Beer of the Week: Sly Fox Christmas Ale

sly-fox-brewing-company-christmas-ale-2012-beer-of-the-week.jpg This week's Beer of the Week is Sly Fox Brewing's 2012 Christmas Ale.
Usually when I see a beer that has cinnamon, ginger, all spice, clove, and nutmeg, I prepare my taste-buds for an over-powerfully spicy beer that's tough to get past the first sip of. Sly Fox Christmas Ale is different, though. There's plenty of good flavor, dominated by cinnamon, but it's tamed, and surprisingly drinkable.

Christmas Ale pours a deep red/amber. It's pretty hazy, yet still looks great. Lacing is okay but head retention is rather poor.

The aroma, like the taste, is dominated by cinnamon right from the start. Past that, there's a hint of vanilla and underlying notes of brown sugar.

Again, there's plenty of cinnamon in the taste, but its toned down and not overly powerful. There's a hint of the nutmeg that comes through, as well as brown sugar again, with some nutty toasted grains coming through on the back end.

With regards to mouthfeel, this is a full-bodied beer with a creamy texture and a dry finish. At 5.5% ABV, there's very little alcohol coming through.

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 4/5
Taste: 9/10
Mouthfeel: 4/5
Overall: 17/20
Total: 4.2/5

Overall, this is a quality beer. Winter and Christmas ales have a tendency to go overboard, but Sly Fox does a great job at avoiding this without sacrificing the flavors that have the potential to make the style great.
