Jubelale
Deschutes Brewery

2021 version, bottle 9/2021

Appearance: Dark brown, pours to frothy khaki colored head with good retention

Aroma: Earthy/herbal, dark fruit, roasty, caramel & hint of alcohol

Flavor: Spicy, roasty, tea-like. semi-dry, and mild alcohol note. Low to moderate bitterness

Mouthfeel: Medium body, moderate carbonation. Drying at the end. Medium length finsh.

Overall: Went looking for the latest, but notice this was a year old. Label says bottle conditioned, so what the heck. Let's give a try. Still very carbonated and frothy. Hold a decent head. Malty aroma and flavors dominated by roasted and caramel malts. Also has some earthy/herbal character as well as a tea-like note in the flavor. Low to moderate bitterness. Not too bad for having over 12 months age on. Would like to try this years but generally don't see it down my way much. This version would not land high on my list of must haves annually.

Appearance: Can’t decide if it’s clear brown or dark amber. Ron Burgundy would call it “rich mahogany”. ¾ centimeter of off-white head poured from a bottle into a short tulip. The head descends into a lingering, soapy band with just enough cling to remind you it’s there.

Aroma: An odd kind of sweet, like dried dark fruits mixed with malt and the most miniscule amount of black licorice possible. There is spice in there somewhere, almost resiny…pine? The toffee is present, sure, but not jumping at me like so many others. Seems more aromatic than other winter ales.

Taste: The taste is more tame than the nose, but nothing is unexpected. Malty and spicy but not from added spice. Molasses, which might have been on the nose now that I think about it. If there is cocoa…it’s dark, bitter, and not staying to party. I had a slight metallic taste prior to enjoying it alongside food.

Feel: Great for the style. Quite carbonated in the mouth; much more than what the pour implied. Dry finish which is fine.

Pairing: I wouldn’t try to pair this complex winter beer with an entrée or dessert. I fell in love matching it with ginger snaps. Candied almonds were also great on the side. I didn’t have the gall to try it with cheese, although I imagine it would be reminiscent of a nutty pepperjack (if that’s even a thing?).

 

 

Pours a deep dark color with red hues containing a very thin non-retentive head.

Aroma of roasted fruits and toffee. Some chocolate notes in the background.

Chocolate heavy in the front reminds me of a stout. Big dark chocolate flavor in the mid some note to toffee in the background very minimally. A very bitter chocolate taste like your biting into some dark chocolate for the finish. Leaving minimal sticky lacing all around the glass.

Appearance: Pours a deep, dark reddish-brown, with a soapy, off-white foam head. Decent retention, and some sticky lacing.

Aroma: Dark Fruit, molasses. Caramel, toffee, and spicy hops.

Taste: Sweet caramel malts and spice up front, balanced nicely with a lingering bitter hoppy finish.

Overall: This is a really decent beer. Glad I decided to try this one.

 

 

Pours a deep brown colour with a slight ruby tinge. Two inch off white head collapses over 5 minutes, leaving really nice lacing throughout.

Sweet malt on the nose, the sweet notes including caramel, toffee, spices (closer to pepper or general hops than stuff like cardamom or cinnamon)

Taste follows the nose insofar as the malty flavours, but this is not a huge malty sweet drink at all. It’s much more hopped than you’d expect, and Jubleale eschews typical winter warmer spices on the taste (though supposedly brewed with them) so don’t expect that ‘Christmas spice’ flavour. Bready and malty, there is a strong hop backing that provides citrus like flavours and strong bitterness. The bitterness balanced between, and slightly less burnt/roasted grains and more spicy hoppy. A little bit vinous and grape like notes and feel to some sips. Cocoa, like actual bitter cocoa notes here as well and a bit of raisins and figs.

Medium bodied, the alcohol is well integrated but also felt just a little bit to give that warming feeling. Good, smooth carbonation

Overall, interesting offering from Deschutes. Definitely an American style winter warmer. If you eschew the typical spices of winter warmers and enjoy complex hop flavours you will adore this.

 

 

 

 

Great Winter warmer and can buy locally. Deschutes reputation inspired me to try and it didn't disappoint.

L: deep brown/Ruby color, thin tan head, nice lacing
S: I get caramel and toffee
T: spices, toffee light malt
F: I get a hint of heat on the finish
O: excellent beer

12 oz can from a four pack purchased at the LCBO; dated Sep 9 2021 and served barely chilled.

Pours deep, clear brown with sparkling red highlights; a deliberately rough pour produces nearly an inch of bubbly, beige-coloured head that collapses over the next several minutes. It coats the glass with a delicate, webby band of lacing as it is reduced to a frothy collar and filmy cap - looks great in the glass, and the aroma is quite pleasant, too. I'm getting notes of cocoa, brown bread, molasses and dark fruit, with leafy, floral, spicy hops and citrus peel - none of that 'spice rack' spiciness, which is nice for a change.

A damn tasty dark ale - malt forward at first, but the back end balances with a tantalizing blend of English and American hop notes. Cocoa, bready malts, treacle and toffee, joined by leafy, floral hops later on; hints of fig or date, with a light spiciness lingering into a mildly warming aftertaste of cocoa and dried fruit that soon dries. Medium-full in body, with low carbonation that softly brushes against the surface of the tongue; feels smooth and slick, making it very easy to gulp back - though I suspect the perfectly integrated 6.7% will catch up with you after a few.

Final Grade: 4.18, an impressive A-. I'm not surprised at how much I liked Jubelale, as most of my favourite winter warmers from the past have also avoided the spice rack. Don't get me wrong, it's fine to use ginger or cinnamon or whatever to add that extra zip... but for a truly great winter warmer, you need to focus on making the base beer hearty, flavourful, and warming, and Jubelale is all of the above. Rich malts and complex hop flavours beautifully balanced and playing off one another, a joy to behold - this is a must-try warmer that I should have stocked up on when I still had the chance.

Poured from 12 oz. bottle into a pint glass. It pours a hazy, dark cola color with a half finger of creamy, light khaki colored head and modest lacing. It smells of sweet malt, candied fruits, and just a whiff of spice. The taste is not nearly as sweet as I anticipated. It's malt-forward but with a dose of smoky char along with notes of dark fruit and spices. It finishes with strong but clean bitterness (65 IBU). The flavors are well-balanced. This ale has a creamy, moderately thick mouth feel with pleasant carbonation and the 6.7% ABV gives it good substance. Overall, this is a very good Winter Warmer; it's not overly sweet and has good depth. I enjoyed it on Christmas Eve while wrapping presents.

 

Pour a dark brown with some ruby hues to it when backlit. Head quickly dissipated to ring a several islands of bubbles on the surface. Some minor to decent lacing. This beer to me at first has a grape like smell to it, then piney resiny hops, and some spiceyness. Taste is where this beer goes all over in a good way…first it’s that grape like fruitiness, orange rind, pine, spice, little chocolate like note; all riding on malty toffee like malt backbone. Medium body, resiny mouthfeel, dry finish and a substantial beautiful lingering bitterness.

Pours a brownish color with copper edges and over a finger of head. The nose has modest seasonal spices. The flavor profile presents as caramel malt blending nicely with dark fruits.

A rich, thick and flavorful beer.

Light nutty brown color, thick foamy head. Smells of cocoa, nutmeg, coffee, and toasted malt. Layered and complex malt flavors with hints of subtle fruit and dark chocolate. A warming nutty bitterness on the finish that leaves a toasty malt on your tongue. Its a very rich beer with lots of flavor, perfect for wintertime.

 

 

 

Bottle. Khaki head. Dark copper hued brown.

Cocoa and spice. Caramel. Malty. Toffee. Grassy hops. Biscuity.

Medium bodied. Some roast and dark dried fruits in the finish. Classic Xmas ale.

Appearance: Pours a dark, clear, plum or dark ruby color with a moderate tan head. SRM of 21-22. (4.00)

Aroma: Moderate aromas upfront of spices, cinnamon, bread, some dark fruit and dates/raisins. Strong phenolic notes. Some citrus and pine spice. (3.75)

Flavor: Moderate flavors of citrus spices, cinnamon, toast upfront followed by a sweet and dark fruit of cocoa and dark fruit. Raisin and dates. There's some phenolic cocoa and molasses flavor before a bitter and piney finish. (4.00)

Feel: Medium bodied. Low carbonation. Dark pine and citrus bitterness. (4.25)

Compared to Great Lakes Christmas Ale 12/5/21: Pours a darker color. More phenols and dark fruit of dates/raisins. Less spices, cinnamon, and graham cracker.

Compared to Trader Joe's Winter Ride 2/3/22: Pours a slightly darker color. Darker head. Milder aromas. More dark fruit and sweet chocolate. Less dark malt/bread, and toffee. A lighter body, but darker in the flavor. Similar though.

Compared to Founders' Dirty Bastard 2/27/22: Pours a similar appearance. Slightly stronger aromas. More toasted bread and a slightly more pine and bitter finish. Less molasses, scotch, syrup, dark malt. Overall, extremely similar.

Compared to Alaskan Winter Ale 11/2022: Pours darker, milder aromas. More pine and citrus bitterness. Less toasted bread malt and chocolate. More bitter.

Compared to New Belgium Holiday Ale 11/2022: Pours similar, milder aromas. More pine and citrus bitterness. Less cinnamon and cranberry spice. Maltier and more bitter.

Compared to Breckenridge Christmas Ale 12/2022: Pours darker. More toasty cocoa and roasted pine and cinnamon spice. Less brown bread, caramel. Winner: Jubelale

Compared to Bells Christmas Ale 12/2022: Pours slightly darker, stronger aromas. More toasted cocoa and roasted pine, cinnamon, and spice. Less sweet caramel, maple syrup, molasses, strudel. Dryer, more roasted and bitter. Winner Jubelale.

Overall: A good Winter Warmer here. This one focuses on the dark fruit of dates and raisins, cocoa, toffee, and phenolic flavors. Not too big or sweet here either. Approaches a stout in terms of color and flavors here. The body is nice, but drinks a bit flat. Overall, enjoyed this one. (Final Rating: 4.02)
2022 review: Much more bitter pine and citrus. Sort of reminds me of a darker and roasted Celebration. (Rating: 4.02+)

Pours a nice dark red/brown colour with a thick and fluffy head. Molasses, toffee and malts on the nose. The taste has hints of toffee, caramel, dates, maybe some coco with a warm malty background. This is what a winter warmer should be
Dec 25 2021

From a bottle packaged 9/14/21. Dark brown color with a thin layer of light brown head. Smells of dried fruit and brown sugar. Medium body and a slick feel. Roasted malt flavors with some dried fruit, brown sugar, and some coffee-like bitterness. A nice malt-forward beer with plenty of complexity.

Great stuff. I love it.

And it's a great example of it's style, too.

 

 

 

L: Dark reddish brown, uneven head.
S: Rich and malty, roasty, notes of spice, light pine, and kind of boozy actually.
T: Roasted malt, semi sweet chocolate and spice. A nice hoppy backbone, bringing bitterness with notes of pine, followed by slightly sweeter dark bready malt. There’s a booziness, too, and I’m not sure where it comes from.
F: Wet, light carbonation.
O: I love a good barleywine, and this drinks quite similar to one minus the high ABV. It’s funny, though, because it really tastes like it should be 8+%. Anyway, the roasted malt, spice, and hops are all there. This, along with Celebration, are winter favorites.

 

This one brings the whole family to the yard - Snoopy has a Santa hat on and is just chilling; Mickey is over on the grill doing all kinds of stuff; Miss Piggy has been over-served and is all over the place and on any bachelor… Yeah, Jubelale does it all.

I love you.

12oz bottle pkgd date 09/14/21 into a dimple mug.
L: Pours a rich mahogany medium brown with a creamy 1.5 inch beige head. Extremely light carbo. Moderate skeletal lacing.
S: Deeply caramelized malts, sweet hops, Deschutes secret holiday spices, toffee.
T: Toasted caramelized malts, piney hops, spice, toffee, dry fruits (namely prunes), light molasses, citrus zest hops, gently smoked cocoa. Generally toasty with gentle bitterness lingering in it's cocoa finish.
F: It has an accommodating and alluring soft, med-bodied mouthfeel with a lightly drying medium length finish.
O: Overall a subtly robust winter ale that is well blended and balanced. It is not heavily laden with spice due to the nature of the Tettnang hops used. Very smooth and easy drinking. It is excellent in it's style.

 

Neah.

Heavy winter warmer or bourbon taste. Needs to be a little sweeter, maybe add a hint cinnamon. Kind of flat tasting. Very bitter finish. One of the lower rated Deschutes beers I've had.

Jubelale is crystal clear and a deep, sullen ruby colored ale. Thin streams of CO2 support a rocky, cream colored head with good retention and lots of lace.
My first impression of Jubelale’s aroma is that it’s deeply malty with hints of dark, dried fruit. Malt and dark fruit lead into a center where I find a roasted coffee somewhere between coffee and cocoa powder. Yeah, definitely leans more towards the cocoa. There’s also an overall spiciness to the aroma, lending structure and complexity to the aromas of malt and dark fruit. Finally, I pick up a hint of sweetness taking the edge off an aroma that would otherwise be overly intense.
On the tongue, Jubelale is smooth, full bodied, and robust with a notable roasted quality. Malt flavors take the form of dark, dried fruit. Very reminiscent of dates up front with hints of coffee and roasted grains lending support. As with the nose, there’s a residual sweetness that helps take the edge off of Jubelale’s more intense roasted quality. The finish is short and dry.
It’s a big, bold, malty beer and yet it’s balanced and drinkable. In other beers the maltiness and roasted flavors would make Jubelale something that could only be sipped at. Instead, the sweet notes in the center and the beer’s overall smoothness make Jubelale totally quaffable. Christmas or no Christmas, I could picture myself enjoying this beer on a cold winter night.