.jpg)
It's not Christmas. If it helps, I actually wrote this review in January, and I'm just getting around to posting it two months later, so I was originally close. Fat Bottom has not had any truly bad beers yet, but they aren't clumping around the Excellent category, either. A spicy Winter Warmer on a cold day will do me just fine, though.
The beer is a mahogany brown/red with an off-white head that does not inspire, but I'm not sure that's the point of a spiced beer. And spiced is what it is. The aroma hits like a ton of bricks with all the spices that can be fit into something the shape of a beer. It smell like one of those Christmas stores that have the nutmeg, pine, and cinnamon aromatics going all the time to get people into the holiday mood. At 7.7% ABV, it should also act as social lubrication for family interactions.
Bottom Line: Too much.
First sip is spiced. I figured you would know that already, but let me confirm it. The honey brings a lot of sweetness, but the spices are coving up what could either be a great beer or a terrible beer; there's no way to know. Sometimes I have encountered beers that have so much added to them that they fail to really be a beer, and they are conveyances for some other flavor. This is one of those.
Tip-in is all the spices with a dollup of carbonation and honey. The middle swings in with just WAY too many spices atop other spices and a layer of spice to keep things interesting. The finish is a predictable wave of spices before a spicey trail off.
Bottom Line: Too much.
1.25/5
