Contrary to customary cinnamon-nutmeg influenced holiday ales, non-traditional dry malt brew wraps murky smoked salami-nutmeat aroma around insurgent sweet tobacco leaf palate and wood burnt resonance, finishing closer to an India Pale Ale. Expansive hop spiciness tones down initial toasted barley affluence.

Santa Claus has come to town with this wintry red ale! But it’s unspectacular, as fig-dried tangerine-cranberry tartness, dryer green-hopped oiling and resinous grapefruit pining never command attention. IPA-like smoked bark singe overwhelms latent gingerbread-nutmeg spicing as well as peat-tobacco-basil niche and cola-walnut sear. Needs naughtier alcohol strength at precarious spruce-toned finish.

Blase’ medium-bodied mahogany-hued French-styled Biere de Garde lacks fruity luster and seasonal spicing. Modest mocha malting lulls cinnamon-nutmeg spicing, sullen dried fig interlude, and nominal earthen tepidity. Dispirited Christmas celebrator leaves me cold.

Brewed each year by Young’s from an ancient recipe, this distinct holiday treat from around 2004 retained rich yeast assertiveness, burnt caramel sweetness, and nutmeg seasoning. Fine malt blend offers characteristics of red and brown ales.

Tiny Flemish homebrewers’ wintry nickel-hazed reddish-glazed strong ale places orange-candied lemondrop tartness above warming alcohol sensation and spongy carbolic fluff. Serene seasonal spices tingle oncoming red apple ripeness and tangerine-orange tang as sugary yeast sinew further sweetens festive treat.

Clear auburn bourbon-barreled oak-aged seasonal fades badly to metallic dry-hopped finish. Slick caramel-molasses malt initiation sports vanilla bean sweetness, cream soda appeal, sneaky cinnamon-nutmeg spicing, and restrained cotton-candied marshmallow-coconut dint. But thin buttery texture and diffident bourbon character ransack deficient laggard. 2010 version: tame candied orange frontage, cinnamon-toasted pumpkin-pied nutmeg spicing, and vanilla-butterscotch ice cream finish better defined sharply alcohol-fueled winter ale.

Dry-bodied, tiny-headed, oats-toasted light amber seasonal seems closer to defiant Pale Ale. Determined spice hop frontage and orange tang coat tongue before sugared malts overwhelm evasive chicory, nectar, and herbal hints.

Pedestrian medium-bodied nickel-hued seasonal (?) brown ale seems conflicted. Barley cereal toasting picks up likable tea-like component and slim cherry-berry fruiting, but earthen nuttiness and clove-spiced herbal tinge fail to integrate. Dismal chocolate malting and phenol hop bittering wilt. Honey-roasted fig, pecan, and chestnut illusions slip by tangy orange lilt. Never cuts to the chase.

Gritty, reddish purple-hazed, 7.5% alcohol-fueled, barleywine-styled winter warmer in short long-neck 9.9-ounce bottle lacks expectant molasses malt thickness. Nonetheless, fulsome yeast sinew, milk chocolate coating, burnt caramel seducement, and muted dried fruiting bring luster. Stewed prune, dried apricot, banana taffy, fig, plum and cherry illusions seep into honeyed mocha backdrop.

Candied chocolate, cola nut, and mild prune sufficiently seduce elegant wheat-wined barleywine luster. Roasted barleymalts fade at creamy finish while waning wintry spices and lack of proper wheat punctuation hurts its ‘style.’ Brewery defunct: 2006.

Puffy-headed, cloudy-hued, moderate-bodied ale (a.k.a. Rogue Juniper Pale Ale) featuring flirty juniper wisp and firm yeast foundation remains less bitter than brewers’ Dead Guy Ale. Sharp piney spruce tangent grazes grapefruit-lemon souring, residual herbal-nipped green tea slip and citric-splashed spice hop finish. Perfect for celebrating Christmas in July since darker fruited elements bring summertime aspirations.

Dry fruited prune-fig souring and roasted chestnut dirge override tepid hop bittering. Astringent finish reminiscent of dimmer copper ales, lacking expected holiday seasoning.