Left Hand Polestar Pilsner

I tried a bottle of Left Hand Polestar Pilsner. The beer pours a yellow color with no head. The aroma is lightly hoppy and smells mostly of wheat. The taste is light with a slight lemon taste and also lightly hoppy, with the hops tasting somewhat like grass. It finishes pretty smooth with no aftertaste, but there is not a lot of taste with the beer to begin with. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. I'd only say the beer was okay, but not excellent. I'd say this beer would be better in the summer months or at a tailgate when a lighter drinking beer is required but you want to drink something better than Miller Lite.

St. Bernadus Christmas Ale

A night before the blizzard in Philadelphia, I ordered a bottle of St. Bernadus Christmas Ale to warm myself up. The beer pours a reddish brown color with a light head. The smell is sweet and full of caramel accents and dark fruits. The taste is sweet with caramel and a nice spice accent. The spice consists of nutmeg and cinnamon and is rounded out with vanilla. The alcohol kicks in late. The alcohol content 10% ABV. There wasn't as much spice as I expected, but it was very good. The alcohol content wasn't too overpowering and the beer was very drinkable.

Ithaca Excelsior Eleven

I picked up a bottle of Ithaca Excelsior Eleven at D's Six Pax and Dogz in Pittsburgh. The beer has a brown amber color with a tan creamy head. The aroma is full of chocolate and roasted malts with a big focus on coffee smells. The taste is deep and rich consisting of a bitter dark chocolate flavor. There are sweet and creamy accents on the roasted coffee flavor and underneath is a great base of roasted malts. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. I thought that this was an amazing beer with excellent balance of coffee, chocolate, roasted malts, and cream. If you are a fan of coffee, you will thoroughly enjoy this beer.

Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer

I picked up a bottle of Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer at D's Six Pax and Dogz in Pittsburgh. The beer has a deep brown color with a light tan head. I was surprised to notice some yeast flakes floating around in the beer. It smells strongly of dark chocolate and the aroma can only be described as an amazing smell. The taste is full of dark chocolate flavor with hints of roasted malts. The alcohol content is 5.7% ABV. I thought that the beer might be a little sweet and maybe a little too carbonated, but overall I did enjoy it. I wouldn't buy a case of it, but I would buy another bottle.

Great Lakes Christmas Ale

For my birthday, I was provided with a six pack of Great Lakes Christmas Ale. The beer is an amber color with a light foamy head. The aroma is full of spices including cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. The taste has a base of tasted malts and is mostly comprised of cinnamon with hints of nutmeg and a light honey sweet undertone. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. I think what surprised me most was the honey accent which made the beer just sweet enough. This beer had an excellent balance and did not overdo the spices.

Sly Fox Christmas Ale

McGrath's recently added Sly Fox Christmas Ale to their draft lineup and I ordered a glass. The beer is a dark amber color with a light foamy head. The smell is malty with cinnamon and nutmeg liners. The taste is mostly cinnamon with slight spice hints, comprising of nutmeg and allspice. Underneath hints of cherry and chocolate peek through the spices. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. Sly Fox has provided a Christmas beer that was not overdone and overall very good. The many flavors made for a very enjoyable experience and they are nicely balanced with each other.

Corsendonk Christmas Ale

I ordered a glass of Brouwerij Corsendonk Christmas Ale at Fat Head's in Pittsburgh. The beer has a dark amber color with a creamy head. The smell is sweet and spicy. The taste is full cinnamon with nice spice accents and surprisingly it has an orange finish. There are light nutmeg accent underneath of it all. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. This definitely ranks up there with the better Christmas beers that I have had. None of the flavors or elements were overdone or overpowering, and each complimented the other nicely. I highly recommend you try this one before it is gone for the season.