December 14 -Slyfox Christmas Ale

Slyfox Brewing Company - Christmas Ale (2014)

Back again for another tasting in 2014 is Slyfox's Christmas Ale.  I had this beer in 2013 and wasn't overly thrilled by it.  I gave it a 3 out of 5 only because it had an ugly Christmas sweater on the can.  If you don't know me very well, ugly Christmas sweaters are high on my list of things to wear this time of year.  For those of you that know me in real life, you're in for a treat come this Friday...

...it's not this one...but my sweater comes with tights...

Anyway, back to the beer.  This beer poured a transparent, caramel brown color with a nice inch of tan colored head at the top.  I gave the can a hefty pour into my etched Sam Adams glass.  The aroma of this beer was mostly spices.  I got my favorite spice ever (just kidding...) in clove, as well as some slight hints of cinnamon.  It was pleasant bouquet of spices!

The taste started with a mild and slightly sweet caramel flavor that quickly turned spicy.  According to the can itself, there is ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cloves brewed with this beer.  For me, other than the aromas before, I get a strong ginger flavor from this winter ale.  The finish is slightly bitter with a coating of spices on the tongue.  

All things considered, this beer was much better for me than the 2013 version that was very spicy. The spices this year are either more mild or better balanced with the rest of the ale.   If I had to choose a winter warmer to drink that was also lighter in ABV (this is listed at 5.5% on the can) I would probably go right back to this one.  For something a little heavier in ABV, I would probably have to either go with Old Man from Southern Tier or the Winter Warmer from Lancaster.   

From the 2013 version to the 2014 version, would have to bump this up to a 3.5 out of 5!

  

That's a disc for disc golfing to the left of the can...just saying...
I also gave this to myself as a give...Merry Christmas to me! :)