Ardelle Christmas Ale 2012
People's Brewing Company

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 11/2012. Pours moderate hazy ruby red/orange/copper color with a 1 finger dense and rocky light khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big honey, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, orange, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, plum, fig, date, pear, apricot, golden raisin, red apple, white grape, nuts, toasted biscuit, and brown bread/dough; with lighter notes of licorice, molasses, citrus peel/zest, wood, peppercorn, pine, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Mild cardboard oxidation in the aromas as it warms. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/earthy hops, fruity yeast, and dark/bready malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big honey, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, orange, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, plum, fig, date, pear, apricot, golden raisin, red apple, white grape, nuts, toasted biscuit, and brown bread/dough; with lighter notes of licorice, molasses, citrus peel/zest, wood, peppercorn, pine, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Mild pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of honey, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, orange, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, plum, fig, date, pear, apricot, golden raisin, red apple, white grape, nuts, toasted biscuit, brown bread/dough, licorice, molasses, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/earthy hops, fruity yeast, and dark/bready malt flavors; with an awesome malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth/creamy/silky/creamy/grainy, and lightly slick/sticky/resinous/rindy mouthfeel that is great. mild increasing warmth of 9.2% after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic American Barleywine. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/earthy hops, fruity yeast, and dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/drying finish; great soft feel for the ABV. Fantastic balance of citrus/earthy C hops, fruity yeast, and rich malts. Light residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding spot on style example. Not overwhelming on oxidation after 7 years.

22 oz. bottle into a pint glass

A - Moderate pour produces a head that is 1 finger high and is khaki in color with just a slight orangish-reddish hint to it. The head is frothy with just a hint of creaminess and dissipates slowly to a lacing with creamy edges. The beer itself is clear and a deep dark ruby in color. Carbonation looks to be low with small bubbles rising lazily toward the surface. 4.25/5

S - The aroma is very deep and complex. Caramel and dark stone fruit really come out nicely along with clover honey, toasted pumpernickel bread, molasses, licorice, vanilla, and an oaky woodiness. Reminds me of a bourbon barrel aged beer but with more of a focus on caramel, honey, and dark stone fruit. Very sweet and cloying aroma, like a dessert wine. 4/5

T - The taste is very much like the aroma but actually not quite as sweet. The taste starts out very sweet with caramel, sweet dark stone fruit, and a slightly tart berry note that comes out initially but this quickly transitions to honey, molasses, and a candy sugar note. This sweetness disappears into the earthy notes in the middle which is made up primarily of an oaken woodiness, smooth vanilla, and musty hay. There is an herbal hop profile on the very end of the flavor profile that brings a hit of bitterness but it is only just enough to knock down the sweetness a tad. The bitterness does not linger. 4.25/5

M - Sticky initially but then very smooth and somewhat creamy. Slightly dry on the back third of the taste. Very full bodied beer that seems like it wants to be cloying at times but falls short of actually doing so. Very little in the way of carbonation. No lingering mouthfeel. 4.5/5

O - Very well balanced offering by People's that is not overly sweet or earthy, overall. The bitterness is just enough to tamp everything together in such a way as to keep the sweetness from being cloying. The way this beer is so sweet initially, then drops the sweet entirely to become earthy, and then disappears from the palate is an awesome series of transitions that many breweries just can't manage. Booziness is noticeable, mainly in the aroma, with just a tad in the flavor, but this takes nothing away from the aroma and flavor profiles. 4.25/5

 

 

 

This is like Peoples' Snow Storm--a winter seasonal released every year, always with the same name but never with the same beer. The 2012 vintage is... a braggot? Woah. Pretty bold choice.

Pours cranberry red with a nice little white head. Smells of a blend of spice, fruit, and sweetly alcoholic honey. No particularly salient nodes--so I can't pick out, say, Apples or heather--but it all comes together quite well.

Tastes like it smells. Ripe, blue fruit; tart, red fruit; plesantly medicinal herbs (kinda like a Ricola); and a backend of almost perfectly sweet honey that ties everything together.

This is a very difficult style to brew, and I applaud People's not only for giving it a try but for doing such a superb job. Ardelle 2012 is probably the most impressive beer they've ever brewed.