Lights Out Holiday Ale
Blue Mountain Brewery

 

From the side label: "PLEASE ENJOY BY: 04-04-21 B-012"

Appearance: The body is a dark reddish brown color. It has very good clarity, allowing dark shadows of shapes through. It has a short off-white head that has a creamy texture. The head fades quickly. There are a few spots of lacing.

Aroma: There is a light toasted roasted aroma with just a hint of carbon. A very faint hint of pine sits below the nose.

Taste: Up front there is a mild caramel flavor with some burnt sugar flavor. Towards the middle there is a stronger carbon flavor and a light woody and pine-like character.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied and smooth. Very easy to drink. Medium bitterness from both the hops and the grains.

Overall: It's a decent beer that has a nice, pleasant roasted character to it. It would pair well with sausages and cheeses at a Christmas party, or alone by the fire reading a book enjoying roasted nuts. The highlight of the beer is the smoothness of the body. I could drink it again from time to time. I would recommend it.

 

 

Poured gently from a bottle into a pilsner glass, less than a finger of cream colored head. Translucent brown color. Smells a bit of malt and hops. Haven't had many old ales, but this one tastes of malt and hops. Doesn't make think "holidays" at all. Light/medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Probably not a fan of old ales in general, not something I would get again.

On draft, served in a Willi Becher type glass

Dark brown, fairly opaque, cream colored head. Rich malty aroma - bready, medium caramel. Similar flavor, but not too sweet. Flavorful but drinks smooth and easy. Very enjoyable.

Poured from bottle into tulip glass. Poured a clear dark brown with a thin white head. Notes of toasted malt and spice on the nose. Bread and malts on the front with a spicy finish that lingers on the tongue. Medium bodied.

Light, somewhat spicy aroma. About the color of a Pepsi. Thin tan head. Initial smoothness followed by a little bitter kick which lasts across the palate. Pleasant drinker all by itself but also paired up well with some peanuts.

 

 

 

 

100th rating. Pours a dark brown, clear, with a thin, white head. Smells deep and dark like the depths of winter. Dark breads (think Russian rye), blackstrap molasses, and toasted malts. Little to no bitterness, tastes of malts, caramel, dark breads, and a little hint of hops towards the end. Finishes quite cleanly. Very surprising that it's a 7.0 ABV. I would have liked it to be a little heavier but as is it's quite tasty.

On a side note, with the tendency to see lots of winter brews taking the IPA route, this is more of what I think when it comes to winter. Dark and warming.

 

 

 

Pours a dark ruby/brown without any head. There really isn't much aroma. A deep inhalation offers just slight, nondescript malt sweetness. The taste is much the same. The body is a little lighter but still has a nice weight and mouthfeel, just a hint of carbonation. Still, while there's nothing bad, it's severely lacking in taste and aroma.

 

 

 

 

 

Looks nice enough with a deep copper color, clear and off white foamy head with moderate but slightly wet lacing.

Not much nose, just some funky, mealy maltiness and a hint of what I can best explain as a noble hop type bitterness, little else.

Tastes just uninspired or something. Maybe some caramel sweetness maltiness with that bitter edge but with it comes a touch of saccharin and that mealiness in full force.

Finish is slightly dry, something left on the tongue.

This beer is disappointing. I shall call it "Redskins".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 oz bottle, poured into a pint glass

Appearance: Pours a very pretty, clear, deep, dark mahogany color, speckled with some reddish highlights and an eighth of a finger of white head that quickly dissolved into a halo of foam that gripped the sides of the glass and formed wispy clouds that partially covered the top of the beer.

Aroma: Toasty malt, freshly baked dark bread, dark chocolate, dark molasses, coffee, and caramel.

Taste: Very malty and bready, like freshly baked rye or pumpernickel bread. Strong notes of coffee and dark chocolate bitterness, balanced with some sweetness of brown sugar and dark molasses. Finally, the beer finishes with some decent hops flavors.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, with some good carbonation to tickle the taste buds. With an ABV of 7.0%, there is no presence of alcohol on the palate.

Overall: This is a very, very tasty beer. I really like the flavors of coffee, chocolate, dark bread and molasses. I’ll certainly get another bottle or two of this next winter.

Pours hazed rustic brown with a thin, lasting head. Lacing sticks.

The smell is of light toast, caramel, earthy notes and dark-ish fruits. Mild, but pleasant.

The taste is of toffee/caramel some dark-ish fruit and earthy, lightly toasted notes balance malt sweetness. Slight alcohol warmth in the finish.

It is creamy, smooth.

A nice, enjoyable old ale. A good choice of style for the winter!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: a nice light brown with plenty of ruby colored hues. a two finger white head with strong retention and leaving behind a strong lacing. good clarity and a strong brightness.

Smell: roasted malts. earthy hops. some sweet caramel malts. slight alcohol.

Taste: a mix of earthy hops along with some toasted grains. grain depth develops a bit into some roastiness and sweet caramel malts. light dry fruit character consists of mostly raisins to maybe some plums.

Mouthfeel: medium to full body. lots of earthiness. some light bitterness. fairly dry. some warmth to it.

Overall: fairly green as fair as old ales go, but I see some potential in this one. The smell doesn't represent the nice taste. and the flavors show some potential for some age. certainly something I plan on trying with some age on it.