Bison Organic Gingerbread Ale - Bison Brewing

flagmantho

Washington

3.55/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: dark, deep amber hue with a mostly haze-free body and a strong effervescence. Head is almost two fingers of frothy tan foam with decent retention. Actually, it's pretty attractive.

Smell: very malty aroma with lots of toasty and biscuity character; admittedly not my favorites. The nutmeg and cinnamon come through nicely and actually complement the toastiness well. Not bad, but it doesn't really suit my palate.

Taste: not quite as biscuity and dry as the aroma. Sweeter, more caramel-like character comes through, along with a muted taste of the cinnamon and nutmeg. There's a hint of acidity here, too, perhaps as a result of using roasted malts. Bitterness is not particularly strong in this brew. It's OK, but still not among my favorites.

Mouthfeel: light body with a good level of carbonation; while not super creamy, it is getting up there and borders on being quite a satisfying texture.

Overall: I'm glad I tried this beer, although it turned out to not be my cup of tea. It tastes kind of like a pumpkin beer without the pumpkin, so if that sounds like what you are looking for then it may be worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2013 03:15:02 | More by flagmantho

gbrill

Arizona

3.25/5  rDev -6.1%

05-01-2013 16:21:31 | More by gbrill

cackalacky

South Carolina

3.25/5  rDev -6.1%

04-13-2013 03:37:29 | More by cackalacky

SmellsofMahagony

Texas

3.25/5  rDev -6.1%

04-12-2013 02:17:10 | More by SmellsofMahagony

bacasnax

Florida

3.75/5  rDev +8.4%

04-01-2013 00:18:44 | More by bacasnax

Hex92

Virginia

2.84/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

My wife bought this as part of a mixed 'winter' beers sixer for Christmas. Definitely my least favorite beer of the bunch. It pretty much misses the mark across the board.

It doesn't look like much, there is too much carbonation and it doesn't smell like much either.

The taste is pretty much non-existant. I don't taste ginger, cinnamon, malt, nutmeg, or even beer. This was the first beer I tried from Bison. I would be reluctant to buy another.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2013 00:25:20 | More by Hex92

dbone_has_biers

California

4.25/5  rDev +22.8%

03-05-2013 05:38:34 | More by dbone_has_biers

kp29

Arizona

3.69/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

First organic beer here.

Pours a very dark brown, so much so that it looks black and until I hold up in the light can I see some brown near the bottom of the glass

Smells like a gingerbread cookie, nutmeg, a little cinnamon.

Flavor is nowhere near as strong as I was expecting from the smell. Gingerbread cookie, a little cinnamon, very mild bitterness that fades quickly. Not much of an aftertaste at all. Watery, mild all around.

Decent brew, I like the addition of the ginger, cinnamon, and other holiday spices.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2013 01:40:35 | More by kp29

Adkins1203

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev +1.2%

02-28-2013 03:43:47 | More by Adkins1203

plinythederek

North Carolina

1.75/5  rDev -49.4%

02-27-2013 02:28:54 | More by plinythederek

olbubba

Florida

4/5  rDev +15.6%

02-23-2013 00:45:10 | More by olbubba

mobrockman

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +1.2%

02-19-2013 00:07:41 | More by mobrockman

jsisko01

Michigan

4.28/5  rDev +23.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance - Pours an extremely dark brown color (almost black) with a thin tan head that dissipates instantly, leaving a pretty nice lacing.

Smell - It smells like gingerbread and rye to me. After a couple more sniffs I can detect other spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg.

Taste - Very sweet.. Cinnamon and nutmeg are most dominant. The gingerbread isn't coming through as much as I thought it would. Toasted malts and a very feint hint of caramel. There is a mild, musty bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with high carbonation.

Overall - This beer is very well put together. It was interesting to try. It's basically like a winter warmer ale with a twist.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2013 04:11:42 | More by jsisko01

Spaghett

California

3.9/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

I actually enjoyed this beer. Almost as if I dunked gingerbread cookies in my porter I just poured. If only mom let me have this for an afternoon snack.

Interesting concept, I could only drink one and feel like I didn't eat a big ol' plate of cookies though.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2013 20:38:25 | More by Spaghett

TheBeard89

Alabama

3/5  rDev -13.3%

02-05-2013 20:40:57 | More by TheBeard89

jheezee

Texas

3.5/5  rDev +1.2%

02-04-2013 18:06:42 | More by jheezee

Nage37

California

4/5  rDev +15.6%

02-04-2013 06:20:31 | More by Nage37

RedneckBeerz

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +8.4%

01-25-2013 20:38:54 | More by RedneckBeerz

Seefeldt

Minnesota

2/5  rDev -42.2%

01-23-2013 19:59:52 | More by Seefeldt

HuskyinPDX

Washington

3.35/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Bottle opened on 1.8.13

A - Pours an amber-brown with a small fizzy tan head with solid retention.

S - Coffee, cinnamin, biscuit malty.

T - Subtle coffee and cinnamin, some bitter malts.

D - Lower carbonation with a medium body.

O - Ok, but not as tasty as I was hoping for. Pass on this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 06:16:08 | More by HuskyinPDX

shand

Florida

2.73/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Bison Gingerbread Ale pours brown with next to no head. The aroma is full of holiday spices, with ginger taking the forefront. The taste... well. The taste doesn't just quite work. I taste the porter base, and I taste the spices, but they never come together at all. Instead, it's like taking a swig of ginger beer, sprinkling a little nutmeg in, and chasing it with the most generic porter body imaginable. The mouthfeel is weak and watery, and the drinkability is alright. Overall, Bison's Gingerbread Ale is just a slightly below average beer. It's drinkable, but never really reaches enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2013 02:04:53 | More by shand

miadw3

California

2.75/5  rDev -20.5%

01-18-2013 01:07:22 | More by miadw3

Braz

Washington

3.5/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had this at the Parkway tavern in Tacoma. Dark garnet mahogany in color with a whitish head. Slightly spicy aromatics. Ginger does seem to be prevalent in the flavor along with some other spices, cinnamon and nutmeg perhaps. Malty and medium bodied. Not bad. Not too sweet or too bitter. As with many herbal and/or spiced beers, couldn't have more than one or two of these without getting sick of it.

Serving type: on-tap

01-16-2013 07:08:07 | More by Braz

bumchilly25

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +1.2%

01-12-2013 03:09:42 | More by bumchilly25

UncleAddie

Arizona

3.5/5  rDev +1.2%

01-03-2013 23:56:13 | More by UncleAddie