Merriment
Forest & Main - The Brewery

Poured into a narrow imperial pint glass: color amber, not clear, head is light tan with mixed froth head that presents 2+ fingers thick and lingers with a deep solid head and laces the glass well.

Smell is caramel, toast, light cocoa and nuttiness, pith, pine, citrus, earth, herbal, and light biting spice hops.

Taste is more pronounced with forward caramel, toast, light cocoa and nuttiness, pith, pine, citrus, earth, herbal, and biting spice hops - much bigger than aroma and thicker feeling than SN celebration.

Mouthfeel is moderate carbonation, moderate sweetness, moderate bitterness.

Overall a uniquely malty IPA in this maddingly over hazed time - well done and maybe SN Celebration can an inspire a stronger holiday IPA movement that these beer carries the torch for.

 

 

This beer is a poor imitation of a West Coast IPA. Instead of resinous it is rather thin. Instead of pineyness it’s overly bitter. It doesn’t help that the finish tastes somehow artificial. This is a disappointing result.

 

 

Heavy pine, caramalt, with hints of nutmeg. Decent drinker that is a tad high in viscosity for an IPA. Nice take at a Celebration combatant, but the champ still holds the belt

Can dated November 2024 into pint glass. Pours a gorgeous clear amber color with a massive off-white head. Good lacing. Initial impression is mildly bitter citrus, grapefruit, a bit of maltiness, and a nice dose of pine. Mouthfeel is smooth and slightly sticky. Finish fades to pine resin and peppery citrus. Very unique and thoroughly enjoyable. Kudos.

L: Pours a beautiful dark red amber leaving an abundance of off white head.
S: pine and citrus in the nose with a bit of caramel malt
T: nice hop presence with flavors of citrus and pine rounded out with a bitter finish. Definitely has the feel of SN Celebration.
F: full and medium carbonation
O: a well executed holiday IPA

Dark amber-brown, slightly hazed, with two fingers of creamy-looking tan head. Excellent retention and lacing.

Orange and pine in the aroma. Hints of a caramel malt backbone.

The taste hits as expected from the nose at first, but then pivots to a more tea-like flavor and bitterness in the finish. There are almost coffee notes at times.

Full bodied with appropriate carbonation.

Worth a try. Has a great fresh-hop smell, but the British twist doesn’t do it for me as much as Celebration.

 

16oz can purchased from the brewery as a mix-a-four pack for $20. From instagram, this beer was released on November 21, 2023 so it's exactly 11 weeks old.

Look: It has a beautiful reddish amber color. Reminds me of cherry wood. There was a decent-sized tan-colored head of two fingers that almost completely dissipated, leaving behind rocky lacing. Nice steady carbonation rising up the glass. Looks really pretty.

Smell: It has a very nice aroma that certainly makes me hearken to Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. It's piney and citrusy (orange rind, grapefruit rind). There's also a spicyness/pepperyness and I get some dark bread notes. I also get notes of caramel, chocolate, and coffee on the finish. Interestingly, while the nose tells me that this is going to have a lot of bitterness it is also suggesting that it has some juiciness.

Taste: It's really delicious. This is an old-school winter seasonal West Coast IPA that has strong, bold flavor and a nice warming effect. The finish is dry and bitter and lingers long with piney, resinous notes. The hops are prominent, especially the Chinook. After the bitter hops eventually fade from the palate, I am left with nice nutty (chestnut?) and dark chocolatey notes. This beer is also very clean and highly drinkable.

Feel: It has a nice chewiness to it. The body feels just a touch thin upon swallowing it.

Overall: It's really solid. I am sure that this beer was inspired by Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, and it is a worthy inspiration. In a blind tasting, I doubt that I would be able to tell which is which and I'm not sure which one I prefer. I think that the F&M version has more chinook as it almost leans into Bigfoot-level chinook territory.

From instagram:
Merriment - 7.2% Our annual holiday IPA.

Brewed in the West Coast style with good barley and adequate crystal malts, and joyfully hopped with lots of Chinook, Cascade, and Centennial. Notes of good friends and caring about life, strawberry candy with strawberry wrappers, classic citrus/pine dialectics, sneaky Twizzlers, cold apple pie, a dry maltiness, and a couple smashed grapefruits.

 

 

 

 

Pint pour on draught at the brewery. It's a beautiful beer: a clear, glassy, amber-iced tea color with a half finger of creamy, ecru-colored head and thick swirls of lacing. The smell is subdued with scents of sweet, earthy malt, pine needles, and tart citrus. Its taste is earthy and malty from the barley and wheat, and the crystal malt contributes some malty sweetness. The Cascade and Chinook hops provide notes of pine sap, red berry, and lite lemon and grapefruit. The mouth feel is plush and smooth and the 7.2% ABV gives it good substance. Overall, Merriment is of the malty, bitter WCIPA variant without big citrus but it's well-brewed and delightful to drink.

 

A truly delicious brew that I understand is a tribute to Sierra Nevada's Celebration. The taste profile resembles that, but it a lot drier, less caramel-forward, and considerably more bitter. A great beer that can satisfy a hophead for sure.

16 oz can

Pours a clear dark orange rust color, with white head. decent head retention and lacing. nice strong aroma of dank pine, citrus, berry, light caramel. similar taste, nice balance of malt and strong bitterness in the finish. medium bodied, mouthfeel is a bit sticky.