spattering of hops. Lots of caramel malt and toffee tastes below, with cirtus-y notes up above. yum. Big, chocolately malt, prodigious hoppiness. It's a So-Cal Christmas. Tast-ee. Yum-ee. So terribly complex and delicious. Love it.

there's a lot of red ink on a brown bottle. I can't read it. On the bottom, above the web address it says: "Serve in a pint at 50-55 degrees." I think the temperature is okay, but is a "pint" really what you want to recommend? Whatever, I did it in a "tulip." So sorry.