Expansive flavor profile heightens wintry-spiced Belgian strong dark ale. Brown-sugared cinnamon-coriander-allspice conflux and sharp mace-peppered nutmeg grounding envelop toffee-candied Belgian chocolate sweetness. Subtle plum, fig, banana, cherry and apricot nuances receive tangy orange peel rasp, altering the heather-tipped fungi yeast pungency. Herbal licorice root tease and tannic port wine snip provide sub-illusions.

On tap at Taphouse Grille, gritty winter warmer departs from expectant sweet Christmas spicing for muddled IPA fruited sharpness. Bitterest orange-peeled grapefruit juicing and pine-sapped juniper hop resin contrast less prominent mango-papaya-nectarine-peach-tangerine tang to light honey-malted white breaded spine. Slight ethanol burn disturbs herbal snip. 

Invigorating winter warmer emulates Swedish glogg by bridging autumnal brown-sugared pumpkin pie likeness to sweet Christmastime spicing and muted mull-spiced wining. Fig-sugared stewed prune, golden raisin, bruised cherry and mandarin orange peel fruiting picks up wintry gingerbread, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom and clove seasoning. Pecan, butterscotch, vanilla and sugar cookie illusions penetrate the fruitcake finish.  

As with previous ‘Cruiser’ version, bland 2012 edition lacks specificity. Wintry brown-sugared mulling spices get musty and phenol hop bittering dissolves alongside dreary caramel malting. Murky orange, cherry and apple nuances never suffice.

Ornate Danish-styled Christmas Ale offers fig-sugared raisin sweetness to molasses-sapped caramelized rye malting and mildly coarsened earthy hop astringency. Ginger-spiced clove, cinnamon and nutmeg seasoning provide mild wintry warmth alongside subdued bourbon-burgundy wining. But fruit-caked cherry, prune and plum illusions need deeper penetration.

Enticingly sour-fruited copper-burnished winter warmer brewed with ‘bitter orange pill’ retains Blackstrap molasses bittering over dank cellar-wafted musk. Orange-rotted dehydrated fig entry picks up vinous cider, dried apricot, sour white grape and green raisin murk as earthen black-peppered hops surge past contrasting candi-sugared sweetness. Heightened 9.5% alcohol volume hidden beneath musty fruit esters. A well-integrated seasonal never undone by lack of expectant wintry spicing. 

Likeable brown-bodied Christmas ale celebrates Anchor’s 37^th anniversary. Wintry cinnamon-nutmeg spicing drapes cherry cola sweetness, fruit-caked fig sugaring and toasted almond tinge to dry mocha finish. Minor bristlecone pining embitters the durable backend.