Great Lakes Christmas Ale
It has a cinnamon and ginger spice flavor, a rich copper color, and a medium body that will fit with any holiday meal.
3.5
1027 reviews
Cleveland, United States
Community reviews
Amber color pour. White foamy head. Cinnamon, sugar, some spice. Nice flavor and a nice palate
Draft @ Fireworks Leesburg- Pours Clear Amber with a white head. Some lacing on the glass. Spices are ok. Weird tang.
Bottle from January 22, 2009. Drunk and reviewed on April 10, 2019. Pours a muddy light brown color with a khaki head. Fruity brown sugar nose and flavors. Pretty flat mouthfeel.
I've enjoyed Great Lakes beers for years . Always the finest quality until December 2019 . I bought a 6 pack of GLCA expecting a real treat . I was unpleasantly surprised . The beer tasted like vinegar . Very sour . I contacted GL and they don't care . They were unwilling to offer and restitution or even an explanation of what the problem might have been . A company with NO CUSTOMER SERVICE does not deserve my money .
Tasted like a mouthful of potpourri.... dumped it out and opened a copper lager.
Sort of a caramel malt background, some hop bitterness at the end. Maybe a hint of spice, but if it's there at all, not particularly discernible. This is a pretty straightforward amber, not very Christmasy.
Honey gold. Bitter and slightly medicinal, with notes of honey, ginger, and cinnamon. Thick palate.
Mild bready malt with light spices - cinnamon and clove. Overall a pleasant, enjoyable Christmas ale.
Bottle from Frank's. Clear copper. Malty, caramel, light fruity, cherries, biscuit. Slightly bitter.
Bottle. Pours a copper with a dissipating head and aroma of spices and malt. Taste is of caramel and malt up front, with light ginger and spice coming into the finish.
With Zach and Brandon, on Christmas Eve, pours a caramel color with no head. Nose is rather flat, with a hint of spice. Taste is warming winter spices with caramel, some ginger and allspice. Finishes on the caramel , warming spices. Texture is medium with light carbonation. Fair !
Quaff Score 6 / 10
We had this in a bottle at home I did not care for the spices that are in this beer
Draft. Pours reddish-copper with light beige head and lacing. Nose of spice (cinnamon, all spice, and clove). Spice and bready malt flavor. Long finish. Medium body.
Found on tap at the tap house in Aurora. Illinois. Nice red hue with minimal head. Great spiced flavor. Very enjoyable and the aroma is very welcoming.
Draft. It poured a copper color with a white head. The malty aroma has notes of cinnamon, spice, and caramel. The taste is mildly sweet. Merry Christmas.
Pours clear amber with one finger off white head. Aroma is ginger, citrus and light caramel. Taste is caramel and ginger, moving to roast and orange zest. Finish is toasty. A good holiday ale.
More bitter than sweet, toasty, plenty of spice, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon. Body is something between a porter and a stout. Slightly sweet finish.
Very nice easy to drink winter beer. Little darker and malty than the winter ales which I like. Haven’t been a huge fan of Christmas ales, but this one is good.
The aroma of Christmas- caramel/ chocolate malt, with dark fruit, fruitcake, ginger, cinnamon, all spice and nutmeg. Amber, reddish color, a nice clear with pale 1/4" head which does not dissipate. Taste is slightly sweet- a BIG flavored ale without weighting you down. Lively on the tongue with moderate carbonation, a complex and nicely balanced Christmas ale
Clear amber pour with a small khaki head and fair retention. No lacing. Honey nose. Strong honey flavor and minor cinnamon notes. Warming 7.5 ABV is noticeable but not overpowering. Okay.
The pour has a coppery color and holds the off-white head for about 30 seconds. The carbonation is not only visible but you can taste and feel it on your tongue. I found that it had a small nose when I opened the bottle but it grew. I first detected some bread and some fruit. As I drank the glass I could detect ginger caramel and cinnamon. Good holiday beer.
On tap at random Lou Malnati's in Naperville. For my 50th spice/herb/veg -- also randomly... Copper amber pour with a bit of an off-white head. Aroma starts a bit piney and fruity hoppy, but down through the glass, the spices take over; ginger, cinnamon and some nutmeg. Taste is of sweet malts and herbs & spices, with some bready presence. The cinnamon really winds up leading the mouthfeel. Less than medium bodied, the blend is ok. It is what it is. Did wind up with a bit of a Christmas feel to it, which is good since a week before Christmas in Northern Illinois, there is no snow and none of the kids are wearing more than sweatshirts. 13
Pours a clear bright amber with a respectable off white head. Aroma is malty and spicy. Taste is sweet caramel malt, buttered biscuits, mild hoppiness and the cinnamon and nutmeg are noticeable in the back.
Better this year than last. I taste nutmeg a little more hoppy. Some ginger. Very nice overall. I will be buying more of this.
Clear copper pour with white head. Aroma and taste AR cinnamon and nutmeg. Very sticky and some sweet.
This is a delicious Christmas Ale. My favorite! It changes every year based on the local ingredients used. This year is not the best I've had but definitely still amazing!
Christmas beers always hold out a lot of promise, it being the holidays and all, but often end up disappointing, just like that shirt that you got last year. This is a decent one - lightly sweet with Christmas spices.
good. taste a lot of cinnamon, ginger. nothing too extraordinary.
Pours a clear golden brown from the bottle with bubbly off-white head that leaves light lace. Aroma of mild spice notes over a light caramel and bready malt base. Taste follows, clean and light, but something dirty about it, a bit of oxidation. Meh, not one I would go out of my way to have again.
Sweet light cinnamon candy flavor. Yeasty malt. At brewery. Thin head. Ok for a Christmas ale. Not over the top.