Abita Christmas Ale
As befits any Christmas present, each years offering is a unique product crafted with special care. Generally, this beer is a dark ale, however, the recipe changes each year. Available November thru December.
2.9
590 reviews
Abita Springs, United States
Community reviews
12 ounce bottle poured into glass. The beer is a clear brownish amber with a beige head of foam. Earthy, kind of tree bark-ish aroma. Stays on the dry, bitter side. Medium body and medium to high carbonation.
I think this beer is a little under-rated here. Not the biggest fan of Abita, but the last two I sampled are all right. If the balance was slightly better, the flavor would be an 8. Decent amount of hops here. This is actually more like an IPA IMO vs. an XMAS/brown ale. Got on clearance for 1/2 off, so definitely not fresh, but curious to try some fresh stuff this upcoming season.
bottiglia 355 ml, schiuma beige fine persistente, colore ambrato carico torbido, al naso lievito frutta matura miele pepe spezie, in bocca malto caramello spezie, corpo leggero, watery, carbonazione leggera, secca, amaro moderato. Non è il massimo ma è l’ultima birra di Natale 2018. 30.12.18
Pours clear dark amber with a three finger, off white head. Aroma is some spruce and metallic notes. Taste is light brown sugar, moving to cinnamon and roast. Finish is light roast.
Pours a medium amber color with a thin tan head. A little spicy with some pine flavor.
Pours dark copper amber with a thick white head. Aroma of bread. Initial caramel malty taste with a lingering bitterness.
---Rated via Beer Buddy
Marshmallow and amber malts with a finish ilthat has rough hops. Pretty confusing beer.
Bottle from Harris Teeter in Alexandria, VA.Medium brown in colour, with a slight, off-white, head. Toasty malts, slight touch of berry fruit, hint of chocolate, leading to a bitter finish. Ok.
12 oz. bottle. Pours clear amber with an off-white head. Aroma of malt, bread, nuts. Some fruitiness. Taste follows nose. Has some burnt notes, maybe some spruce. Caramel and spices. Not great, but probably one of Abita's better efforts.
Pours a clear mahogany with a tan head. Aroma of roasted cocoa with piney hops. The taste is cocoa and earthy hops with a nice bitterness to offset the malt. Overall bitterness seems to come from a roasted note that rounds out the beer well.
Pours brown and slightly hazy with a film of off-white head. Aroma is slightly nutty malt. Flavor is nutty as well with some smoked malt character.
Bottle. Pours a amber reddish color. Easy drinking darker session ale but not my favorite. More like light version of the heavier dark ales
Reddish amber color. Thin , white head. Caramel malt and hint of hops in aroma. Decent , hoppy bitterness in taste. A bit watery . not bad in general , but something is missing.
On tap at 40 Brews. It poured a light amber color with an off-white head. The aroma was of malts, caramel and some hops. The taste was similar to the aroma with more malts, caramel, toffee, hops, pine and some sweetness. The aftertaste was mild with some light toffee. Interesting.
Murky dark amber pour with a beige head and very good retention. Decent lacing. Tastes like a muted scotch ale. Slightly harsh mouthfeel. Meh. Not a great profile. They say they change the recipe each year but it tastes the same as past years to me.
Yeah, I tried this beer during 1 out of 3 possible nights. Good thing I wrote it down, otherwise I would have forgot!
Pours a nice dark amber color. Aromas of burnt malts, dark fruit, and some spice. Flavors of caramel, a touch a chocolate and nutmeg?
Poured from a 12 OZ bottle into a pint glass. The appearance is a golden amber color with a small white head. The aroma is a giant hop blast. The taste matches the aroma. An excellent beer.
12 oz. bottle. Pours dark copper with tan head. Aroma was citrus, pine and pepper. Taste was sweet malts and peppery.
Bottle. Pours a dark copper color with a decent head. Aroma of pine, citrus, bit of malt sweetness and spice. Taste of malt sweetness, bit of pine and spice. Decent bitterness and a clean finish. Fairly light body, smooth with a hint of the season. Hoped for a bit more in a holiday offering.
Bottle - 2015, big foamy head, dark copper color, fairly good size pine hop aroma and flavor, moderate bready malt backbone, resiny finish, pretty good overall
Orange/brown pour, finger off white head. Nose is tangerines, hint of booze. Bittersweet. Middle is pine & spruce tips (some bark floating there too), bitter citrus peel, and medium roasted malt. Finish is bitter. Little out of balance.
Most winter beers fall in one place for me: the middle. They’re typically not ones to teeter to the bad or the great, but this one teeters more toward the former direction and I’m not totally sure why. I guess it’s because it’s more bitter than a winter beer typically is, but it’s not terrible.
Smells like a Christmas tree....so it's got that. Pours a cloudy reddish honey amber with a thick foamy very light tan head. Pine, earth, bitter finish. Thin mouthfeel. It's not bad or anything.
Bottle. Red. Spruce tree and pine. Very Christmassy. Solid for the gimmick of a holiday beer. Wouldn't get it again.
Pours as a slightly red tinted amber with an off white head. Aroma is slightly malty with hints of holiday spices and leather that is overpowered by spruce. First taste is an unbalanced bitterness that is dominated by spruce and very subtly sweet. It finishes overly dry with a lingering bitterness. Not Abitas best work.
Appearance: Amber Red. Aroma: Carmel, Malt, Roast, Spice, Leather. Taste: Carmel, Almond, Spice, Bread Crust. More of a brown ale aftertaste.
Bottle from systembolaget. A bit boring for a Christmas beer. Some maltiness but nothing more exciting. Descent.
Pours a very dark cloudy brown with a very thick and frothy head when poured. It has a strong spruce aroma to it. The taste is a very strong hop/spruce flavor and is a bit overpowering. Leaves the tongue dry with an nasty aftertaste. Worst beer I’ve added on here so far and don’t recommend it to anyone.
2014 recipe. 6 oz pour from refrigerated bottled into a sniffer glass. Pours hazy, nearly opaque with a finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left lots of lacing. Nose is spices, earth, and malt. Mouthfeel is moderate, though a bit watery. Tastes like a Christmas tree (and not in a bad way!). Lots of pine and spruce, plus some baking spices. Otherwise a mediocre brown ale. Nothing incredible, but not bad.