Boston Brewing Company's Samuel Adams Long Shot Old Ben Ale

The only reason I bought this was because of the Long Shot competition. I bet it started as a great beer. but will be greatly reduced after Sam Adams gets hold of it.

Pours a deep coppery amber with a nice small-celled tan head. Nice bready smell to it, with no alcohol, a surprise for a 9% beer.

There's the alcohol. It's the biggest part of the taste, followed by a sickly sweet fruit taste. Not citrus, more dank.

I bet this was alright at the home brew competition, but here it's odd. Too much going on to be an old ale, I think.

Independence Brewing Company's 2008 Jasperilla Old Ale

As a general rule, you shouldn't follow a big barleywine with a smaller beer, but an old ale is generally big enough to stand up for itself, and truth be told it's the five corn dogs with mustard that will affect the taste of this beer more than anything else.

This one pours a deep amber with a good light tan head that stays afloat with moderate carbonation. Smells like a light amber with a hint of Belgian yeast. Not too bad, but not as pronounced as many old ales. Just a hint of citrus--oranges nore than limes.

Huh. Pretty solid. Good malty bread taste backed up by a decent if indistinct bitterness. I know I call lots of beers 'bready' but it just seems to fit. Although this one isn't too sweet, it fits here too. All in all this is very balanced beer. Big feel, almost as strong as thick as a barleywine, with solid bitterness and malt. Nothing overrides anything else, except as the taste fades to a good bitterness in the aftertaste.

This brewery has surprised me. I've heard mixed reviews, but so far everything I've tried has been well worth it.

Saint Arnold Brewing Company's Christmas Ale

You know, I've always had this in a bottle. I'll be damned if it isn't a completely different beer in a glass.

Pours a coppery amber, a surprise to me because I always envisioned it as much lighter in color, although the brown bottle left no way of telling. Big, very light tan head that stays well and never completely goes away due to decent carbonation.

Initially, as it was throwing off that huge head, it was very vinous, and had a very strong acidic, tannic smell like a vineragy red wine. That faded to a great malty smell, slightly bready and slightly spicy. Very slightly though, which is a good thing because as I mention with other old ales or warmers, spices are easily overdone in beer.

In the past I always commented that this one tasted like a strong Coors. I've had it quite a bit, and it always seemed like that. This time, though, it's much closer to a winter warmer. But not overly spiced, like many of them are, and it relies on hops (even with only 35 IBU's), instead of the spices normally associated with warmers. So, it's right in line with the way an old ale should be. A non-descript bitterness lingers slightly in the aftertaste, but in general this one is more malty than bitter, slightly spicy.

Good beer. Not sure if I like it in a bottle or a glass more, but in a glass it's much truer to style.

Great Divide Brewing Company's Hibernation Ale

I was cleaning out the last of the winter seasonals today, and thank God all of that Shiner Cheer is gone, because I found this one sitting in the back. This is the second Old Ale I've posted about, although Lancaster's winter warmer is a bit better.

This slightly-bigger-than-your-average-winter-ale, without the spices that are associated with a warmer or many winter seasonals, pours a great ruby-ish amber with a strong light tan head that stays forever. Smells malty, bready, with a slightly nutty hint to it and a bit of alcohol common to winter seasonals.

A bit more hoppy than many winters, with no spices. Still very nutty though, more as it warms. Not quite as strong as Rogue's Hazelnut Brown, but it's pronounced. It's fairly dry as well, with a medium body that combined with the nutty taste makes this one feel and taste like a nut brown ale. Very good, but I prefer it colder to keep the nut taste down.

Lancaster Brewing's Winter Warmer

Well, it says it's a winter warmer, but its listed as an old ale, so it's probably a less spicy version of a warmer, which is OK with me because spices can be easily overdone.

Pours deep opaque reddish brown with a huge tan head and good carbonation.

Fantastic bready smell. It subsides when the head dies down some, but this is what a malty beer should smell like.

The malt is balanced by an indistinct bitterness that finishes with a slightly sharp alcohol taste that warms nicely. Great warmer, and despite the slight taste of the alcohol it actually hides its 8.9% ABV very well. The fact that the alcohol comes out is what makes it passable as a warmer, but it has a vinous almost bordeaux hint to it as well, like an old ale should.

Great beer. Only my second from Lancaster, and it has convinced me to keep coming back to them.