Phlicker
also know as @PhillyBeerGuy
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2007
- Messages
- 884
Sly Fox 2007 Christmas Ale
As we had ourselves an honest-to-goodness snow day here in the Delaware Valley (gotta love the unexpected 3-day weekend), I decided I'd sit back and enjoy one of the remaining bottles of Sly Fox's annual holiday offering I had lingering in the cellar. I usually buy a case every year in December, but a great majority of the bottles end up as gifts to relatives or party hosts. If I do drink any of it during the Holidays, it's usually in a festive or social atmosphere, so I never really had time to sit down and truly experience this beer. Today provided a perfect opportunity.
From the Brewery:
ABV: 6.5% ABV bottled, 5.5% ABV draft
Brewed: Phoenixville/Royersford, Pennsylvania
Availability: Brewed once (limited)
Appearance
The beer is bottle-conditioned and packaged in a 750ml champagne-style bottle. This year's label is bright green, festive, and quite well-designed if I do say so. After corking the bottle, I poured the beer into an imperial pint glass. This is a two-serving bottle, so about half remained. It had a beautiful chestnut auburn red color with a vigorous frothy three-finger head that quickly dissipated leaving a fine layer of foam on the surface of the beer. It had fine lacing and excellent retention.
Smell
For a spiced ale there wasn't a discernible nose to the beer. It just had a nice, malty aroma that was warm and inviting.
Taste
Again, for a spiced ale, one could anticipate the flavorings to overpower the rest of the ingredients. This really isn't the case here, and I for one am happy about that. The flavors are subtle and balanced, and really work together in harmony. I actually ended up tasting this the way I taste wine, pursing my lips and drawing air across the liquid in my mouth, which really helped to open everything up. Thankfully, the malt is really the star here, though the spiced edge is quite noticeable, mostly the nutmeg and allspice. A slight hint of vanilla shows up in the aftertaste, giving way to a pleasant bitter finish that lingered with me a tad. Flavors continued to reveal themselves as the beer approached room temperature. Overall a wonderfully warm seasonal flavor that reminds me of when the lights were up and carols were still on the radio (though these last perceptions may be altered by the fact that I'm staring out the window at several inches of fresh snow
)
Mouthfeel
This beer had quite a lot of carbonation for a bottle-conditioned offering. The bubbles and spices tingle on the tip of the tongue and really stimulate the entire palate. Overall feel is medium-bodied and normal for what I'd expect in an ale, though probably a little crisper than what I had hoped for. This being a spiced holiday seasonal beer, I would have preferred it to be a little smoother and creamier.
Conclusion
All-in-all I was quite pleased with this beer. With so many breweries (especially the big macros) making holiday offerings that are so overdone it's like drinking potpourri, it was nice to sit down with a Winter Warmer that does exactly what it purports to do: warm the insides on a cold night while still tasting like beer. The added spices only helped to enhance what was already a lovely medium-bodied malty brew, and never once took center stage. One of the most drinkable Christmas beers I've had, and after a double-serving left me feeling very "festive" :thumbs: . I look forward to next year's offering, and to how the remaining 2 bottles I have from this year will develop with age.
As we had ourselves an honest-to-goodness snow day here in the Delaware Valley (gotta love the unexpected 3-day weekend), I decided I'd sit back and enjoy one of the remaining bottles of Sly Fox's annual holiday offering I had lingering in the cellar. I usually buy a case every year in December, but a great majority of the bottles end up as gifts to relatives or party hosts. If I do drink any of it during the Holidays, it's usually in a festive or social atmosphere, so I never really had time to sit down and truly experience this beer. Today provided a perfect opportunity.
From the Brewery:
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 6.5% ABV bottled, 5.5% ABV draft
Brewed: Phoenixville/Royersford, Pennsylvania
Availability: Brewed once (limited)
Appearance
The beer is bottle-conditioned and packaged in a 750ml champagne-style bottle. This year's label is bright green, festive, and quite well-designed if I do say so. After corking the bottle, I poured the beer into an imperial pint glass. This is a two-serving bottle, so about half remained. It had a beautiful chestnut auburn red color with a vigorous frothy three-finger head that quickly dissipated leaving a fine layer of foam on the surface of the beer. It had fine lacing and excellent retention.
Smell
For a spiced ale there wasn't a discernible nose to the beer. It just had a nice, malty aroma that was warm and inviting.
Taste
Again, for a spiced ale, one could anticipate the flavorings to overpower the rest of the ingredients. This really isn't the case here, and I for one am happy about that. The flavors are subtle and balanced, and really work together in harmony. I actually ended up tasting this the way I taste wine, pursing my lips and drawing air across the liquid in my mouth, which really helped to open everything up. Thankfully, the malt is really the star here, though the spiced edge is quite noticeable, mostly the nutmeg and allspice. A slight hint of vanilla shows up in the aftertaste, giving way to a pleasant bitter finish that lingered with me a tad. Flavors continued to reveal themselves as the beer approached room temperature. Overall a wonderfully warm seasonal flavor that reminds me of when the lights were up and carols were still on the radio (though these last perceptions may be altered by the fact that I'm staring out the window at several inches of fresh snow
)Mouthfeel
This beer had quite a lot of carbonation for a bottle-conditioned offering. The bubbles and spices tingle on the tip of the tongue and really stimulate the entire palate. Overall feel is medium-bodied and normal for what I'd expect in an ale, though probably a little crisper than what I had hoped for. This being a spiced holiday seasonal beer, I would have preferred it to be a little smoother and creamier.
Conclusion
All-in-all I was quite pleased with this beer. With so many breweries (especially the big macros) making holiday offerings that are so overdone it's like drinking potpourri, it was nice to sit down with a Winter Warmer that does exactly what it purports to do: warm the insides on a cold night while still tasting like beer. The added spices only helped to enhance what was already a lovely medium-bodied malty brew, and never once took center stage. One of the most drinkable Christmas beers I've had, and after a double-serving left me feeling very "festive" :thumbs: . I look forward to next year's offering, and to how the remaining 2 bottles I have from this year will develop with age.