Christmas Ale
West Sixth Brewing Company

 

 

 

neat one from the rare beer club, my first from west sixth, and a standout in our christmas beer tasting lineup. neat malt build on this deep copper to mahogany colored and frothy khaki headed brew, looks almost bottle conditioned to me, lots of life for the style. the grains come through almost belgian dubbel to me, i get that sort of kilned toastiness and caramelized richness, leather, brown sugar, raisin, date, molasses, and maple wrinkles to it, but not overly sweet, just enough to support the spices and extend this long and pleasant. its flavored for sure, long steeped black tea, orange peel and zest, warming whole cinnamon, clove, anise, and nutmeg to me, not sure what all is in this, but it presents in aroma and in flavor is rather robust, fully festive, and sort of like spice cake, definite citrus is cool with the malt layers, and the long boiled richness of this overall can hold plenty of spice. the combination is cool, even a little unconventional even though it fits rightly into the winter warmer category. i cant tell if i get an almost belgian yeast ester or if its the spices themselves, but this still has a sort of belgian holiday ale vibe to me. frothy feeling, sweet but not too much, and well carbonated. warming alcohol comes out as it sits and the spices get more intense too, light maple, fig jam, and white pepper with an orange twist on the swallow, even cocktail bitters. complex, cozy, and right on for christmas eve! hope to get my lips on some more from these guys, this was great.

Poured from 750 mL bottle into chalice.
A: Pours a golden brown hue with 1 inch bubbly tan head with decent retention.
S: Wow…fruit and spice galore. Nutmeg, clove, allspice, and cinnamon with dark cherries, orange peel, and raisin. Spiced wine, candied sugar, and caramel notes too.
T: Cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and clove hit first, followed by candied orange, dark cherries, dates, dark berries, toffee, and a toasted nutty note too. As this warms, dry cocoa and spiced wine and rum notes emerge. Layered and complex!
M: Medium body. Layers of fruit and malt sweetness with dry spices. Mildly bitter. Lingers nicely on the palate.
D: For Christmas ales, this is excellent for style. Many enjoyable layers to this brew!

 

Can
L-mahogany. Thin

 

12oz can stamped MIRACLE ON W 6TH ST 17:36 083 (this year's edition, despite that nonsense) poured into a can glass at fridge temp, no ABV listed on can. The beer pours dark brown in color with minimal light brown head. The head recedes to a thin ring. No lacing. The aroma is heavily spiced resembling pumpkin pie more than anything else. The taste is more of the same with heavy spice laid over a moderate malt background of burnt sugar caramel. Minimal bitterness as the spices are used to balance the beer. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. No alcohol presence in the aroma or taste. Overall, good, if you like the spice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LOL… polishing off the last of my brother-in-law’s Craft Beer Advent Calendar from 2015 that I found at the back of the fridge… so far no drain pours and I am having a jolly old time kicking off the 2016 season with these.

Appearance: Has a nice clear muted red oxide colour, kinda like a slightly darker iced tea. Head build up is pretty decent too… soft and foamy looking and the colour of a nice shade of California beach sand. Dissipates moderately and does like to leave scraps of chunky lace about the glass. Ring is visible but little remains on the surface.

Aromatics: Smells a bit like old laundry, or the Chinatown Mall during the holidays - a little bit of spicy incense mingles with the notes of dates and figs, and sweet malts. The spices really blend together to make it difficult to identify each one… but nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice do come through with some passive aggression.

Taste: LOL… bio kind of nailed it with a description of fruitcake - that is kind of what I get from it as well - it has equal components of bread dough, dark fruit, molasses, and of course the spice blend that is much like the scent. Not individually identifiable but full of flavour. The ABV does have a bit of earthy medicinal qualities at the end.

Palate: A good medium weight with a carbonation that is somewhere in the middle - not too bubbly, but just bubbly enough to keep it from feeling flat. The spices do a great job of providing a nice sensation of warming embers on the back of the palate, with a finish that comes with a bit of sticky sweetness.

Overall: A very nice warming beer - especially now that Edmonton’s first winter cold-snap seems to be rapidly approaching.

Pairing : I just made a batch of roasted mixed nuts (fresh tree walnuts, natural almonds, brazil nuts, and hazelnuts) today - also fairly well seasoned with black, white, and dried chili peppers, himalayan pink salt, onion powder, garlic powder, child powder, smoked paprika, ground clove, rosemary and thyme. Mixed those with a bit of garlic infused olive oil and a basic cereal mix (chex, cheerios, and shreddies) made a perfectly matched snacking mix for this brew… just to sit by the fire, watch a movie, and relax.