Pike Auld Acquaintance
Pike Auld Acquaintance is a dark, toasty brown, high-gravity ale highlighted by aromatic notes of orange. Along with three different Yakima Valley hops, Curacao, sweet orange peel, coriander, cassia bark, and nutmeg, it drinks as a rich, gutsy, well-balanced and subtly spiced winter warmer.
Each year Pike Brewing Company honors one of our Auld Acquaintances with the label’s design. Rogue Ales’ Jack Joyce, the famed beer writer Michael Jackson, and Charlie Papazian have all adorned the label.
Each year Pike Brewing Company honors one of our Auld Acquaintances with the label’s design. Rogue Ales’ Jack Joyce, the famed beer writer Michael Jackson, and Charlie Papazian have all adorned the label.
3.3
162 reviews
Seattle, United States
Community reviews
Bomber pours a hazy dark orange color with a thick off white head that leaves good lacing. Smells of citrus, caramel and spices. Tastes of all the same things in the smell with a good hop presence. Mouthfeel is medium and creamy with good carbonation and a semi dry finish. Pretty good sessionable winter seasonal. Nice use of the orange Peel and spices and a good hop presence. Solid winter seasonal overall.
Not especially stunning in the glass, orange and hazy with a fairly small head and not a lot of lace.
Aroma and flavor have a good mix of spices, pumpkiny notes, hoppiness (mainly floral), and a very ample and tasty malt backbone. While many winter warmers tend to be too high on the ABV and/or spices, this one certainly isn’t. I rather enjoyed it, in fact.
Body was medium and carbonation was slightly on the low side but still within reasonable limits for the style. Actually, the one thing that stands out is that it’s a bit pumpkin-esque for a winter warmer, but hey, when in Rome....
Traded bottle of unknown origin or date. Pretty interesting aroma that reminds me of a hot, spiced fruit punch. Light flavor but I like that it stayed somewhat fruity but brought in the hops too. I do like that it is sessionable too. Good.
Bottle from season-end clearance rack.
Would probably be better appreciated by those who are fans of spices or holiday beers. Very noticeable cinnamon...Very noticeable. Too noticeable.
Unfiltered orange-tan. Nice head. Kinda odd buttery aroma. Drinkable, but faded, shows some age. Honey-orange aroma. Nice beer, Not even close to World Class, though presumably spoiled.
Beautiful aroma of nutmeg, cinnamon, dough and oats. Crimson in color with an orange tint. Pleasant flavors of gingerbread, nutmeg, coriander and dough. Lingering hops on the finish. Overall, I actually enjoy this. It’s got some very pleasing ginger and nutmeg overtones that work really well with the other flavors in the beer. I’d give this a B+ rating.
Bottle from Total Wine in Claymont. Pours fairly clear copper with a medium sized off white head that quickly dissipates. The aroma is fairly simple with a little cinnamon, a little nutmeg.. but not too interesting. The taste is cinnamon forward with a funky aftertaste.. not enjoyable.
Reddish orange in color... Aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, and winter spices... Flavor is pumpkin pie filling, without the pumpkin... Really finally a good representation of a nice winter beer... Well done... Definitely strictly a seasonal and probably more autumn than winter.. Nice
22 oz bottle with 5.5% ABV listed, served in a De Koninck snifter. Pours clear; iced tea color with a moderate size, sudsy tan head. Modest retention but decent lacing gets left on the glass. The aroma is.nice mix of ’winter spices’ and medium malt., but the spicing [especially nutmeg] seems a little bit excessive in the flavor. Some spiciness, however, is coming from the hops. Nonetheless, the hops, let alone the malts, are hard to detect over the spices. Medium body; with medium carbonation.
O: This winter ale is not alone in being over-spiced; still, this lends a clear ’holiday’ aspects to this ale.
22oz bottle from Total Wine in Spokane
Appearance: Pours cloudy copper/amber with a same off-white head and spotty lacing
Aroma: Mild nutmeg, cinnamon and caramel
Taste: Caramel, spices and bitter citrus (orange)
OK, mild and thin. Not bad just nothing stands out.
Light brown/rust color at pour. Large head with some lacing. Aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, hint of citrus. Flavor was very thin and watery, dominated by cinnamon. Bottle described orange peel and coriander in the recipe, but I barely tasted any of it. Thin flavor makes this a very middling example of this style.
Poured from big bottle. Aroma of butterscotch, cinnamon and citrus. Mahogany with thin head. I taste cinnamon and nutmeg with malt, banana, caramel and grapefruit hops. Could use a little more malt to balance out the spices. Mellows and blends a bit better as it warms. Not bad.
Serving: from bottle--purchased at Total Wine & More.
Aroma: lightly fruity.
Appearance: average-sized, frothy, light-brown, initial head with good lacing and fully diminishing longevity. Very hazy, orange/red body.
Taste: lightly bitter initial flavor and lightly bitter finish with moderate coriander and nutmeg aftertaste. Short duration.
Palate: light body, watery texture and soft carbonation.
Overall: interesting recipe. It was enjoyable to drink.
Cloudy orange no head. Too many spices. Weird taste. Not much going on. Glad I didn't buy
Clear bright amber pour with small ring of offwhite head. Nose of nutmeg and caramel. Flavor adds the cinnamon and coriander, but mainly the bitterness of the orange peel. Not really citrusy, but just bitterness. It’s honestly not that bad, but it aint that great either. Its like a pumpkin spice beer, but substitute bitter orange peel for the pumpkin!
Bottle from Total Wine, Sacramento. Pours reddish brown with a thick beige head and a fruit and spice aroma. There is a medium-bodied dark malt flavor with noticeable coriander and cinnamon. The flavor is a little unpleasant, yet it is drinkable.
22 oz. bottle- Pours rusty reddish with a one finger head that reduces to a blanket. Aroma is winter spices, hops, christmasy. The taste is the same, spices, almost like pumpkin, orange, nutmeg and bittering hops. Palate is the biggest flaw, it tastes watery, there is no substance, and the carbonation is very soft. Have had better, but still enjoyed it.
Bottle shared by Dogbrick. Clear amber pour with a medium tan head. Malty and orangy nose with some spice. Malty flavor with heavy cinnamon and light citrus accents before a clean finish.
Hazy copper pour with a medium foamy off-white head that diminishes steadily. Stringy lacing on the glass. Aroma of malt and spices. Light to medium body with flavors of caramel malt, sweet spice and mild grassy hops. The finish is floral and spicy. Decent overall.
Bottle. Pours a clear amber color with a very slight head on it. Nose is both spicy and with some citrus notes in there. Taste is much the same, though I’m not sure what to think about it...
650mL to pils glass
Toasted malt, apple, grain, lemon, light alcohol aromas. Clear amber with nice effervescence and a medium creamy diminishing off white head. Taste is an average duration with light acidity and moderate bitterness. Light bodied, thin and creamy with a little grit.
On tap at Pike Brewing Company. Pours a clear, copper-amber colored body with a finger-width, creamy, beige head that dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing. Aroma is lightly sweetened caramel and biscuit with a light toast and a nice, soft spicing. Cinnamon and a light nutmeg stick out the most with a bit of an orange peel note, spruce, and a few floral citrus hops. Flavor is similar. Lightly sweetened caramel and biscuit malts with a touch of toast and a soft spicing that comes out towards the end. Cinnamon, spruce, orange peel, and a light nutmeg as this finishes lightly spiced, somewhat toasted, and has a light floral hop bitterness. Lengthy aftertaste following a medium body and a soft, moderate carbonation. Overall, a pretty solid beer. Very smooth, soft, and well balanced with a light spicing. I really enjoyed this one.
Tap at Pike Pub & Brewery, Seattle - 09/11/12.
Clear dark amber with a thin off white head that retains well.
Nose compriese malt, spice, dark fruits, toffee.
Tastes cinnamon forward, butterscotch, caramel, malty.
Medium bodied, fine carbonation, smooth on the palate.
package from Pike, thanks gents .. . pours an orange amber .. . mild foam .. . light spice, mild orange, and caramel .. . nice pleasing mouthfeel .. . enjoyable beer, reminds me of when i first started drinking xmas/spiced beers .. . . sorry lady, shows over!
Sample at the brewpub. Pours golden brown. Aroma has multiple spices. Taste is of cinnamon, ginger and other spices. A bit thin but a bit Christmas-y.
Bright orange hued copped body with moderate carbonation and a tall frothy head. Caramel malt backbone; light toffee sweetness. Strong nutmeg and coriander notes. Some grapefruit and orange peel. Floral hops with some pine and pepper.
Pours a clear bronze with film about 4 bubbles thick. Aroma is led by the spices - cinnamon first, then nutmeg, then orange. It’s like a beer version of a herbal tea I just had. Taste is similar - like liquid spice cake. Sweet, and...cake-y, somehow. But it doesn’t get to aggressive with the cinnamon, which some of these fall victim to. Clean finish. Quite pleasant and drinkable actually. Definitely not for serving cold.
650ml bottle pours a deep golden orange color with a finger of white head that settles down to reveal little lacing on the glass. Aroma is orange zest with caramel and winter spices (cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg) and hints of yeast. Taste is caramel malty sweet with the spices and a mild hoppy bitterness. A nicely done winter ale that deserves a tasting and is recommended to try when it is available.
Standard ’winter warmer’ style beer. Aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg and orange, in that order. Deep orange, looks like a marzen beer. Flavor is overrun with cinnamon and nutmeg. I like spiced beers, but this one is too much. A coffee roll has a greater grain to spice ratio than this beer. Reminds me of Harpoon’s Winter Warmer, which is similarly over the top.
Perfect hazy deep copper and bronze body with a lot of a muddy ruby tint to it and an almost brown glaze with a thinnish, one centimetre tall tan head - great looking though! Aroma of squash, nutmeg, caramel, toffee, raisins, figs, peat and a bit more pumpkin. Full-bodied; Dense, luscious malty flavour with a ton of caramel and other sugars, some light spices like nutmeg and canella and a touch of squash on the finish. Aftertaste is fairly bitter from nuts and malt, but slightly sweet and showing some figs, but there is also a light metallic note. Overall, a fairly nice, albeit not perfect beer for anytime from Thanksgiving to Spring, enjoyed on this final day of ’winter’ (almost 70degrees F outside) at home in Washington on 20-March-2011, purchased as a 65 cL bottle at Total Wine in Alexandria, Virginia on 09-November-2011 for US$5.99.