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Christmas Ale 2002
Abita Brewing Co.
- From:
- Abita Brewing Co.
- Louisiana, United States
- Style:
- American Amber / Red Ale
- ABV:
- Not listed
- Score:
- Needs more ratings
- Avg:
- 2.99 | pDev: 20.74%
- Reviews:
- 6
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Mar 11, 2003
- Added:
- Nov 24, 2002
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by bros:
None found.
Reviewed by kbub6f from New York
2.79/5 rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
2.79/5 rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Bought locally (Whole Foods unrefrigerated shelves), an afternoon in my fridge, reviewed 45F-65F.
A big, bubbly white head implodes noisily with thick lacing. The beer is clear, amber/gold with little visible carbonation.
The smell is slightly fruity, almost imperceptably spicy, but dominated by the trademark Abita peanut-butter. The front is sweet and fruity. The middle is slightly sour and the finish is quite nicely hoppy. This is ok, but I've had enough Abita. And like others, I was also fooled by my preconceptions of "Christmas Ale".
Mar 11, 2003A big, bubbly white head implodes noisily with thick lacing. The beer is clear, amber/gold with little visible carbonation.
The smell is slightly fruity, almost imperceptably spicy, but dominated by the trademark Abita peanut-butter. The front is sweet and fruity. The middle is slightly sour and the finish is quite nicely hoppy. This is ok, but I've had enough Abita. And like others, I was also fooled by my preconceptions of "Christmas Ale".
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by BeerAngel from Texas
2.3/5 rDev -23.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1.5
2.3/5 rDev -23.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1.5
Pours a very clear pale burnt orange color with a 2 finger off-white head that shrinks to a nice layer leaving a lace down the glass. The smell reveals roasted malts with a light buttery whiff. The taste is a strong diacetyl/peanut flavor that way off balance. This is one strange brew with mild hops and it is absolutely one-dimensional. The mouthfeel is quite a light bodied brew and finishes thin and watery. I dont struggle finishing very many beers at all, but this is one that I did. Once again, I appreciate Pegasus sending me this beer nonetheless! Cheers!
Jan 10, 2003Reviewed by maxpower from Missouri
2.13/5 rDev -28.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
2.13/5 rDev -28.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
2002 bottle, light copper clear color, has a thin white head, light malty grassy aroma, light malty sweet grainy flavors, watery thin mouthfeel like most of their brews, this is not a dark ale, I think this is weak for a winter brew.
Dec 24, 2002Reviewed by Pegasus from Texas
3.5/5 rDev +17.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.5/5 rDev +17.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Clear orange-brown in color with a small snow-white head that retains quite well. Fairly well carbonated with good broken lace. Aroma of bread-like malt and hints of honey and spices. Taste begins with sweet malt flavors, a slight sting of carbonation, and a slightly spicy character, turns a bit tart towards the middle of the taste. Finishes somewhat dry with persistent metallic bitterness. The mouthfeel is slightly watery. Abita Christmas Ale seems rather understated for a winter or Christmas beer.
Dec 18, 2002Reviewed by Morris729 from Texas
3.74/5 rDev +25.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.74/5 rDev +25.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a clear orange amber color with a thin and bubbly white head. Nose is dominated by the aroma of sweet fresh baked cakes and muffins with a touch of fruity spiciness. The flavor is also composed of a sweet bread/muffin taste with notes of spice. Bitter hops express themselves in the finish. A nice and unusual Christmas Ale.
Dec 07, 2002Reviewed by TXHops from Texas
3.49/5 rDev +16.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
3.49/5 rDev +16.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
From the Abita webpage description of Abita Christmas Ale:
"As befits any Christmas present, each years offering is a unique product crafted with special care. Generally, this beer is a dark ale, however, the recipe changes each year."
These are the kind of descriptions that I, as a beer lover, find infuriating. What the hell am I about to drink?? This page calls is a Vienna Lager, and although it does look and taste a little like a yellow-colored version of that genre, the website and my nose specifically tell me it's an ale...
There's a beautifully fresh malt, bread aroma jumping out of the glass (I have a REALLY fresh sample, which always skews the scoring upward) and maybe just the faintest hint spice. I though I was just being suggestible since it's a Christmas beer, but I’m pretty sure it’s spiced, if ever so slightly... The medium bodied liquid does a pretty mediocre job of supporting a very thin strip of just-off-white head, which doesn't lace and doesn’t offer any streamers.
If this is a lager, I'd be shocked (and quite disappointed, considering the intensity of the esters). Abita Christmas 2002 tastes vaguely of a cross between DeKonnick and Abita Amber, with a soft, yet prickly carbonation, but a very subdued flavor profile. (It’s not bottle-conditioned.) There's lots of flavors in there, but none are jumping out. Complexity would be the wrong word, though-subtleness is closer...
The finish is just slightly sour and bitter. There's no more noticable hop flavor than there was aroma--just a slight bitterness in the long, dryish finish.
An update. I got an e-mail from the brewery and I guess it proves that my beer sleuthing skills are definitely not up to snuff...
"Christmas Ale has never been described as a Vienna Lager. Our Amber
beer, however is a Larger and has been described as such.
Every year we change the Christmas Ale. This year, we decided to make a
cooper colored ale with a rich malt body, an aggressive hop character
(32 IBU), and a slight alcohol warmth. The beer has an original gravity
of 1054 and was made with US Pale (35%), German Vienna (54%), and German
Munich (11%) malts. We used US Tomahawk as a bitter hop and Hallertau
region Perle and US Willamette hops for flavoring and aromatic purposes.
The wort was fermented with German Alt (ale) yeast.
I hesitate to classify the Christmas Ale due to the fact that it was not
designed to fit a category. It has roots from Germany, US, and the UK."
Nov 24, 2002"As befits any Christmas present, each years offering is a unique product crafted with special care. Generally, this beer is a dark ale, however, the recipe changes each year."
These are the kind of descriptions that I, as a beer lover, find infuriating. What the hell am I about to drink?? This page calls is a Vienna Lager, and although it does look and taste a little like a yellow-colored version of that genre, the website and my nose specifically tell me it's an ale...
There's a beautifully fresh malt, bread aroma jumping out of the glass (I have a REALLY fresh sample, which always skews the scoring upward) and maybe just the faintest hint spice. I though I was just being suggestible since it's a Christmas beer, but I’m pretty sure it’s spiced, if ever so slightly... The medium bodied liquid does a pretty mediocre job of supporting a very thin strip of just-off-white head, which doesn't lace and doesn’t offer any streamers.
If this is a lager, I'd be shocked (and quite disappointed, considering the intensity of the esters). Abita Christmas 2002 tastes vaguely of a cross between DeKonnick and Abita Amber, with a soft, yet prickly carbonation, but a very subdued flavor profile. (It’s not bottle-conditioned.) There's lots of flavors in there, but none are jumping out. Complexity would be the wrong word, though-subtleness is closer...
The finish is just slightly sour and bitter. There's no more noticable hop flavor than there was aroma--just a slight bitterness in the long, dryish finish.
An update. I got an e-mail from the brewery and I guess it proves that my beer sleuthing skills are definitely not up to snuff...
"Christmas Ale has never been described as a Vienna Lager. Our Amber
beer, however is a Larger and has been described as such.
Every year we change the Christmas Ale. This year, we decided to make a
cooper colored ale with a rich malt body, an aggressive hop character
(32 IBU), and a slight alcohol warmth. The beer has an original gravity
of 1054 and was made with US Pale (35%), German Vienna (54%), and German
Munich (11%) malts. We used US Tomahawk as a bitter hop and Hallertau
region Perle and US Willamette hops for flavoring and aromatic purposes.
The wort was fermented with German Alt (ale) yeast.
I hesitate to classify the Christmas Ale due to the fact that it was not
designed to fit a category. It has roots from Germany, US, and the UK."
Christmas Ale 2002 from Abita Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
2.99 out of
5 with
6 ratings
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