Mad Brewer XXX-mas Ale
The Brew Keeper

22 oz. bomber bottle with a label that shows reindeer playing reindeer games. There are six tiny reindeer in the picture. They're are 2 sledding, one building a snowman, 2 wrapped inside a giant snowball, and one falling forward because he got hit in the back of the head with a snowball. I don't know which of them threw it becasue the only reindeer around them are busy trying to get out of a big giant snowball. While the reindeer are having fun, there's a dead person under a downed Christmas tree. You can see their lifeless hand coming from under the tree. How morbid! At the top of the label is a small picture of Santa Claus on his sled waving to all the reindeer. He probably didn't see the dead person under the tree. In between Santa and the reindeer are 6 crossed candy canes that make out XXX. At the very bottom of the label is the beer's ingredients and the brewery's address. To the right is just the Government warning. Brew Keeper doesn't date their bottles.

I poured this beer into my Brooklyn Brewery Imperial pint glass. This Mad Brewer beer poured a color that was a blend of a pale cranberry red and a light mahogany brown color. On top of this multi colored beer was a 3/4 of an inch creamy light tan colored head of foam. This creamy head of foam was long lasting. It never left this beer by itself. It was one of those heads of foam that the only time it receded was when the level of the liquid below it was lowered. When it did recede, it left behind a huge amount of sticky tan streaks of lace. I could tell from the appearance that the Brew Keeper put some major effort into this beer.

The aroma was sweet like candy! They said it was brewed with molasses and honey and let me tell you they weren't joking. The strong scent of sweet molasses and fresh honey came pouring out of this beer. Behind those sweet aromas were even more sweet aromas. That part of the aroma consisted of a hint of sweet roasted malts, a few cinnamon sticks, a couple of sugar plums, a pinch of nutmeg, a dash of ginger, and plenty of sweet candy sugar. There wasn't a drop of anything in the aroma that wasn't sweet. Even the malts couldn't get away from the sweetness. I couldn't get enough of this beer's super sweet aroma.

Did the overly sweet aroma transfer over to the taste? You bet your ass it did! This beer didn't look like sugar, but it sure as hell tasted like sugar. This Christmas Ale was sweet with molasses, fresh honey, sugar plums, sweet candy sugar, a dash of nutmeg, a pinch of ginger, a subtle touch of sweet caramel, a hint of cinnamon stick, and then this sweet Christmas Ale finished up with a slight taste of sweet roasted malts. When this sweet beer really warms up, more sweetness will emerge. No more sweet flavors will come out, but the sweetness of each and every flavor will be enhanced. This beer was getting sweeter by the minute. Why do I feel the sudden urge to visit the dentist after drinking this sweet little Christmas Ale?

This was a medium bodied Christmas Ale. This beer was boarding on being a light bodied beer, but all the of the beer's sweetness pushed it over the medium bodied line. The aftertaste was almost as sweet as the initial taste. The aftertaste contained sugar plums, a drop of molasses, a touch of fresh honey, a pinch of sweet sugar, a hint of sweet roasted malts, and a dash of ginger and cinnamon. This sweet aftertaste had no place to go, so it lingered on in the back of my throat for quite some time. I have to hand it to the Brew Keeper for completely masking this beer's 10% ABV. I could taste any of it and I certainly couldn't feel any of it. The high and solid sweetness wall must have contributed to masking the 10% ABV.

This was one top notch Christmas Ale! If you want to try a beer that's sweet as sugar and filled with a ton of spices, then you really need to touch base with this Brew Keeper beer. When the weather starts getting cold, I could definitely see this sweet beer used to warm up anybody. Screw hot chocolate, drink a XXX-Mas Ale. If you do plan of drinking this beer, just make sure you have a tooth brush and a tube tooth paste ready to go after you're done drinking it.

22oz bottle acquired in trade with miketd thanks!

One of many Christmas beers I expect to consume tonight and tomorrow!

Poured a medium mahogany with a large, 5 finger, off white head. Aromas of honey, Christmas spices, ginger, cinnamon, roast, and some caramel. The spices are the first and foremost in the aroma. Tastes of molasses, Christmas spices, honey, dark cherries, and caramel Had a lighter sour finish that I kinda dug. Alcohol content well hidden.

I thought this was a pretty good winter beer. I was a bit off-put by the use of the phrase "malt beverage" but was not disappointed by the heavy amount of spiciness represented in this beer.

The body of the beer was dark in color with a pretty abundant head. Aroma was extremely spicy - lots of nutmeg all-spice and other spices you might associate with mulled wine. Flavor was powerful but spicey, and the inclusion of molasses and honey was prevalent but also pleasant. Mouthfeel was rich and full. Not something that I'd want to drink 24 oz of by myself, but still, very pleasant.

I bought this bottle at the Brew & Brew in North Ridgeville, OH.