Red Rock Griswald's Holiday Ale

One of my favorite ways to taste a beer is when I know as little about it as possible. This keeps me from being biased, and allows me to make an honest judgement. If I had the option, I would drink most beer after it has been poured into the glass, without seeing the bottle until I was ready. If I know which beer I'm drinking, I've already started making judgments about the style and brewery. Before I've even opened the bottle, I've got an idea of what it will taste and smell like. I know that I'm looking for different hop characters (piney, floral, resinous, herbal, spicy) in an IPA, or dark malty notes (chocolate, coffee, roasty, toasty, burnt) in a Russian imperial stout. It's wonderful knowing what you're getting into, but I'd love to have that sense of mystery I felt before I had my first Belgian sour. 

Nostalgia aside, I'm happy and grateful to know what I know through reading, conversing, and experience. One of the pleasures of working at a brewery is being able to frequently sample the goods. (It's almost all of the pleasure, really!) I've had the chance to become very familiar with most of our brews, and have decided to pay homage to one we recently tucked away until the next holiday season. My Christmas tree is still up, so what the hey! Let's get festive!

Red Rock Griswald’s Holiday Ale

BG Poured from a 1 pt 0.9 fl oz (500ml) bottle into a Red Rock branded stemmed tulip, 8.5% ABV, Strangely there is no bottling date. I know there were two batches (one bottled late October, one bottled early December), and believe this is from the second batch. 

A Gold in color and very clear. One finger of white, quickly disappearing foam rests on top, settling into a rainbowy film. 

A Sweet gingerbread, cinnamon, brown sugar, clove, the lightest touch of floral hops

T Loads of gingerbread and cinnamon dusted Irish potato candy, not nearly as sweet as expected, malty biscotti rides the middle of the palate, and it finishes dry with gentle orange peel

M Light bodied, medium carbonation 

A Orange peel with a little bit of astringency from the pith, an old fashioned cocktail

C Yes, it's that Griswold, but spelled with an "a" to avoid copyright infringement! ;) I’ve had this several times since early November, and can say for certain that the different spices have taken turns as the dominant flavor over time. I remember the orange peel taking the spotlight a few weeks ago, but now it seems ginger is taking center stage. Either way, it’s quite tasty and very Christmas-oriented. My favorite thing about this holiday ale is that the sugar presence isn’t overwhelmingly nauseating. Instead, there’s an appropriate amount of balanced sweetness. This ale lets the spices do the talking, not the sucrose.

FP Fresh baked apple pie with a caramel drizzle and coffee ice cream. Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich with (turkey, stuffing, gravy, bacon, cranberry relish). Buttery, salty movie theatre popcorn.

If anyone wants to catch this brew before it's gone until next October, some of the liquor stores in Utah still have some (The Red Rock Beer Store is out!). Just go to the UDABC website, and use the "Locate A Product" feature to find out where and how many.