Invigorating winter warmer emulates Swedish glogg by bridging autumnal brown-sugared pumpkin pie likeness to sweet Christmastime spicing and muted mull-spiced wining. Fig-sugared stewed prune, golden raisin, bruised cherry and mandarin orange peel fruiting picks up wintry gingerbread, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom and clove seasoning. Pecan, butterscotch, vanilla and sugar cookie illusions penetrate the fruitcake finish.
As with previous ‘Cruiser’ version, bland 2012 edition lacks specificity. Wintry brown-sugared mulling spices get musty and phenol hop bittering dissolves alongside dreary caramel malting. Murky orange, cherry and apple nuances never suffice.
Ornate Danish-styled Christmas Ale offers fig-sugared raisin sweetness to molasses-sapped caramelized rye malting and mildly coarsened earthy hop astringency. Ginger-spiced clove, cinnamon and nutmeg seasoning provide mild wintry warmth alongside subdued bourbon-burgundy wining. But fruit-caked cherry, prune and plum illusions need deeper penetration.
Enticingly sour-fruited copper-burnished winter warmer brewed with ‘bitter orange pill’ retains Blackstrap molasses bittering over dank cellar-wafted musk. Orange-rotted dehydrated fig entry picks up vinous cider, dried apricot, sour white grape and green raisin murk as earthen black-peppered hops surge past contrasting candi-sugared sweetness. Heightened 9.5% alcohol volume hidden beneath musty fruit esters. A well-integrated seasonal never undone by lack of expectant wintry spicing.
Likeable brown-bodied Christmas ale celebrates Anchor’s 37th anniversary. Wintry cinnamon-nutmeg spicing drapes cherry cola sweetness, fruit-caked fig sugaring and toasted almond tinge to dry mocha finish. Minor bristlecone pining embitters the durable backend.
Faultily labeled a wintry seasonal since expectant Christmas spicing never makes a dent, losing out to astringent hop sopping and cardboard-like glass sugaring. Advertised coriander and orange peel influence nullified by ESB-like peat graining or helles bock-like wheat biscuit pleasantry. Murky orange-dried apricot-grape spell and phenol cinnamon-nutmeg spicing never catch on. Bet it’s way better on tap at Pike’s Seattle venue, though.
Amiable ruby-marooned Belgian dark ale gains lovely raisin-prune theme above sweet candi-sugared caramel malting and peppery hop slipstream. Anticipatory cellar-like Belgian yeast funk adds pungent mustiness to dried fruiting. Harsh phenol spicing clouds slim banana-clove reminder, but accrued black cherry, bruised apple and apricot subsidy adds fruitier intrigue.
Muddled rust-corroded winter seasonal lacks resolve. Harsh ethanol-laced diacetyl propensity outweighs musty orange spicing and barren seasonal spicing. Remote fig-dried apple-skinned musk, distant almond-toasted caramel malting, and slight mineral-grained leafiness barely make a wave amidst agonizingly astringent parameters.
Approachable fig-spiced sugar plum entry picks up diffuse burgundy-wined raisin-prune continuance and ginger-breaded cinnamon-coriander-allspice upsweep. Tertiary orange-bruised black cherry, purple grape and brown banana ripeness seeps into well-balanced winter seasonal. Mild phenol astringency at dried fruited finish lowers appeal a fraction.