Blitzen Festivus Ale - North Peak Brewing Company

BB1313

Ohio

2.08/5  rDev -40.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

12oz bottle poured into a snifter. Pours a dark auburn, lots of lacing and a pretty full head. Nice looking brew. Lots of gunky sediment left at the bottom of the bottle. The aromas are full of cherry and wood. There's some spices in the mix. Faint aromas, not strong or impressive. Bitter hop flavors, which come off as one dimensional, just boring. I like the use of cherries, but it's not enough to save the flavors. Lots of dark fruits. Hints of caramel too. Chocolate malt is present as well. It just tastes sloppy. I personally never understood this winter style. Mouthfeel is very nice, well carbonated. Weird aftertaste. Overall, I didn't enjoy this one and didn't want more.

I like North Peak, but not this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2011 20:01:00 | More by BB1313

ssimpson89

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -7.1%

06-20-2012 02:28:07 | More by ssimpson89

trioxin

1/5  rDev -71.4%

05-05-2012 01:12:55 | More by trioxin

szmnnl99

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev 0%

03-25-2012 20:58:58 | More by szmnnl99

superspak

Michigan

3.9/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled 12/8/2011. Slight gusher upon opening. Pours hazy dark red orange color with a huge 2-3 finger khaki head with great retention that reduces to a thick cap that lasts. Some nice spotty lacing on the glass; a lot of carbonation streaming up. Took a while to pour this one. Aromas of caramel, dark fruits, apple, cinnamon, chocolate, biscuit, and herbal spices. Pretty nice and well balanced aromas with decent strength. Taste of caramel, dark fruit, lightly tart berry, brown sugar, cinnamon, herbal spices, citrus, apple, biscuit, and earth. Fair amount of spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark fruit, caramel, brown sugar, and spices on the finish for a while. Very nice balance of flavors, without being overly spicy. Medium carbonation and body; with a fairly creamy and slightly slick mouthfeel. Alcohol is well hidden with only a warming after the finish. Overall this is a very nice winter warmer. Nice fruity flavor profile, with a good balance of spices. Definitely enjoyed this one.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 01:14:44 | More by superspak

david131

Michigan

3.4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A- Pours a deep and clear plum red with countless streams of rising carbonation. I couldn't even pour a full 12 oz bottle into a pint glass due to the massive amount of carbonation. The bone white head (taking up 75% of the glass) is thick and has really good retention.

S- Smells very malty with some nice winter spices. Pretty appealing and inviting.

T- Caramel, citrus rind, a subtle earthiness, and some spices. There is a bit of noticeable alcohol on the finish.

M- Spicy carbonation with some lingering astringency.

O- Starts off interesting, but the more of it I consumed, the more I noticed its weaknesses- notably the earthiness and astringency. Not bad, but I am beginning to think that this brewery isn't my thing.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2012 03:35:18 | More by david131

cynical1027

Ohio

3/5  rDev -14.3%

02-21-2012 03:31:50 | More by cynical1027

Supergenious

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev 0%

02-08-2012 02:33:32 | More by Supergenious

bluejacket74

Ohio

3.88/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle, single bought for $2.09 with a bottled on date of December 8, 2011. Served in a pint glass, the beer pours a murky dark burnt orange/brown color with a couple inch frothy light tan head. Head retention is pretty good, and there's a good amount of lacing left on the glass. The brew smells like dark berries, orange peel, nuts and a bit of sweet spices. It tastes like dark fruit/berries (sweet and tart), orange peel, sweet spices, and some earthy hops. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit creamy but also has high carbonation. This certainly is a different winter warmer beer that has a nice mix of fruit, spice and hops. It's not overly spiced like a lot of beers in this style are. I'll have to try this again in the future, I liked it.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2012 00:33:07 | More by bluejacket74

wingman14

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark reddish brown with an off white head. Smell isn't as strong as expected, hops and malt there. Taste is more hops than malt, but has both in good amounts with a spice finish. Good mouthfeel and depth, flavor balance is excellent with the hops leading the way. Overall a flavorful beer with nice balance, worth checking out.

Serving type: on-tap

01-21-2012 00:04:19 | More by wingman14

Brenden

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Never has a North Peak beer poured a head as tall or dense as Blitzen's. This beastly off-white crown is not only tall but massively thick and dense, and I could easily rest some pocket change on this pillow. Beneath lies a murky, ruddy brown brew.
The smell is primarily dark fruits ( cherry, fig and raisin) with nutty and caramel notes balanced by a tame floral hops presence.
This beer becomes very interesting as the flavors come out. A sort of nutty woodiness with a peaty smoke is offset by light caramel sweetnessand a gentle fruitiness. Overall, this is quite a bit more complex and well put-together than anything I've had from NP yet. This beer really shows off a nice blend of mild tartness and sweetness while letting a lot of other tasty elements (nuts, wood, smoke) mingle without clashing.
The body is medium and the feel is good but for a sharp tang at the end.
This, in my opinion, is the best NP's come out with so far. If you don't likwe the style, that's one thing, but the complexity and balance of flavors isn't world-class, but it is superb.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2012 15:35:02 | More by Brenden

hosehead83

Ohio

4.33/5  rDev +23.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a "stubby retro" bottle into a standard pint glass.
Cloudy copper/red in color with a big head of tan foam.
Aroma-Sweet toasted malt, spices
Taste-toasted malt,subtle spiciness, orange note.
Well-balanced and good character, nice little hop bite. Very nice.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 18:01:43 | More by hosehead83

ConorThomas

Kentucky

3/5  rDev -14.3%

01-09-2012 01:32:36 | More by ConorThomas

schultzm

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +28.6%

01-06-2012 02:15:32 | More by schultzm

buddyvelt

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev 0%

01-03-2012 23:59:08 | More by buddyvelt

imbuckeye

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev 0%

01-02-2012 02:36:02 | More by imbuckeye

StoutHunter

Michigan

3.9/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I picked up a bottle of North Peak's Blitzen Festivus Ale a week ago for $1.99 at The Lager Mill. Today is Christmas so I think that this would make a very fitting beer to have today, so let's get Festivus started the right way and see how it goes. Bottled on November 23rd 2011. Poured from a stubby brown 12oz bottle into a snifter.

A- The label looks good and like most North Peak beers, I really like the name of this beer and the reference to one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes, you always need a beer to quench you thirst after some feats of strength. It poured a ruby red/brown color that was pretty clear and it had two and a half fingers worth of fluffy off white head that died down to a thin layer that stayed till the end and left some lacing. It looks good.

S- The aroma is nice, simple, straight forward. It starts off with some nice bready and grainy smelling caramel malts that have a medium amount of sweetness. Next comes some various spices and dark fruits. Then comes the hops which seem to stick out the most and have a piney aroma with a little bit of citrus. The aroma is pretty good and unique most Winter Warmers don't have this much of a hop aroma.

T- The flavor isn't too strong but it still manages to be pretty complex with a lot going on. It starts of with a slight amount of malts that have a medium amount of sweetness and slight brown bread flavor. Then comes the dark fruits and the spices, the black cherry's stick out the most and the typical Winter Warmer spices like cinnamon and nutmeg show up, but they aren't as bold as most Winter Warmers. Then comes the hops which have an earthy and piney flavor with a medium amount of bitterness at the end and aftertaste of cherry's and spices. This is a unique tasting Winter Warmer, it taste like half Winter Warmer and half typical North Peak IPA.

M- Smooth, slightly creamy, medium bodied, with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel on this beer is good.

Overall I though that this was a pretty good beer and descent and unique Winter Warmer. I like how North Peak took the road less traveled with this beer and made a Winter Warmer that really sticks out in it's style with a heavy hop profile, but I wish the spices were kicked up a notch so they weren't so drowned out by the hops. This beer has pretty good drinkability, the alcohol is hidden well and it makes for a pretty sessionable beer that won't get you burnt out on spices, I could go for another one if I had it. What I liked most about this beer was the look and how unique and different this was from most Winter Warmers, the flavors aren't what you would normally expect from this style and it's a nice surprise and the cherry flavor was nice. What I liked least about this beer was the lack of spices in the aroma and flavor, they were there but they got washed out by the hops so I would like to see more spices, normally I think Winter Warmers can have to much spice but this one needs a little more. I would buy this beer again when I want a unique Winter Warmer for the Holidays. I recommend this beer if you are tired of the average Winter Warmer, this should be a nice change of pace. North Peak went of the beaten path with this Winter Warmer and while it isn't the best I have had it is still good and really different, I like that they switched it up, there are too many over spiced Winter Warmers, it is time to get creative and push the boundary with this style, good job guys. It's a Festivus for the rest of us, Happy Festivus.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2011 02:51:40 | More by StoutHunter

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Stubby bottle with 6.8% abv poured without all of the yeast sediment in the bottle. Aroma is spicy with Christmas all spice, citrus, and cherry fruit notes. Appears a deep mahogany color with a thicket of beige caramel head flowing thick. Flavor has dark cherry skin notes, with more Christmas fruit and spice a hint of citrus peel in the flavor with some mild nutmeg and minimal earthy hops. Mouthfeel is creamy medium bodied definitely has the fruit highlights. Overall not a Christmas beer for me, I'd rather have something much hoppier spices and hidden Christmas flavors aren't my favorite.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2011 19:34:19 | More by WVbeergeek

jstewart1130

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev 0%

12-21-2011 03:00:01 | More by jstewart1130

UnknownMale282

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +28.6%

12-20-2011 20:28:56 | More by UnknownMale282

vrbulldog22

Ohio

3.85/5  rDev +10%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clear dark brown with hints of red, medium yellow-white head.
Smells hoppy, hints of pine & cinnamon.
Taste reminds me more of an IPA than most winter warmers I've had. Hoppy, but semi-sweet, not too bitter, with cinnamon & nutmeg present (but not as bold as other warmers), tart cherry in the aftertaste.
Mouthfeel is nice. The carbonation plays on the tongue without being abrasive. Goes down smooth without drying your mouth out.
Overall, I think it's an interesting twist on winter warmers. I'll buy it again. Seems like a great beer to take up to the in-laws for the holidays & sip away at next to the fire.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2011 02:32:48 | More by vrbulldog22

murraymj

Ohio

3/5  rDev -14.3%

12-17-2011 02:38:03 | More by murraymj

dorianmarley

Ohio

4/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance is deep dark red/brown, pancake head, and nice lacing.

Nose is sweet malt with cinnamon and a nice hop character.

Taste is notably spiced; almost like a rum. There is also a tart cherry element. The hops are mildly sweet, and are well-balanced with the hops.

The mouthfeel is refreshing. The spices are warm, but mild in character compared to many other winter warmers. The carbonation is medium, and the hops provide a great bite.

Overall, this is an especially drinkable winter warmer. It is not too sweet, has a unique cherry element, and is very refreshing. It can almost pass for a seasonal session.

Serving type: on-tap

12-17-2011 02:16:37 | More by dorianmarley