Abominable Snow Monster Ale
Ship Bottom Brewery

Purchased at Pennridge Beverage, Perkasie, PA. $18.00/4pk, 16oz cans

Pours a semi-opaque, murky, burnt orange color. A thin skim of a head on the initial pour. A small amount of sediment gathers at the bottom of the glass after sitting for a bit.

Aromas of dark fruits and booziness.

A rather strong, boozy winter warmer. Flavors of figs, raisins, caramel, and sweet honey. Finishes with a slightly sour aftertaste. The ABV hits pretty hard making this a definite sipper.

Medium consistency with mild carbonation.

Overall, a tasty but very boozy brew. Enjoying this in the Pocono Mountains, next to a fire while watching football...perfect brew to sip and savor...cheers!

 

on draft in stemmed glass

appears a murky chocolate brown color. off white colored head fades fast. aroma of boozy dark fruit, caramel, toasted malt, a little herbal Belgian yeast. Similar taste, on the sweeter side. medium bodied.

Its a big beer and named as such. Just too much for me, not bad just too hearty and boozy for whst i am looking for in a beer this day. Decent for a shared sipper on a winter day.

 

Deep reddish-brown color with a thick, long-lasting tan head. Smell is hard to describe, but definitely suggests sweetness and fruit. You can taste the honey, plum, and cherry. You might think that would be too much, but it blends nicely and is very pleasing. Feels smooth all the way through and you would not know it is 10% ABV. No harsh alcohol bite even in the aftertaste. This is an excellent Winter Warmer.

 

 

-Ale brewed with honey, sugar plums, figs, and cherries.

A: An almost beet red coloring upon the exit pour sits a more olive black in the chalice. A beautiful building khaki-sand head is three plus inches with a sponge like composition. A good speedy rush of effervesce up the glass walls. Nice sticky deposits of lace on the walls. The topping really defines the appearance.

S: Creamer coffee is slightly sweet and milky with some honey presence. Ripe dark fruit of plums add sweetness. The cherries are evident, yet fairly faint along with some sugary figs and caramel of moderate strength. More milky sweet stout, then winter warmer in scents, the malt support seems truely lacking.

T: Silty creamer coffee is slightly sweet and milky as with the nose with tons of sweet cherries on the open. The honey makes a profound statement, sweet with sugary plums and raisiny figs. Sweet dark fruit and honey has a really sweet and light start that finishes with a bit of dry irish coffee.

M: Smooth and light Schwarz bier like mouthful, Again, lacks the depth of hearty winter warmer despite its 10% advertised abv.

O: Overall more of a sweet milky stout-schwarz bier hybrid then a hearty winter warmer. Sweet with tons of honey and cherries tries to be a Troges mad elf upfront, with a dry, almost irish stout like finish. Big 10% abv, but don't feel it depth wise. Average regards.

Ship Bottom Brewery "Abominable Snow Monster Ale"
16 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating.
$5.99 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: Winter is fading around me and it's time to finish up my stash. Today might be one of the last cold days with a low of 25˚F and a high of 38˚F. The label states that this is brewed with honey, sugar plums, figs, and cherries, and clocks in at 10% ABV so it's probably perfect for this chilly evening. It's poured a slightly hazy deep brown with orange highlights beneath a short head of tan. Unfortunately the head has already dropped, and it's not like I can't type that fast (I did hold it up to the light, but it was still very quick). The aroma is fairly limited but it suggests dark skinned fruits and spice. Some of the cherry comes through. I don't think this is a spiced beer, it's just the suggestion of spice in my head. It's like a dark Belgian beer. On to the taste then... mmm, yeah, that's pretty good. I got the sugary plum first, and then the cherry kicked in. There's also dark caramel, raisin, and again, the suggestion of spices. Ahh, it just occurred to me that this is brewed with Belgian yeast, and that's exactly where the clove and 'spice' is coming from. DUH! I'm not sure if I'm actually tasting the fig, but there is a dried fig flavor in the finish. I think I have one or two left in the freezer from this year's crop and I'll pull them out for later with some cheddar and a couple of hazelnuts. Back to the beer - I'm not finding the alcohol except for a very mild swirl in the finish, although I am only a few sips in and it might build. Still, it seems very well brewed, and at the very least it's completely inoffensive right now, and probably an asset. That little bit of alcohol is an important part of the experience. So what else? There's a very light suggestion of chocolate to it but I don't believe that's coming from chocolate malt, it's just coming from dark crystal malts. It's got a cake-like character to it. I wouldn't say chocolate cake, but neither is it just golden cake. It's sweetish but the subtle spiciness, a thin edge of acidity, a moderate bitterness, and the little bit of alcohol work together to dry it in the finish. It lingers for quite some time, but not in a strong way. The sugar fades pretty steadily, and the other flavors come and then go: plum, cherry, cherry and plum together, sugar, honey, a hint of something herbal, some of that Belgian "spiciness", clove, and then fig. It's even more interesting on the way out that it is on the way in. And then you can just sit back and enjoy it. This one's a really nice sipper for sure. I wish I had a fire going and a book to read but that'll have to wait and this will be gone before then. However, now that I know how good this is I'm planning to grab more if it isn't already sold out. So I think I covered everything but the mouthfeel. I'm going to go with medium bodied and dextrinous here; and then I'll call it smooth with a gently zesty, fine-bubbled, moderate carbonation. It could probably use a little more carbonation but yeah, I think it's excellent and I'll highly suggest it for anyone who enjoys fruity and sweetish Belgian darks.
Review #7,255