Great Lakes Christmas Ale - Great Lakes Brewing Company

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BA SCORE
89
good
-
1,403 Ratings

rAvg: 3.97
pDev: 13.35%
Reviews: 715
Hads: 688

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Brewed by:
Great Lakes Brewing Company

Ohio, United States

Style | ABV
Winter Warmer | 7.50% ABV

Availability: Winter. bottle (606), on-tap (103), growler (6).

Notes:
No notes at this time.

View: Beers (66) | Reviews (193) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by Kanyon22:

Kanyon22

Massachusetts

4.1/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Got this little treat on my holiday trip to my parents in Ohio.Poured into my Great Lakes Snifter Glass.

A: The beer is a gorgeous clear Christmas bulb red with a bit of copper hues going on. The head which was kinda small, thanks in part to my snifter glass, yet to get a good head in this one, is a quick dissipating white color. The red color is amazing.

S: You get cinnamon, spices, and apple pie smell for sure. It has that Yankee candle Christmas smell nailed down.

T: Has a very upfront spicy, alcohol burn here with a quick cleansing clean taste and finishes just like the nose cinnamon, spice with a definite amount of honey drying the mouth.

M: Would call this one on the good side of medium with a lack of carbonation which seems perfect on this beer. The beer starts to really take a toll with the drying of the mouth, must consume slowly.

D: For a winter warmer this beer is easily one of the most approachable and satisfying I've yet to come across. The spices are well done not over the top and at 7.5% abv. goes pretty smooth and effortless. Only thing really hurting it is the overall drying on the mouth, which would be okay If eating with a desert of some kinda.

Overall another winner from one of my all time favorite brewery. Once again please start distributing to Massachusetts soon.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2011 18:04:38 | More by Kanyon22

More User Reviews:

nstorts

Ohio

4.5/5 rDev +13.4%

05-21-2013 02:07:48 | More by nstorts

InspectorBob

New Jersey

4/5 rDev +0.8%

05-20-2013 14:35:48 | More by InspectorBob

MJSJr

Ohio

4.5/5 rDev +13.4%

05-19-2013 17:25:13 | More by MJSJr

mattsucks

Ohio

4/5 rDev +0.8%

05-18-2013 14:17:48 | More by mattsucks

Jade

Ohio

3.25/5 rDev -18.1%

05-18-2013 13:33:25 | More by Jade

athesing10

Ohio

4.5/5 rDev +13.4%

05-17-2013 14:08:44 | More by athesing10

GinsuDave

Michigan

3.25/5 rDev -18.1%

05-15-2013 10:22:24 | More by GinsuDave

PorterLambic

Florida

3.3/5 rDev -16.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Pours a really nice coppery-amber color with a light tan head. Retention is not so great, dropping to a faint ring quickly.
Smell is malty with a caramel note and a weird sweet floral note that is very hard to place specifically. No spice notes to be found though they were expected.
Taste is the same as the smell, malt, caramel, and that same odd sweet floral note. It isn't quite strong enough to be offputting but it isn't able to be overlooked, either. No real spice though a very faint pepper note does show eventually.
Solid medium-full body, somewhat warming, smooth-ish with light effervescence. Nothing great sadly. A decent beer, that's all.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2013 20:54:06 | More by PorterLambic

sugrefd

Illinois

5/5 rDev +25.9%

05-13-2013 10:29:00 | More by sugrefd

Slay40

Michigan

4/5 rDev +0.8%

05-12-2013 02:28:22 | More by Slay40

Artjsantos

Ohio

3.5/5 rDev -11.8%

05-10-2013 16:52:15 | More by Artjsantos

bvskoog

Alabama

4.5/5 rDev +13.4%

05-10-2013 06:49:08 | More by bvskoog

yesyouam

New York

3.3/5 rDev -16.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Great Lakes Christmas Ale is a crystal clear amber ale with a soft, waxy, yellowish head that leaves nice lacing on the glass. It has a light aroma with hints of spice and candy. It's medium bodied and a little sharp. The finish is a little metallic and gritty. It's quite sweet and well spiced. It almost tastes like a candy cane. There's a little caramel and some juniper bitterness that lingers after the swallow. This is very clearly a Christmas Ale. The balance is pretty good but it's too sweet to have more than one.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 01:09:59 | More by yesyouam

moodyhudy

Ohio

4/5 rDev +0.8%

05-02-2013 06:37:18 | More by moodyhudy

Foam

Pennsylvania

3.73/5 rDev -6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

Ginger fruit.
flower blossoms .
malt.
olive brine ?
sea salt .

that great lakes-ian soul that their brews posess .
best of all, got a bunch of single bottles for $1.00 since it's way out of season .
a spicy nutmeg and ginger-malt finish concludes the taste profile of this Cleveland-brew .
definetly a weirdo/geek even amidst the X-mas beer world .

a few will do ya .

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2013 01:52:53 | More by Foam