Gritty McDuff's Christmas Ale - Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company

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BA SCORE
85
very good
-
154 Ratings

THE BROS
97
world-class
-
read more »

rAvg: 3.8
pDev: 12.63%
Reviews: 121
Hads: 33

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Brewed by:
Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company

Maine, United States

Style | ABV
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB) | 6.20% ABV

Availability: Winter. bottle (104), on-tap (13), cask (4).

Notes:
If it looks like Ed just got merrier, you're right. Every November heralds the return of our holiday seasonal, Christmas Ale – available on draft and in six-packs. Our Christmas Ale is a robust E.S.B. (Extra Special Bitter) full of holiday cheer. Christmas Ale has a lovely, dark red/amber color and a rich, full-bodied, malty taste with a slightly roasted undertone. We brew our Christmas Ale to an original gravity of 1064 (about 6.2% alcohol by volume) using only the finest English Pale and Crystal Malts, with a touch of Roasted Barley as well. A blend of Clusters, Styrian Goldings, Saaz and Yakima Goldings leaf hops round out this hearty brew. Gritty's Christmas Ale has no additives, fruits or spices. It's just a good honest ale, perfect for the season. And to top it all off, it's already gift-wrapped! Happy Holidays!

28.5 IBU

View: Beers (17) | Reviews (64) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by CHADMC3:

CHADMC3

Connecticut

3.45/5 rDev -9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Gritty McDuffs Christmas Ale (2007)

· Appearance: Walnut brown with a light creamy head quickly subsiding. Consistant, but few carbonation bubbles continuously rising. Lacing is faint but remains.
· Aroma: Smells bitter, perhaps some caramel and light spice hints.
· Taste: Substantial bitterness , perhaps some woody notes, but also rather nutty? Assuming a strong hop presence on bitterness and flavor on back of the tongue.
· Mouthfeel: Perhaps the best aspect of this beer, clear carbonation, medium body, but noticeable bitterness. All encompassing on the palate.
· Drinkability: Likely sticking to one of these Grittys. Seems to be fairly consistent with esbs, with which my tasting experience is limited.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2007 03:59:10 | More by CHADMC3

More User Reviews:

Tidesox28

Maine

4/5 rDev +5.3%

05-16-2013 02:00:23 | More by Tidesox28

Chetti

New Jersey

3.5/5 rDev -7.9%

03-07-2013 07:17:13 | More by Chetti

gcamparone

Rhode Island

4.1/5 rDev +7.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. Purchased in Wakefield, RI.

A- Pours a deep amber, clear body with an off white head that reduces to a film of white foam.

S- Caramel, toffee, bread, some hops in the background.

T- Vanilla, caramel, slight bourbon notes, sweet burnt sugar. Quite delicious and dessert like.

M- Medium body, medium carbonation.

I was pleasantly surprised by this beer. I will be trying more from this company.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2013 00:26:56 | More by gcamparone

rusty3335

Massachusetts

3/5 rDev -21.1%

01-15-2013 17:24:48 | More by rusty3335

magine

Pennsylvania

3.93/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a nonic.

Pours a hazed amber with a light tan thick head. Lots of bubbles cascading to the top. Little bit of head remains; lace layer. really good lace all the way down though - good looks.

Brew smells malty; spiced with some bready backbone. Good nose.

Brew is balanced; creamy upfront good malts then some spice and a mellow semi sweet, semi bitter finish. Really good stuff here; caramel malts, roasted nuttiness. Favors a scotch ale almost. Can pick up some hops in the finish. Very good mouthfeel here. Very good and drinkable stuff here.

I liked this one alot - lots of flavor and body and goes down super easy. Great brew.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2013 02:36:45 | More by magine

IronLover

Pennsylvania

4.18/5 rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Deep red in color with a brownish hue and excellent clarity. Poured with a short white foam that quickly reduced to a wispy cap. Sweet toasted malt aroma with dark malt and buttery notes and touch of floral hops as it warmed. Medium bodied with pleasant carbonation and a dry finish. Toasted malt flavors up front quickly followed by dark malt with chocolate notes. Earthy floral hop flavors emerge through the middle to the end with buttery and toasted malt character. Finished crisp and dry with light hop bitterness. This was excellent. It reminded me how much I enjoy this style.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2013 17:46:20 | More by IronLover

dunix

Vermont

3.5/5 rDev -7.9%

01-02-2013 14:47:31 | More by dunix

greybeardloon

Rhode Island

3.63/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Best before November 2013

A: A thin, soda-like head that dissipates almost immediately. A clear reddish-brown.

S: Bready malt, heady on the butteriness. A strong aroma, but one note.

T: Bready malt, some fruitiness and syrupy sweetness. Mild herbal hops come through on the finish. The butteriness is definately present but it isn't bad.

M: Reasonably full, but the carbonation is too prickly.

O: the first couple of sips were pretty good, but it became pretty uninteresting pretty quickly. I much prefer the regular ESB. That said, it's still not a bad beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2013 00:02:28 | More by greybeardloon

Levich

Massachusetts

4.75/5 rDev +25%

01-01-2013 02:59:39 | More by Levich

BEERMILER12

Maine

3.8/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a dark caramel color with 2 fingers worth of light tan head

S: Very strong on the caramel malts and the distinct Gritty's ringwood yeast. Has some sweetness and hop notes as well

T: Follows the nose. The crystal malts make things quite sweet to start, but this is eventually taken over by some roast and hops

M: Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Fairly smooth

O: A good robust ESB for the winter months. The ringwood yeast makes most of Gritty's beers taste alike, and this one is no different. Worth a shot if you like the brewery or ringwood yeast

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 03:42:06 | More by BEERMILER12

JohnK17

Pennsylvania

3.5/5 rDev -7.9%

12-27-2012 19:01:48 | More by JohnK17

cliff1066

Virginia

3.75/5 rDev -1.3%

12-27-2012 02:20:41 | More by cliff1066

MrCee

3.85/5 rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This has a hoppy malty mix. Dark brown and foaming in color. It has a robust, full-bodiedness that sits nicely on the tongue. There is a faint hoppy aroma. It is rich but mild for a Christmas beer. It is almost a whisper of a Christmas beer. This is probably a good Christmas beer for people who don't like Christmas beers.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 13:23:28 | More by MrCee

Peyton5410

New Jersey

4.5/5 rDev +18.4%

11-25-2012 04:39:23 | More by Peyton5410

jlogan7

Maine

4/5 rDev +5.3%

11-21-2012 23:45:46 | More by jlogan7

jtierney89

New Jersey

4.3/5 rDev +13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Brown color with good clarity. 1 finger of off white head. Very faint nose, not a lot going, a bit of spice and pale malt.

Pretty robust beer. I forgot this was an ESB. A really big ESB at that. Prickly carbonation. Nice pale and caramel malts, big nice caramel malts, toffee, sugared biscuit balanced by big earthy hop presence. A really great brew.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 04:45:46 | More by jtierney89