Beer of the Week: Great Lakes Christmas Ale

Beer score: 4.8

Company: Great Lakes Brewing Co.

ABV: 7.5
IBU: 30

I've never had a bad beer from the Great Lakes folks, though this one probably comes closest. However, it's not necessarily the fault of the brewer. This one is on me. I simply don't like late-in-the year holiday beers, whether for Halloween or Christmas or whatever. There's always too much nutmeg and ginger and cinnamon flavoring thrown in for my liking, and sometimes even pumpkin ... YUCK!

All that being the case, this Christmas ale is better than most. It pours a nice amber, almost-red color, and has plenty of little, foamy bubbles without going over the top.

The taste has all those flavors I mentioned above (ie. the flavors I don't like), but there are also hints of caramel and citrus here which help to calm the holiday flavoring down to a not-so-awful level.

If you love holiday brews, then this one should be for you. If you're like me and don't care for holiday brews ... meh, this one is still worth a try; even if you won't love it, it's better than most such beers.