Christmas Ale - Breckenridge Brewery

JohnnyMc

Ohio

3.05/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

This is an extremely subtle beer compared to most Christmas Ales. There is a very big and distinctive malt taste with hints of spices.

The aroma also has a hint of spices and maybe slight chocolate. While not a bad beer, this is underwhelming compared to most Christmas Ales and seasonals out there.

The carbonation level is also too high for this style and there isn't much going on beyond the the malt backbone.

Serving type: on-tap

02-16-2012 04:12:08 | More by JohnnyMc

kojevergas

California

3.2/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Served on-draught into a conical pint glass at Breckenridge barbecue in high altitude Denver, Colorado. Reviewed from notes.

A: Pours a one finger head of fair cream, good thickness, and good retention. Colour is an amber-copper.

Sm: Nothing. Could be because me nose is broken. All apologies, lads.

T: Amber hops, light toasted malt, light caramel, and cream. Very timid; the flavours hardly come through at all. Balanced but quite muted.

Mf: Smooth and wet. A touch sharp. Complementary of the flavours of the body. A bit too thick.

Dr: Drinkable, but unremarkable and a bit boring due to its muted nature.

Serving type: on-tap

01-06-2012 00:59:14 | More by kojevergas

DAllspaw

Indiana

3.53/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

on tap
deep auburn color, more like a brown ales. This is definitely a malt forward beer, with some baking spices, especially cinnamon, just a shade heavy on the cinnamon frankly, but nicely spiced. Also get a bit of piney hops.

A bit thinner than other winter/Christmas ales, but a good easy drinking beer.

Serving type: on-tap

12-28-2011 22:17:58 | More by DAllspaw

oline73

Maryland

3.15/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

I had this on-tap at Max's. Poured into a standard pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a clear dark amber with a finger of off white head and leaving some lacing.

Smell: Very mild smell to this one. Bready malt with some fruit notes and spices.

Taste: Bready malt with a mild spice profile. Not very sweet and there is a slight bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with tingly and smooth carbonation and a dry finish.

Overall: This is an alright Christmas beer. I would have either liked more spices or to clean up the taste a bit if they wanted to go the other way.

Serving type: on-tap

12-04-2011 03:24:47 | More by oline73

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.65/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

i know it is a bit early for a christmas beer, but with the first snows falling outside, i couldnt resist the new tap at my local. poured a festive redish color with almost no head to speak of. smells of caramel malts, winter spice, and alcohol. taste is similar to the smell, with some subtle hops joining the mix. a well balanced seasonal brew strong enough to warm the soul. the mouthfeel is perfect for this one as well, on the heavier side, but not filling. a great evening sipper as the snow falls out front

Serving type: on-tap

10-26-2011 17:08:13 | More by StonedTrippin

MillRat

Illinois

3.35/5  rDev -4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served on tap at the Tap House Grill in Oswego, IL. Poured a dark red/brown with an off-white head that persists. Another winter spice ale, this one a bit less spice-forward than most, letting some left coast hops contribute the citrus note, and the dominant spice out a fairly well muted bunch was the cloves, not the usual cinnamon. Not a brew to rave about, but I wouldn't pass it up a few pints if it was served at someone's holiday party, either. Out of the usual array of spiced beers, I'd give this one the nod over most.

Serving type: on-tap

02-09-2011 03:44:40 | More by MillRat

dlmccabe1

Maryland

3.28/5  rDev -6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Drank this on tap at the Breckenridge Brewery tonight. It's classified as a winter warmer on BA, but listed as an Amber Ale at the brewery. I suppose those two styles are similarly malty. There was no discernible spice addition that I could taste. A pretty run of the mill malt based amber ale. A bit of hoppiness mainly to offset the sweetness. Slight piney notes, but nothing too hop forward or dramatic.

Overall, a drinkable Christmas beer, but nothing to get overly excited about.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

12-17-2010 05:28:07 | More by dlmccabe1

mtstatebeer

West Virginia

3.1/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle. Pours a clear orange-amber color with a fair, quickly diminishing fizzy light brown head. Aroma is caramel malts, allspice, brown sugar, citrus, and cinnamon. Flavor is sweet caramel malt, a slight hint of roast, and some spiciness to balance. Mouthfeel is medium, lightly carbonated, and a touch of bitterness. Drinkable beer but sort of plain-jane for a holiday ale.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

12-06-2010 02:11:09 | More by mtstatebeer

jabergess

Georgia

3.13/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Had at Taco Mac in Buford, GA in the 20 oz mug.

A - Medium brown, slight watery appearance, very little head/retention

S - Slight coffee notes, biscuit, toffee, all very subtle. Couldn't detect any hops or bitterness. Not too sweet.

T - Not huge flavors like you would expect from say a stout or porter, instead everything was subtle like the smell. The malt presence wasn't huge like you might expect from this style. Nothing overpowering at all which for me added to its drinkability. Did not detect an alcohol warming on this one.

M - Thin, slight carbonation

D - I felt like I could drink quite a bit of this, even at 7.4% abv.

I'm tempted to call this beer boring, but sometimes that's what you might be looking for?

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

04-25-2010 17:03:11 | More by jabergess

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.13/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a translucent dark mahogany with a fine-bubbled beige head. Aroma is spicy - mainly cinnamon - and somewhat malty. Mouth-filling flavor is spicy, mostly cinnamon and cloves, with a fruity undertone and a hint of spicy hard candy. Texture is rough, lively and tingly.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

12-23-2009 03:17:55 | More by Cyberkedi

GJ40

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled on tap at The Old Monk in Dallas, TX.

Brown but with quite a bit of light coming through and good clarity. A nice biscuity smell with some spices coming through. The flavor is a nice balanced mix of malts, hops and spices. They all come together very nicely. The consistency is moderate and the carbonation was set just right. The glass is left with well defined rings of lacing at the end.

I'm not normally into winter / holiday / spiced beers but I'm working on it this year. I enjoyed this one quite a bit.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

12-17-2009 13:01:49 | More by GJ40

bort11

Missouri

3.83/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured on tap at KC Flying Saucer. Tight white head that is slow to recede. Nice lacing ladder steps down the pint glass. Color is a dark hazy orange.

Smell is a warm aromatic orange peel. Solid caramel malts keeps it balanced. Taste is a bold smack of orange peel and coriander. Nicely herbal bite to keep the heavy malts in check.

Mouthfeel is a solid medium body, with some zest oils creating a dense body. Very nice warmer

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

11-28-2009 00:51:12 | More by bort11

UDbeernut

New York

3.35/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

on tap poured into pint glass

a: dark amber color with minimal head, decent carbonation, not much head retention but does maintain lacing

s: roasted malts with hints of chocolate and coffee

t: same as the aroma, minimal spice. Decent

m&d: good mouthfeel, finishes slightly dry. Very drinkable for its ABV.

Solid beer, not as good as GLBC Xmas Ale though.

Cheers

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

12-13-2008 20:56:01 | More by UDbeernut

glid02

Georgia

3.3/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Got this on-tap at Taco Mac in Decatur.

Pours a slightly hazy brown color with a half-finger off-white head. The head dissipates into a patchy layer of bubbles on top and a thin ring around the glass.

Smells of light spices and sweet malt with a bit of an off aroma that I can only describe as metallic.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Sweet malt followed by mild amounts of nutmeg and brown sugar - then the off-smell turns into an off-taste. This seems to be the problem with a lot of Breckenridge beers.

Mouthfeel is good. It's a bit on the thin side but the carbonation is good.

Drinkability is alright. It's really pretty good until that off-flavor hits.

Overall I'm disappointed once again by this brewery. They sucked me in with the 471 Small Batch and it's been downhill from there. This isn't a terrible beer by any stretch, but there are plenty of other better ones of the style out there.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

12-02-2008 01:48:07 | More by glid02

JamesS

Indiana

4/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a very nice deep copper, nearly brown color, without much head, but with some very good lacing. Great malty Christmas scent (nutmeg, cinnamon, and various spices) withoug going fruity and with a nice hop to almost even it out. Great taste, deep and fizzy with great spice flavors and a well balanced malt/hop combo, leaning towards the malt. It goes down very nicely, overall a really very excellent Christmas beer.

(On tap at Sonka's Irish Pub, Terre Haute, IN)

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

11-25-2008 21:34:27 | More by JamesS

mpahnke

Texas

2.88/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I was a bit disappointed by this beer. While it did have a decent malt characteristic, the beer was quite bland. In my opinion, a winter beer should have a bit more spice than what was here.

Another reviewer mentioned that it was too hoppy...I must disagree. While this style shouldn't be hoppy...i felt it didn't have enough. However, I may be a bit biased, as I really prefer the hops.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

11-20-2008 18:08:38 | More by mpahnke

champ103

Texas

3.35/5  rDev -4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a dark amber red color. A small white head forms, and recedes to nothing. Light lace.
S: Malty that is chocolaty with a touch of coffee. Some sweet toffee and caramel. Some spice aromas and dark fruit.
T: Compared to the aroma this is a disappointment. Caramel malt is up front. A large citrus and pine hop flavor as well. It just does not mesh well with the aroma though. It needs more malt, dark fruits, and spice.
M/D: A medium body with a crisp carbonation. Fairly smooth and easy to drink for the high ABV.

This is just another mediocre and bland Winter Warmer that has to many hops for the style IMO.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

11-17-2008 00:07:46 | More by champ103

homebrewhawk

Kansas

3.63/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz. bottle served in a shaker pint. Poured a clear brown with a finger of off white head. Aroma of caramel malt with some piney hops. Medium bodied on the malty side. Some chocolate malt. A pretty good amount of hop bitterness. Not very memorable, but fairly drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

11-12-2008 02:05:08 | More by homebrewhawk

Domingo

Colorado

3.35/5  rDev -4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Had this on tap @ Jim 'n Nick's BBQ.
Arrives a deep brown color that's bordering on black. A 1/4" white head sits on top and Looks a lot like a dry stout.
Smells very malty and a little like pumpernickel bread.
The taste is suprisingly pretty hoppy. Very piney and wild. I think it's the chinooks that are doing that. It reminds me of the wild piney hops I've seen in the CO. mountains. The malty dark bread flavor seems a little subdued because of the piney hop hit, and I'm not sure it meshes really well.
I love the creamy mouthfeel, but one pint was enough for me.
I like many of Breck's seasonal offerings, but this one didn't do it for me. Many beers lack hops. This one probably just needed a different variety...maybe goldings?

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

11-10-2008 19:32:59 | More by Domingo

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a deep brown with a tan head. In the aroma, a sweet Christmas spice, but mainly cinnamon. In the taste, just like the smell, a sweet Christmas spice but mainly cinnamon. A smooth and spicy mouthfeel, and a dry cinnamon aftertaste. Mainly sweet cinnamon, hides the alcohol and easy to drink.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

12-22-2007 01:50:40 | More by OWSLEY069

Crosling

Colorado

2.88/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served with a reddish brown color and a dense white head. Nice lacing and head retention throughout the session. Caramel, chocolate, rich malts and some off-scents in the aroma. Pretty poor flavor. Some off flavors on-tap compared to the bottled version. Nonetheless, there is some chocolate and caramel on the palate. Pretty full bodied with a nice bitter finish. But the off flavors were too much to bare.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

04-19-2006 04:12:42 | More by Crosling

allengarvin

Texas

3/5  rDev -14%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Appearance is dark brown, with a good lasting head of off-white froth. Smells of sharp, grainy malt, not very pleasant. Flavor is roasted malt, whose bitterness combines with the hops for a harsh, unbalanced flavor. Mouthfeel is creamy, moderate carbonation.

Something about this beer just rubbed me the wrong way. I had a hard time finishing a single glass. Better in bottled form.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

02-08-2005 17:24:28 | More by allengarvin

ChrisBowers

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Good but unremarkable winter/christmas beer. Poured with virtually no head, decent carbonation though that saves the mouthfeel. Aroma is hoppy with some spicing and alcohol. Taste is slightly spicy with prunes, raisins and ripe fruit present. None of the tastes really jump out and take over. Mouthfeel seems a tad thin. Very drinkable, smooth, non-offensive beer, would make a good introduction into spiced/winter beers for a skeptic but I like my beers to jump out at me personally.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

12-04-2004 02:17:57 | More by ChrisBowers

ADR

Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +18.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap, Supreme Court Bar, Adam's Mark Hotel, Denver, CO...

Dark mahogany color, clear and transmits chestnut highlights. Tan head settles at 1/4 of an inch. Crystalline ring laces. Smells of brown sugar/cinnamon on toast. Viscous mouthfeel, a little flat but consistent and without fade. Pleasant taste, caramel and a hint of a cherry impression, rounds to a lush carob and vanilla with a peach sense. A little sweet overall, but a good and festive brew with a number of individual and subtle flavors..

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

11-08-2004 15:50:34 | More by ADR

filabrazilia

Colorado

3.23/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a semi-clear brown with floating particles in the beer. Small tan head. Good lace.

Smells doughy, malty and a bit like carmel. Not as robust an aroma as I would have expected.

There is a subdued malty flavor that is balanced by a bitter hop finish. Decent but not great.

The mouthfeel is a little thin for a strong ale. I would have liked something a little fuller and complex. There is a strong carbonation bite that is followed by a dry finish.

This is a drinkable beer but there are so many other seasonals I would rather drink first.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, 600 South Main Street, Breckenridge

03-12-2004 15:58:28 | More by filabrazilia