Hoppy Holidaze
Fredericksburg Brewing Company, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

Reviewed 12/6/2008 (Tap @ the brewery):

Pours a dark reddish color body, creamy tan head. Spicy sweet aroma, malty, somewhat nutty. Somewhat dark malts are present in the nose too. Spicy sweet taste, hoppy too, and some grapefruit. Dark malts, some light coffee taste. Somewhat carbonated. Less pronounced as it warms up.

My cousin stopped by for a visit a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving 2006 and we spent a couple of hours at the Fredericksburg Brewing Company. I had picked up a growler of Bock the other day and mentioned it to him, and he had to come. He loves their Bock. I picked up their Hoppy Holidays, made with Simcoe, Chinook and Cascade hops. It's an amber colored brew. The bartender didn't give us much of a head, so it was hard to judge that. Hop aroma dominated the smell, with a slight sweet smell of malt and a little hint of the alsohol. According to the info at the bar, Hoppy Holidays is 8.2% aclohol. But the alcohol flavor doesn't overpower the malt and hops. The hops dominated the flavor, but I thought it was nicely balanced.

I visited again last night (12/31/08), and I have to say this is still a great beer. I can't say I can change my score, but I really like this beer.

This is described on the menu as an imperial IPA meets barley wine, I'll just put it down as a winter warmer. Holidaze is dark brown, almost black in color. The head is nice sized and light brown. Aroma is primarily of citrusy hops. The taste is very complex. Throughout the sip citrusy hops are tasted. Towards the middle a strong barley wine-like taste hits the palate with flavors somewhat like vanilla or other spices. The alcohol content is felt, but barely tasted. Mouthfeel is creamy and adds to the expirience. This is very highly drinkable for the alcohol content and for something with barley wine qualities. I very highly recommend this beer.