Marin Hoppy Holidaze Ale
Our traditional Christmas Ale, brewed with Pale, Wheat, Munich and Dextrine malts and hopped with Magnum and Styrian Goldings varieties. Delicately spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and pure vanilla extract.
3.2
160 reviews
Larkspur, United States
Community reviews
10 Jan 2012, bottle. med gold, clear, some steady bubbles, foamy head that fades immediately. not really smelling the hops over the spices. Very sweet and malty. lots of nutmeg. i’d probably try this as a thanksgiving ale instead of a christmas ale. med body, a little creamy, and a bit fizzy. not a huge fan. unfortunately i’ve got a big bottle to drink! light caramel malt, some cinnamon and nutmeg with an odd spice that adds a weird flavor. there’s a drying finish that fades fast.
Aroma is earthy/piney hops with a light citrus. Appearance is a spectacular gold with a thin foam top. Taste is very sweet malts with small hops present. The finish is very sweet vanilla and caramel with a small wheat like aftertaste. Overall, for a beer named hoppy holidaze, there sure isn’t a whole lot of hop. Mainly malty with other subtle tastes of wheat and citrus. I’d give this a D+ rating.
Well I bought this because it was 3.50, and for that price I was not disappointed. Pours like a pale ale. Aroma is not overtly spicy which I found surprising considering the list of ingredients. Flavor and aroma remind me of several of Alaskan breweries beers, most notably the summer kolsch and amber. Has that fruity hint common to both beers. The spice is slightly present in the flavor, but this drinks like a estery pale ale. Nice and easy to drink for the alcohol, but not your typical spicy winter beer.
Aroma of cinnamon,nutmeg, spices.... Cloudy orange in color... Flavor is citrusy malts with notes of spices, fairly light body.... Interesting beer, not my favorite, prefer the darker holiday beers...
Honey-colored pour with a nice eggshell head that left a bit of spotty lacing. Aroma and flavor consist of citrus, caramel malt, and typical holiday spices (vanilla, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon). Think those flavors typically lend themselves better to darker, richer beers. Just didn’t like how the citrus played with it. Not terrible but not a huge fan.
I didn’t care too much for this one. Hazy pale. Vanilla nose. Very weak and thin flavored. Little malt and hop flavor. Very weak hop nose, and no bitterness. With a name like hoppy I would expect more.
Sample at the brewpub. Slightly hazy copper color with a medium off-white head that diminishes steadily. Short strings of lacing. Aroma of malt and ginger. Light body with flavors of sweet ginger and nutmeg along with some malt. The finish is sweet with a malty aftertaste. Slightly above average holiday brew overall.
Bomber. Pale honey golden colored with lots of fluffy white head. The aroma is mostly cereal malt, lemon citrus and grassy hops. The taste is a blend of herbal hops, honey, cloves, orange spice and cinnamon. It has a dry fruitiness to it that reminds me of a Belgian Witbier. Overall pretty tasty but it doesn’t quite deliver enough hops flavors to justify its name.
650 ml bottle. Pours a translucent copper color with a small white head that soon fades to a fine film. The aroma is odd with cardboard, barley and stale spices. The taste is malty caramel and peanuts laced with lightly biter spices that do not seem to work together correctly. The palate is thin and unsatisfying with soft carbonation. The finish is medium in duration. Overall: I find this brew kinda strange, this one is not for me.
A: pours a nice rose colored amber. Nice, big bubbled, off-white head. Great rate of head retention and a nice amount of lacing to accompany it.
S: nice big earthy hop aroma, some flowery notes, with a hint of evergreens. Slight funky aroma, like a wild ale. Light sweetness from the malts in the nose.
T: very unusual ale. Good amount of flavors from the hops, mostly floral. I do pull a holiday flavor out of this, which is nice. I pull some strawberries, light notes of vanilla. Light flavors of orange peel as well.
M: wonderful holiday brew, light, crisp and refreshing. Higher carbonation level than expected. Medium bodied.
Before there was extreme beer -- this one seemed so. Nowadays it seems like a pleasing but lackluster-somehwat lighweight-holiday ale. Kudos to Marin for blazing a spiced & hoppy trail but, I think they should follow Anchor and others by switching up the recipe a little every year, up the malt a bit and this could be a beer to age. Marin used to come out with new offerings frequently but seems to be resting a bit--especially with the not-quite-so-Hoppy Holidaze. Nonetheless, delicious.
A: The pour into a pint glass is fantastic on this one. A clear amber color with a fluffy white head which leaves some great lacing.
S: The nose is rather disappointing, especially considering the name of the beer. A bit of muddled spice (perhaps some nutmeg and cinnamon), and a slight pepper aroma.
T: The flavors are more impressive, with the typical winter ale players. Nutmeg and cinnamon are again the main spices with a slight sweetness and maybe even some vanilla. The finish has an ever so slight bitterness to it.
M: The sip really fills your mouth and the carbonation gives the beer an almost creamy feel, very nice and pleasantly surprising.
D: Just about no alcohol presence and some nice flavors from a holiday ale. I was expecting a hoppier brew, given the name, but was not let down either way.
Nose of cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg notes, grainy malts with some underlying sweetness. Pale golden amber with not much of a head or lace to speak of. Sweet up front, grainy, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg - not over the top, but the spices and vanilla are definitely there. Underlying base beer is not too impressive and does not add much to the flavor profile. Softly carbonated, lingering moderately sweet/spicy finish.
22oz. Bottle. Light golden color with no head. Dry nose with some subtle spices, notes of bread and no discernible hop aroma which is odd given the beer’s moniker. Lots of cereal and bread flavors with a strong bitter streak following it up. Spices are somewhat medicinal with the mace being the most prominent. Medium bodied with mild carbonation. Finishes with a long mildly bitter and astringent kick. Unimpressive.
22 oz bottle. Clear amber pour, off-white head. Sweet bready malt, spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and light fruit. Its not great, but still a decent holiday brew.
Bottle from Bevmo. Golden orange with a fizzy off white head. Sweet malty, grainy aroma and taste with good complimentary spice, the cinnamon stands out nicely. Decent.
22 oz bottle. Orange amber with light head that disappeared quickly. Light spice nose, like iced tea. Ginger, peach, cinnamon, clove. Taste is not there. Not much hops, yeast, malt, or spices. Some light fruitiness and light spiciness, same as nose, but nothing very noteworthy or impressive. Bummer. Sounded way better than it was.
Bottle. Cloudy amber with large white head. Hop aroma with spice, different, very sweet. Sweet malt flavor with spice, very christmas. Creamy, medium body. Way too sweet.
Bottle shared by Dak. Hmmm. Pours a hazy warm orange gold and has a weird almost off-putting aroma that reminds me of pedio but it’s not, it’s a sharp strange and unripe aroma that makes me wince. Fizzy mouthfeel. I like the flavors only slightly better than the aromas, although it did grow on me as I drank it. Has some fruitiness. As it warmed I enjoyed it more, the flavors mellow and the soft malt comes out of its shell. The spices are overpowering and incongruous and the nutmeg (and mace) are distinctly in the way. Odd brew.
Bottle. Pours a cloudy apricot color with a small bubbly white head. Aroma has lots of ginger(odd), orange, yeast and light aroma of hops. Flavor has more of the ginger flavor, tart apples, spides, yeast and citrus. I don’t get this beer. The muted hops, odd spices, and level of malts just dont add up.
Not bad, but it’s missing something. Lighter in color than most holiday beers, a cloudy orangish. Citrusy west coast hops on the aroma with some spice. Subdued west coast hoppiness on the flavor, definitely not enough to include "hoppy" in the name. Slight holiday spices, again not enough. Some yeast and sweet pale/caramel malt. Medium-bodied. Not awful, but just like everyone always tells your girlfriend, "You can do better."
Poured from bottle a darker blonde with medium sized white head. Aromas of citrus and spice with a vegetale taint. Flavor is mildly sweet with vanilla, corriander and nutmeg most notable followed by malt without much bitter. Palate is slightly sweet and spicy, with a malty full mouthfeel and ends a bit powdery. Overall, not bad. The spices blend nicely but with hoppy in the name I was looking for a few of those. I would drink a few at the holidays but not more than that.
Pours with a small, off-white head and a hazed orange body. Head fades and leave a bit of lacing. Aroma of coriander, mace, orange, caramel, alcohol and a sort of mineral note. Taste is overly spices with candied oranges and an astringent wheat and yeast note. Fizzy and dry.
22oz bottle. pours hazed gold white head. nose of spice and coriander. flavor same, yeasty, gross.
This just didn’t work for me. Nice spicy aroma, but must say that the name "hoppy" does not apply here. It’s all sweetness and fruity spices. A bit cloying for my tastes.
Bottle from Valley Wine in Davis, CA. This brew was an odd mix of hops and holiday spice, which didn’t really go. It was a good beer, but no where near what I’m used to. Eh.
Cloud amber with medium white head. Sourish aroma with notes of sour milk. Sour flavour with lacto and yeasty notes. Sourish finish.
Bottle from a wine shop in Davis, CA. Maybe we got a bad bottle. Seemed a little flat and not much flavor. Maybe a little bit of the typical holiday spice, but lacked the hoppiness that is stated in the name. Average attempt.
Nose, flavor and taste is all nutmeg. For me, nutmeg just does not work in beer. Hoppy enough, but in every other department the nutmeg overpowers.
On tap toronado. Light golden color. Over the top on the spices, too much gingerbread/nutmeg for me to be enjoyable.