First sip is a little rough. These Christmas ales tend to have a rather stoic personality, and this one's no different. I didn't really expect this to be approachable right off the bat, and it seems to have quite the dour essence about it coming straight for me. The sweetness of the malt is almost completely lost, and a dryness from the wood is coming out. This is vaguely reminding me why I don't normally drink brown ales. But I gulp all kinds of ales, and that's what I'm gonna do here.
Tip-in is light carbonation burn with molasses and brown sugar being seared on a pan, but there is none of the sweetness that you would typically expect with those two flavors. The middle opens up into a very nice beverage with the bread, molasses, and brown sugar combining with what at first might seem to be a little too much carbonation, but it seems to add a spiciness to the beer itself, assuming I'm not just tasting the spices in the beer. The finish is dry, as the yeast asserts itself a little bit over the other flavors, and it seems to enhance the bread as it does so.
Bottom Line: It seems like this is a good heavy beer for a cold night of relaxation.
3.0/5