Christmas Ale - Breckenridge Brewery Review

If you want to find an effective winter warmer, you have to look toward breweries that know what needs to be warmed. Tucked into Colorado’s Rocky Mountains is a town called Breckenridge. If you haven’t been—go. But if you can’t make it, grab a six-pack of Breckenridge Brewery’s seasonal ale and join us for the warm up.

Breckenridge Brewery’s Christmas Ale is the winter warmer necessary for the cold days leading up to Christmas. Breck says this seasonal ale is packed with roasted malt to offer flavors of caramel and chocolate, and balanced out with Chinook and Mt. Hood hops. All that gives us an ale with 7.1% ABV and 22 IBU.

This sounds like our kind of winter brew, so let’s see how it stacks up in our…

First Impressions:

• On the Eyes--Deep amber and clear with little head formation.

• On the Nose--The Chinook, spicy and floral, powers through with sweet caramel and a dusting of chocolate. It is slightly woody, but mostly floral and crisp.

• On the Palate--Just like in the aroma, I get the smooth, sweet caramel followed by a sprinkle of dark chocolate. The Chinook and Mt. Hood hops offer a spicy and floral hop flavor and a moderate bitterness. Christmas Ale is full-bodied with a crisp and smooth mouthfeel. The ABV is high, but not noticeable in the flavor. This seasonal beer is malt forward, but quite balanced with the distinctive aroma and flavor of the Chinook hops.

Food Pairings: Breckenridge Brewery suggests pairing their Christmas Ale with friends and family, roast beef, lamb, or game. I think we’ll try ours with a Shepherd's Pie.

Final Thoughts:

We love a good Christmas Ale. The dark, sweet malts, the caramel and chocolate flavors. Whew! There really is nothing like it, especially when paired with cold weather and rich holiday foods. Breckenridge Brewery’s Christmas Ale fits into the category of strong, malty, and fun to drink. The hops are present, but not overly bitter, giving the sweet malt a spicy and floral board to bounce off of. The mouthfeel is nice, the beer sippable, and one thing special about this beer is the caramel malt flavor. In many other beers like this, the caramel can get lost behind a wall of dark chocolate and bitter hops, but with this beer caramel is one of the more prominent flavors with the chocolate subdued and the hop bitterness staying low at 22 IBU.

Sippable but easy to drink, Christmas Ale is perfect for the cooler weather and worth taking to that holiday party. Breck Brew has impressed us again.

Cheers!

Mr. Brew