Bad Santa | Pelican Pub & Brewery
Brewed by:
Pelican Pub & Brewery
Oregon, United States
pelicanbrewery.com
Style: American Black Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 7.50%
Availability: Winter
Notes / Commercial Description:
17.0degree Plato
Alcohol: 6.7% by volume
Bitterness: 65 IBU
Color: 60 SRM
Added by ccrida on 01-03-2008
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Ratings: 131 | Reviews: 50
4.2/5 rDev +8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
7.5% ABV with 65 IBU. A very nice CDA! Pours dark brown/black with lasting head retention. Mild nose with some chocolate nuttiness and piney resin dominating. Smooth, robust mid body with pleasant bitterness to dry it all out! A very pleasant seasonal, one which I will probably buy again!
289 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
7.5% ABV with 65 IBU. A very nice CDA! Pours dark brown/black with lasting head retention. Mild nose with some chocolate nuttiness and piney resin dominating. Smooth, robust mid body with pleasant bitterness to dry it all out! A very pleasant seasonal, one which I will probably buy again!
289 characters
3.69/5 rDev -4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.77/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
22 oz bottle, poured into a pint glass
Appearance: Pours a beautiful, completely opaque, pitch-black color with two fingers of oatmeal-colored head that quickly dissolved away into a thick lacing of foam that completely covered the top of the beer.
Aroma: Rich, earthy, aromas of bready toasted malt, imparting notes of freshly toasted pumpernickel bread, as well as aromas of brown sugar, licorice, clove and quite a lot of assertive, floral, piney, grassy, resin-like, hops.
Taste: Nice flavors of bready, toasted malt up front, followed by lots of brown-sugar and caramel-like sweetness, some spices of clove, star anise, and a touch of black pepper, finished with quite a bit of assertive, floral, piney, grassy, resin-like, hops. Maybe too much hops for my liking.
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and quite smooth as there is very little in the way of carbonation. With an ABV of 6.7%, there is no alcohol on the palate.
Overall: This is a good beer, but not a great one, at least to my palate. I like the flavors of the bready, toasted malt, the sweetness and the spices, but to me the beer is too far out of balance in favor of hops. The floral, piney, grassy, resin-like, hops are way too assertive to my tastes, but I’m certain that hop-heads will love this beer.
1,281 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
22 oz bottle, poured into a pint glass
Appearance: Pours a beautiful, completely opaque, pitch-black color with two fingers of oatmeal-colored head that quickly dissolved away into a thick lacing of foam that completely covered the top of the beer.
Aroma: Rich, earthy, aromas of bready toasted malt, imparting notes of freshly toasted pumpernickel bread, as well as aromas of brown sugar, licorice, clove and quite a lot of assertive, floral, piney, grassy, resin-like, hops.
Taste: Nice flavors of bready, toasted malt up front, followed by lots of brown-sugar and caramel-like sweetness, some spices of clove, star anise, and a touch of black pepper, finished with quite a bit of assertive, floral, piney, grassy, resin-like, hops. Maybe too much hops for my liking.
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and quite smooth as there is very little in the way of carbonation. With an ABV of 6.7%, there is no alcohol on the palate.
Overall: This is a good beer, but not a great one, at least to my palate. I like the flavors of the bready, toasted malt, the sweetness and the spices, but to me the beer is too far out of balance in favor of hops. The floral, piney, grassy, resin-like, hops are way too assertive to my tastes, but I’m certain that hop-heads will love this beer.
1,281 characters
3.77/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle.
Appearance: dark brown with light ruby highlights. Clear when held to light. Fizzy. Thick foamy head.
Smell: slightly sweet malts. Light Grassy hops.
Taste: black patent and pine tar hops. Bitterness from burnt malts.
Mouthfeel: medium carbonation. Medium body. Dry.
Overall: although I'm not a huge fan of the style, this is a decent beer. Not sure if I can review it fairly as I don't enjoy black patent.
427 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle.
Appearance: dark brown with light ruby highlights. Clear when held to light. Fizzy. Thick foamy head.
Smell: slightly sweet malts. Light Grassy hops.
Taste: black patent and pine tar hops. Bitterness from burnt malts.
Mouthfeel: medium carbonation. Medium body. Dry.
Overall: although I'm not a huge fan of the style, this is a decent beer. Not sure if I can review it fairly as I don't enjoy black patent.
427 characters
4.5/5 rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A:The label is bad ass. Dark brown with reddish hue with an off white head. Nice lacing.
S: Subtle balance of pleasant malts and subtle spicy/earthy hops. The malts are the feature.
T: Front has sweet creamy malty flavors of a stout: chocolate, coffee, licorice, slight smokey roastiness with the creaminess of an oatmeal stout. Earthy spicy hops mingle with the stout like characteristics in the middle. Bittersweet very dry finish.
M: Medium mouth feel. Good carbonation (medium to high) with a nice creamy texture.
P: This dark CDA is composed of lower gravity stout like dark ale with spicy earthy bitter hops of an English IPA. The stout like characteristics dominate but the hops adds a nice touch. Along the lines of Storm King but with a dryer finish and a lighter body. Wish it was year round. Loving the new 6 packs format. My favorite black IPA to date. Wish it was year round.
889 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A:The label is bad ass. Dark brown with reddish hue with an off white head. Nice lacing.
S: Subtle balance of pleasant malts and subtle spicy/earthy hops. The malts are the feature.
T: Front has sweet creamy malty flavors of a stout: chocolate, coffee, licorice, slight smokey roastiness with the creaminess of an oatmeal stout. Earthy spicy hops mingle with the stout like characteristics in the middle. Bittersweet very dry finish.
M: Medium mouth feel. Good carbonation (medium to high) with a nice creamy texture.
P: This dark CDA is composed of lower gravity stout like dark ale with spicy earthy bitter hops of an English IPA. The stout like characteristics dominate but the hops adds a nice touch. Along the lines of Storm King but with a dryer finish and a lighter body. Wish it was year round. Loving the new 6 packs format. My favorite black IPA to date. Wish it was year round.
889 characters
3.59/5 rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
22oz bottle promises Winter Warmer with its evil looking Pelican on the label, but the caption promises CDA (American Black Ale on BeerAdvocate). Served in a chalice, beer pours dark reddish brown in color with a thick, dark head. Very little aroma to speak of, which would not be a good start if we are to expect a CDA. Flavor is however very much like a CDA: spicy (there's your Winter piece) hop bitterness accompanied by a relatively thin body that just so happens to be dark in color. Drinkable and enjoyable, but as others have said, not a great example of the style.
578 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
22oz bottle promises Winter Warmer with its evil looking Pelican on the label, but the caption promises CDA (American Black Ale on BeerAdvocate). Served in a chalice, beer pours dark reddish brown in color with a thick, dark head. Very little aroma to speak of, which would not be a good start if we are to expect a CDA. Flavor is however very much like a CDA: spicy (there's your Winter piece) hop bitterness accompanied by a relatively thin body that just so happens to be dark in color. Drinkable and enjoyable, but as others have said, not a great example of the style.
578 characters
4.18/5 rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
22 oz bomber poured to tulip.
Pours black-brown with a big tan head
Aroma has a piney-citrus hop note, but brown sugar and toast
Taste is hop forward with a nice slug of bitterness... coffee, roasted malt, brown sugar
Mouthfeel is pleasantly thick
Overall a damn tasty christmas surprise hop bomb. Plenty of malt complexity and a full on blitz of bittering, flavor and aroma hops
386 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
22 oz bomber poured to tulip.
Pours black-brown with a big tan head
Aroma has a piney-citrus hop note, but brown sugar and toast
Taste is hop forward with a nice slug of bitterness... coffee, roasted malt, brown sugar
Mouthfeel is pleasantly thick
Overall a damn tasty christmas surprise hop bomb. Plenty of malt complexity and a full on blitz of bittering, flavor and aroma hops
386 characters
3.66/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
3.89/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
Black with three fingers of tan head that lasts about 15 minutes leaving lots of lacing behind. Flashlight shined from the backside reveal a ruby red color. Smell is brown bread crusts and herbal hops. Taste begins with the dark roasted malt character which is almost sweet then the herbal hop bitterness chimes in and never lets up. Mouthfeel is light to medium with perfect carbonation. Long bittersweet dry finish. Overall a fine beer from a style I have rated but don't typically swoon over. If you like really dark ales and want big flavor give this a try. This brewery does a fine job with all the beers I have tried from them.
633 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
Black with three fingers of tan head that lasts about 15 minutes leaving lots of lacing behind. Flashlight shined from the backside reveal a ruby red color. Smell is brown bread crusts and herbal hops. Taste begins with the dark roasted malt character which is almost sweet then the herbal hop bitterness chimes in and never lets up. Mouthfeel is light to medium with perfect carbonation. Long bittersweet dry finish. Overall a fine beer from a style I have rated but don't typically swoon over. If you like really dark ales and want big flavor give this a try. This brewery does a fine job with all the beers I have tried from them.
633 characters
3.79/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.73/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
22oz bomber into a tulip glass.
Black, with a foamy, tan head, spotty lacing.
Citric, lightly resiny hops with a roasty, malty backbone.
Medium body, medium carbonation.
A well done Black Ale, with a pleasant balance between the hops and malts. A great beer for a windy, rainy night on the Oregon Coast.
307 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
22oz bomber into a tulip glass.
Black, with a foamy, tan head, spotty lacing.
Citric, lightly resiny hops with a roasty, malty backbone.
Medium body, medium carbonation.
A well done Black Ale, with a pleasant balance between the hops and malts. A great beer for a windy, rainy night on the Oregon Coast.
307 characters
3.89/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
2014-12-20
22oz bottle served in a big snifter. 11.07.2014 T14:15 is printed on the label.
Pours black with a pretty big light brown head that fades pretty quickly to a small light brown head and some moderate lacing. Smell is mildly roasty, moderately hoppy. Nondescript, but good.
Taste is very roasty and pretty darn hoppy. This really reminds me of an overhopped porter, in a good way. A little licorice in addition to the coffee and roast.
Mouthfeel is light, dry, a little gritty. Overall, pretty good beer!
---
2015-11-29
10.12.2015 is printed on the label. Mostly the same, but less emphasis on the licorice.
620 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
2014-12-20
22oz bottle served in a big snifter. 11.07.2014 T14:15 is printed on the label.
Pours black with a pretty big light brown head that fades pretty quickly to a small light brown head and some moderate lacing. Smell is mildly roasty, moderately hoppy. Nondescript, but good.
Taste is very roasty and pretty darn hoppy. This really reminds me of an overhopped porter, in a good way. A little licorice in addition to the coffee and roast.
Mouthfeel is light, dry, a little gritty. Overall, pretty good beer!
---
2015-11-29
10.12.2015 is printed on the label. Mostly the same, but less emphasis on the licorice.
620 characters
3.72/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Labeled as a Cascadian Dark Ale, Bad Santa pours into a nice creamy tan head.
The smells are very much porter or stout, the hop flavor maybe not as strong as I expected.
Good solid, dark malty taste, residual bitterness but pleasant earthy finish. Overall a good beer, just not a black IPA to me, more like a well balanced hopped porter.
337 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Labeled as a Cascadian Dark Ale, Bad Santa pours into a nice creamy tan head.
The smells are very much porter or stout, the hop flavor maybe not as strong as I expected.
Good solid, dark malty taste, residual bitterness but pleasant earthy finish. Overall a good beer, just not a black IPA to me, more like a well balanced hopped porter.
337 characters
Bad Santa from Pelican Pub & Brewery
Beer rating:
3.87 out of
5 with
131 ratings
0 characters. We love reviews! Turn your rating into one with ≥ 150 characters.
In English, explain why you're giving this rating. Your review must discuss the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) and your overall impression in order to indicate that you have legitimately tried the beer. Nonconstructive reviews may be removed without notice and action may be taken on your account.