Special beers created to commemorate the Christmas season are a long tradition of the monastic brewery. Brewed to a higher abv with special ingredients, often spices, the holiday ale was the highlight of brewing year. Spencer Abbey brews their Trappist Holiday Ale in that tradition. Their standard ale, Spencer Trappist Ale, is an easy drinking 6% blond "single" style ale. Spencer brewed this beer to a higher abv and adds darker specialty malts to lift this beer in to the quad or strong Belgian dark realm. The addition of traditional holiday spices creates the impression of winter festiveness in a glass.
Appearance: Tawny brown, light tan head, good retention.
Aroma: Spicy, cardamon, orange, nutmeg, cinnamon, delicate chocolate notes, dried fruit, candied fruit.
Taste: Bit of alcohol, toffee, spice, cardamon, cinnamon, chocolate hints, candied fruit, dried fruit
Overall Impression: Spencer Trappist Holiday is very spice driven, focusing holiday flavors. The best comparison is to a nice holiday fruit cake with all the dried fruit, spicy, malty, candied notes with just a hint of alcohol to let you know there's some booziness involved. This is another creative yet traditional beer from the monks of Spencer Abbey.
Availability: In states where Spencer is distributed and limited countries in Europe.
9%
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