Since January 6th is the 12th day of Christmas, I thought I’d finally publish a review of the Christmas Ale that has been in my fridge for the past two weeks.
Great Lakes Christmas Ale
We’ve been having a bit of a freshness problem with our Great Lakes beer purchases. Although Great Lakes is an excellent brewer, the residents of South Jersey have been a bit slow to take their beers off the shelf. Luckily, the expiration date on this bottle is 1/19/2011!
- Appearance: Clear copper color. Very little head which dissipates rapidly and leaves minimal lacing.
- Aroma: Honey and spice notes that remind me of Drambuie.
- Taste: Medium carbonation. Malt sweetness up front. Some spicy flavors in the middle, much like you would experience from a ginger beer. Very mild bitter finish.
I first had this beer on draught at The Pour House in Westmont, NJ during a Sunday night drinking session with The Wookie. I liked it so much that I had to pick up a couple bottles during a recent beer run. The Great Lakes Christmas Ale is equally delicious in bottle form. For a beer that has an ABV of 7.5%, it is exceptionally smooth and easy drinking. Although I generally prefer a more hoppy brew, there are enough spices in this beer to keep the overall sweetness from becoming overbearing. I give it a B+.
Categories: Brew Review, Great Lakes
AMKrouse
The Alemonger
G-LO
limpd
The Wookie
The ROK
Sarah -BeautifulTangibleThings
The Astounding Prism
It's just the booze dancing... 
As a native Clevelander, I’m glad you liked this. An advantage of living in Big 10 coutnry is getting beers like this a bit fresher!
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Yo Stan!
Freshness is definitely key when it comes to beer. That is definitely one advantage that booze has over beer. Much less volatile! 🙂
Cheers!
G-LO
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My father also claims that Great Lakes’ Christmas Ale is excellent. He still lives in Cleveland (which works in his favor) but also used to think Carling Black Label was a good beer (which diminishes his opinion somewhat).
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Now now. Not nice to pick on poor Papa! The fact that a former Carling Black Label drinker would even consider a Great Lakes Christmas Ale suggests that his tastes have most definitely evolved. 🙂
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I’ve had a ton of xmas ales. My wife is from Cleveland. I was introduced to this baby two years ago when take a tour of the brewery.
By far, this is the Best xmas ale. Delicious. I’m dying here in Philly looking for it.
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I picked it up in Berlin, NJ at Canal’s. Have you tried The Foodery, Hawthorne’s, or Bella Vista? Make some calls. I’m sure they’ll be able to help you out. Good luck!
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The easiest place to get Great Lakes in the Philly Metro area is G-lo’s fridge ….. I have a key! That’s where I do my beer shopping!
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What the Cuss! Better hide the Edmund Fitzgerald!
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The Edmund Fitzgerald is at the bottom of the big lake they called Gitchee Gumee …. no need to hide it. Duh!
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Thanks for the history lesson Hiawatha.
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