Abita Christmas Ale

With the Christmas holiday, attentions turn to holiday ales.  I've already reviewed a couple of holiday ales, such as the Delirium Noel and Great Lakes Brewing Company's Christmas Ale.  These two Christmas Ales roughly represent the two poles of Christmas Ales.  On the one hand, the Delirium is a very good Belgian ale, but it does not have many of the Christmas aromas or tastes that one would expect from a holiday ale.  On the other hand, the Great Lakes Christmas Ale has a more pronounced ginger and cinnamon flavors.

And, in between these two poles, there is the Abita Christmas Ale.  Abita makes some great beers, like the Save Our Shores and Restoration Ale.  It's Christmas Ale is also a very good beer, which changes from year to year.   For 2010, Abita brews its Christmas Ale in the style of an American Brown Ale.  The brewery also gives a good hop kick to the Christmas Ale though the use of Willamette, Cascade and Columbus hops. 

The beer pours a reddish brown color and the aroma does reveal some of the hops used in the brewing process. The beer does have some of the flavors that you would expect from a Christmas ale; however, those flavors are a little subdued when compared to other ales of this style. The one taste that does come through is cinnamon, which seems to be the dominant "holiday" flavor in this beer.  This beer is a good example of the Christmas Ale style.

Like all Christmas ales, Abita's Christmas Ale is available only for a limited time in November and December.  During that time, it is available at beer and wine stores.  So, if you are interested, you may have to wait until the next holiday season.

ENJOY!