Holiday Ale
Laughing Dog Brewing

Thanks goes out to JohnGalt1 for this brew.

2006 Vintage

Pours a nice hazy deep red color, nice carbonation, nice little creamy off-white head, which left some sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, lots of nutmeg and cinnamon. The taste is sweet, malty, really nice spicey touch. Medium body. Drinkable, this is a very tasty brew, I like it, really pronounced, recommended. Thanks Toby.

Sampled from a 12 oz bottle, poured into a chalice at 50 degrees. Picked up in a trade from JohnGalt1 - thanks!!

A - An off-white head of about 2 inches sits comfortably atop a beautiful, clear-red with medium carbonation. After lingering for a few minutes, it melts into a very small ring.

S - Wonderful aroma of honey, tea leaves, and spices. Altogether, it forms almost a gingerbread scent. This is exactly what I expect from a winter warmer - more specifically a Christmas beer - so to me, it is the perfect representation for the style.

T - All the flavors of holiday desserts come together in this beer. Tastes of gingerbread and spice blend very well together, and I notice a hint of vanilla as it got warmer. Comes very close to a spiced red Christmas wine I bought for my wife. No hop presence, but a fruity blend that I can't put my finger on...maybe a little hint of cranberry, but not enough to make it a dominant flavor. I'm not saying this is my favorite style, but this beer embodies everything a Holiday Ale should be, in my opinion.

M - Leans more toward the medium side with a bubbly finish. A little bitter on the aftertaste, but it's not out of balance with the spiced flavors.

D - This would be the perfect Christmas nightcap - ABV not listed, but it definitely doesn't taste like a heavy-hitter. I want to extend a special thank you to JohnGalt1 for this one in particular...Laughing Dog seems to get better with each one I sample. I would definitely try getting another one of these for next year's holiday season.

I was pretty happy with this beer. It's definitely spice-forward, with both malt and hops taking a back seat to the added herbs and spices. It's probably close to, if not the, best example of a spiced winter warmer I've had recently. I tend to find a lot of these types of beers are pretty muddied, but this one has very strong, distinct flavors. Would be even better with some sweet desserts, such as ginger bread, pumpkin pie, or even fruitcake if that's your thing.

Poured dark reddish brown into a pint glass, head is off white and lasting. Good lacing. Head lasts throughout the drinking of this one.

Aroma is very much holiday dessert, with strong notes of orange zest, pumpkin pie spice, and some banana as well. There's a background of spicy, evergreen hops as well.

Taste is overly bitter, but still good. I'd say this would be balanced perfectly with something sweet, and I think the brewers designed it to be enjoyed with food rather than on its own. Tastes very much like fruitcake and gingerbread. I hate fruitcake and enjoyed this beer though so don't let that description chase you away. The spicy, piney hops aroma is duplicated in the flavor.

Mouthfeel's a tad weak, and I wouldn't exactly call this one drinkable. Would be perfect as an evening drink with dessert.

Definitely worth picking up. Another good one from Laughing Dog.

6-pk purchased at Daanen's in Hayden, ID (it has since appeared at Huckleberry's - about six blocks from my home), for $7.99. Part of LD's initial bottling run. The label is framed in red and green and the mascot dog on all LD's labels is sporting a Santa hat. According to the label, this is "a lightly hopped dark amber ale combined with cinnamon, allspice, a touch of orange and honey, finished with a few other choice holiday spices..."

Poured a clear dark amber color with a finger of off-white head that took a couple of minutes to dissipate. A foam collar remained atop the beer throughout it's tenure in my pint glass. Lace was spotty and streaky.

The smell is full of sweet, "Christmasy" spices - cinammon, allspice, orangepeel. Smells a bit like a fruitcake, though considerably less nasty than that (woe's not a big fruitcake fan). Beyond that are mildly sweet malts, but they are way in the background. The spices are definitely the dominant player. Hops? Nah, this beer ain't about them. Best of all, unlike the other two LD beers I've sampled, there's no nasty diacetyl taste overpowering the flavor<edit> Those issues turned out to be caused by Gourmet Way's storage - LD's beers are mostly awesome.

The taste of this beer is pretty much like the smell. Richly, heavily spicy and sweet. This is like pumpkin pie or fruitcake in a bottle. The nearest equivilent I can think of would be Jingle Ale, from the defunct Orchard Street. That was definitely a beer people either really liked or really hated, in my experience. The spices are up front in this. The more bittering spices keep it from getting too cloying, but it's still plenty sweet. The spices are paired with a more conventional malty sweetness. Without the spices, this would probably be a typical, easy-drinking malty amber ale.

This has a very average, medium bodied mouthfeel, not unlike a standard amber ale. Nothing earthshaking here.

I like one bottle of this beer, but I have to be in the mood for it. I think it would get a little insipid tasting if I had to drink several of them - it's just a little too sweet for that. Still, if you don't mind sweet, spicy beers, this is a good one.