Skip to main content

Sly Fox Christmas Ale

Ahoy everyone!  I hope you all had a great weekend, and are ready for the mid-season finale of the Walking Dead!  The season has been building up to this point, the showdown between the Governor and Rick, as well as the reunion of Daryl and Merle.  Which side will everyone turn to when it all starts to hit the fan?  I can't wait!

Tonight I am drinking the winter seasonal from Sly Fox, with a fairly generic name of Christmas Ale.  That pretty much leaves this beer wide open in what could be in the can.  That's right, a can.  A Christmas Ale in a can.  I love it!
Sly Fox is another in what seems tons of breweries who have recently expanded.  They've moved their production facility to Pottstown, PA.  In the larger facility, they are able to almost double their output.  I've had most of Sly Fox's canned offerings (Rte 113 IPA, Phoenix Pale Ale, Royal Weisse) and haven't been disappointed yet.
 Christmas Ale
Sly Fox Brewing Company
5.5% ABV
16 IBUs
Best By: No clue
Sly Fox Christmas Ale pours a brownish red color with a little more than a finger width's height of an off-white color head.  Several minutes after pouring and the head is still on top the beer, giving this ale a great look.  The main aroma coming from this beer is cinnamon.  Kerry has a much stronger nose than me, and she gets aromas of clove, cinnamon, pine and apple.  However you put it, this beer definitely smells like the holidays.  The taste is yet more cinnamon and holiday spices on a sweet, caramel malt backbone.  Sly Fox Christmas Ale goes down smooth, and has a medium to medium heavy body.  Carbonation levels are around average,

Overall:  Definitely a beer for the holidays.  Smooth, spiced, malty, very flavorful.  I can attest from this picture, Sly Fox Christmas Ale goes great with homemade Christmas cookies.  If you're having a holiday party this season, this beer would definitely go over well with your guests. 

Have you had Sly Fox Christmas Ale?  What did you think?  What's your favorite winter season brew?  Let me know in the comments!

As always, come find me on Facebook, Google +, and Twitter!
 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dogfish Head Positive Contact

Frankenstorm is on it's way.  Bread: Check.  Candles: Check.  Ice: Check.  Beer: Check!  The big storm is supposed to strike land here in NJ late Sunday night into early Monday morning, and last until late Tuesday.  Kerry and I live in the western part of NJ, so we should be safe from most of it, except for local river flooding.  Tonight I'll be reviewing Positive Contact from Dogfish Head.  This is their collaboration with Dan the Automator (who I honestly had never heard of before this collaboration). I poured Positive Contact into my Yards Brewing tulip glass.  It poured a pale orange, golden color with a two and a half finger width head.  Apples, bananas and peppers hit my nose right away.  The smell is incredible and strong.  The Positive Contact is full of flavor, and reminds me of a smooth drinking Belgian tripel.  It tastes immediately of fruity esters, mainly banana.  The finish is peppery.  I'm ...
Post a Comment
Read more

BJCP: Strong Scotch Ale (9E)

This is the first article in a new series of posts, where I will periodically choose a section from the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines , write about the style, and then drink and publish my tasting notes from some of the commercial examples given by the BJCP.  Now, I'm not sure if I will ever actually take the exam to become a beer judge, but I think this will be a fun exercise to learn more about beer! Fair warning, I will not be doing the sections of the BJCP style guidelines in any sort of order.  Whichever kinds of beer I am craving is what I will be writing about! Strong Scotch Ales (also known as Wee Heavy) comprise sub-category 9E in the BJCP style guidelines.  They range between 6.5% and 10.0% ABV, and have a light copper to dark brown appearance.  Obviously, strong scotch ales are all about showcasing the malt.  While studying this style, I found it quite interesting that the brewers ferment out the wort at cooler temp...
15 comments
Read more

Beer Digest: Mission St., Hitachino, Weyerbacher

I've had some really great and interesting beers over the last week.  In this new post series, I'm going to highlight my favorite beers from the last week or so.  Hope you enjoy reading!  Suggestions and comments are always welcome! Mission St 2013 Anniversary Ale (Trader Joe's) Steinhaus Brewing Co. (brewed at Firestone Walker in Cali) 8.5% ABV I wasn't really sure what to expect from this beer, but it took me by surprise.  They say it is is blend of three different brews, and when it all comes together the final product is an imperial brown ale.  There was lots of malt, a little roast, and a full, creamy body.  I was surprised how fast I made it through the whole bottle.  There wasn't the slightest hint of the 8.5% ABV.  If more brown ales tasted like this, I would probably drink them more often. Mission St. 2013 Anniversary Ale from Trader Joe's Hitachino Nest XH Kiuchi Brewery 7% ABV Kiuchi Brewery's Hitachino Nes...
2 comments
Read more