Sly Fox Christmas Ale
A malty, full-bodied red ale made with traditional mulling spices: Ginger, Clove, All Spice, Cinammon & Nutmeg. If this one doesn't get you into the Christmas spirit, you truly are a Scrooge. Released each year on Thanksgiving Eve.
3.3
249 reviews
Pottstown and Phoenixville, United States
Community reviews
2014 edition
Aroma cinnamon, clove, bread,
Appearance amber, orange, hazy, cloudy, frothy, tan foam,
Taste medium sweetness,
Palate medium body, fizzy,
Overall I would love to try this beer fresh because I feel like all the spices have faded and it has turned into a more malt forward beer. Still I would suggest this beer to a friend.
2014 version, can. Deep red copper, nice dark tan head that disappears quickly. Gingerbread noise, sweet undertone. Orange? Gingerbread, cinnamon, cloves. Slight bitterness on the back end. Light/moderate carbonation. Decent, perhaps heavy on the spices.
12oz can. Filtered amber-orange body. Foamy off-white/beige head. Big spiced aroma. The spices dominate. The base beer is sort of bland, doesn’t really hold up to the spice. I’d say the ginger and cinnamon have the biggest roles, but they are all there. Forgettable, boring offering.
Pours amber-copper with a thin off white head with some lacing. Aroma is of winter spices, sweet malts, caramel, light pine, and some dark fruits. Taste is pretty similar to the aroma. Has a medium body with a creamy mouthfeel a pretty sweet, medium finish. Overall, a very festive, but only decently tasty holiday ale that might be just a tad too spiced and sweet.
Ruby red christmas appearing beer. Pours nicely from the can. To thin on the body and heavy on spices. Dry finish. Ok but just doesn’t all fit together great for me.
Retried almost a year later. Improving score 2.9 --> 3.1. Tastes like x-mas. Some winter warmers very similar to pumpking.
Can pour..crimson brown color..nose is a combo of a gingerbread house..spiced wafer cookie and nutmeg, taste is the same, didnt care for this very much, like the to/from label space on the can
Bottle. Pours caramel brown with a two finger head. Aroma of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Flavor of cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, cloves and ginger.
Draft U Pick 6 Tap Room
APPEARANCE - carmel color, very nice lacey white head with real staying power.
NOSE - good spice notes.
FLAVOR - good Christmas ale, nothing about it sets this beer apart.
NOTES - like many Christmas ales have tasted to Bnokk, this one seems like it is trying to replicate GLBC Xmas ale.
Can into tulip. Was not expecting much, but this is a holiday spice bomb - probably what a lot of people are expecting when they buy an Xmas ale but usually all they get is an odd tasting ale. If you really hate the idea of a spiced holiday beer, do not get this beer. but if you’re ok with it, then there you are. I should add that I had one and that’s all I plan to have. Not sure if I’d really want to have a large supply, but 12 oz a year is not bad.
Transfer from BA review on 12-13-12-
Served on tap in a 10 oz chalice glass
Appearance – The beer is served a reddish brown color with a two finger off white head. The head has a good level of retention, eventually fading to leave a spotty amount of lacing.
Smell- The aroma is sweet and of Christmas cookies. It has smells of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Mixed with these are some lighter notes of vanilla and a moderately strong sugary smell.
Taste – The taste starts out with a somewhat bready and doughy sweet taste. There is a strong brown sugar and caramel presence up front that are mixed with some flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg. These flavors are soon joined by more spice flavors of ginger and clove with the sweetness seeming to increase ever so slightly. In the end a pastry like spiced cookie flavor are left to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is slightly light in creaminess and chewiness with the carbonation level being just a bit above average. Something a bit more chewy may have been appropriate for the taste profile, but overall it wasn’t too bad.
Overall- A good easy drinking brew with a nice flavor. It is worth a try if you have the chance to give it a go.
This one certainly does not get me in the Christmas spirit, but I certainly am a scrooge. Lots of ginger and clove. Pours cloudy amber with ok head and lacing. Finishes way too sweet. Tap at Black Squirrel.
2013 can (not the first) - rating this in relation to other holiday "spiced" beers: aroma and flavor blow away most other spiced beers - cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, molasses - this beer is for those that like spices and I happen to love them - avoid this is you don’t. flavor is the same - dominating cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove along with some toasty malt and a touch of hops - such excellent interplay - so toasty, so spicy - really like a good brown ale with a spice blast.
palate is a bit bitter from the pure spice saturation, but doesn’t take away from the enjoyment - malt saves it - in my opinion - this is the ultimate spiced beer - so many advertise ingredients you cannot taste - with this, not only can you taste all the ingredients, but its balanced and only around 5% abv - hope they do this every year! Merry Christmas to you!
**I think the 2014 release is a bit more grainy-possibly missing some full toasty dimension-still really good though-almost towards a session spice beer-cool vintage style can
Dark amber with rimming beige head; aroma is slightly spicy nutmeg; Flava is richly spicy cinnamon& nutmeg and malty sweet with notes of brown sugar; feels medium light but richly foamy; finishes tangy roasty malty dryish
Can from unknown place. Pours brown with a thin head. Has some small lacing in the glass. Lots of ginger and nutmeg on the nose. Big nutmeg and spices on the tongue as well. Has a bit of linger on the finish which seems appropriate for this type of beer.
[Can / 2013] Thanks, Chris! Muddled, sunburnt sienna & rusty orange with a lazy, swampy beige layer of film on top. Aroma has characteristic pumpkin pie spices, the most notable being cinnamon & ginger with more faint notes of tart apple & toasty pie crust. Taste is spiced but also sweet with lots more of that sugary pie-crust flavor showing up right away. Notes of toasted sugar cookie, cinnamon, ginger, & finishing clove with a light metallic sharpness leading to a dry finish. Wasn’t expecting much from this one, but it’s not a bad pumpkin/holiday beer at all!
Split a 750ml with some co-workers. This one poured with a pretty large, pillowy, fluffy white head. Once that settled, the body was visibly a clear copper color. Aroma was a pretty big spice bomb, lots of ginger, clove and allspice especially. Some nutmeg in there. Light malts make up most of the body but the spice overpowers. Perhaps a bit heavy on the spices but otherwise pretty good.
Can at the pre Bamberg tune up in the Sham, from Wegmans Downington, 23/01/14.
Lightly hazed orange amber with a moderate off white covering.
Nose is bitter orange, spice, ginger, fruit cake, cinabonn rolls.
Taste comprises Mc Vities Jamaica Ginger Cake, bitter orange, nutmeg, fruit cake mix, spices, carroway seed.
Medium bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying finish.
So so.
23rd January 2014
Pre Bamberg bash tasting at Colin’s house with Mr Bois and James. Thanks Colin. Hazy amber beer, small pale cream coloured head. Light crispy palate, mild minerals. Smooth dry malt, sweetish caramel. Mild cinnamon led spices. Light dry finish. Fine.
Lovely mahogany scotch-colored ale with a ring of head. Nice Christmas spice nose. Gentle cinnamon stick and touches of powdered ginger. Spiced cola body with moderate cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg flavors. Medium-bodied, and on the dry side. Not bad at all.
Pours red-brown with lite tan head. Aroma of cloves, allspice and hint of cinnamon. Medium bodied with subtle spice notes and a hint of hop flavors. Nice malty middle. Lingering hop and cinnamon finish.
Draft at Beer Run, 12/5/13. Pours a clear dark red color with a thin creamy tan head. Good head retention. Aroma of strong spices, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and caramel malts. The taste is toasted caramel malts, citrus, mulling spices. Medium bodied, slight lingering spice.
750mL corked & caged bottle from 2013. Date on the side: 01/15/16. Mine says 6.5% ABV. Gusher! A clear dark ruby pour with a massive khaki head. Cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, a touch of ginger, and a big bready maltiness feature prominently in the wintry aroma. Plums and vanilla become apparent with a little warmth. Relatively thin to medium-bodied on the way down. Caramel and a toasted breadiness start things off taste-wise. A biscuity middle. Kinda grassy at the end. A little grainy. Lots of the aforementioned spices and just a touch of warming alcohol present from beginning to end. Some of the flavors are there, but this isn’t nearly as big as it needs to be for the style.
Very attractive amber mahogany color with brownish head. Plenty of lace and good accumulation. Cinnamon and nutmeg and other spice. Plentiful. Enjoyable Christmas ale. Wish this was a little stronger ABV
Not my cup of tea so far. Poured from 12oz can, reddish with ample foam. Huge spice notes from this one, with the clovish scent carrying the ginger...it smells nice. The taste is again not my thing, but it’s still quality. UPDATE: So, I aged a 2013 one. And honestly, it helped a lot. It’s still strong with the clove, and it may have gotten more bitter...but that’s ok. I think the drinkability is way up. It smells now and drinks like a quad...but without the quad middle? The cherry part. But again, it’s better, and I’m ticking it up.
Pours a reddish brown with a medium beige head. Bitter and sharp, with a weird medicinal taste. Some cinnamon and fruit notes. Not good.
Can. Deep amber/ brown pour with a caramel colored head. Typical spices for holiday beers: cinnamon, nutmeg, clove. Very pungent. The flavor is much of same with dashes of caramel bd fruit. Hard to drink with tons of spice clouding this one. Think of a holiday candle but drinking it...meh
Poured as part of the local shop’s weekly beer tasting, so this is based on a 1 oz sample. There’s a lot of clove on the nose and the palate. You can also smell cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. It’s fairly well-balanced except for the clove which at least in this taste was slightly overbearing the other flavors and aromas.
Poured from can. Aroma of cinnamon, graham cracker, spices, ginger. Mahogany color with light tan head. Spices galore - nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, pepper. Malt and vanilla as well. Spices are a bit heavy at first but grow on you. Interesting and unique.
Ar: Mulling spices, apple cider, sweet cloves.
Ap: Deep amber, clear - medium-large light tan head with good retention, leaving a solid cap of foam.
T: Sweet caramel and cinnamon up front - nutmeg and dep toasted malt - rich, with a slight roast edge - medium-low bitterness, with some spice contribution - hint of orange, and some clove on the finish.
P: Medium body with medium-high carbonation - full and satisfying, without being thick - finish is medium-dry.
O: Delicious winter spiced ale - spices are robust, but well balanced with one another and with the very tasty malt flavors.
Draft. Hazy amber color. Aroma of soced caramel. Taste is mostly spice. Pretty spicy stuff.