Busy coppery garnet medium body could pass as nut brown ale as dry Brazil nut-walnut component rises above cocoa buttered raspberry puree sweetness. Roasted cola beans, sugar plum, and earthen tobacco fill out hop-spiced pine-tipped nutmeg-cinnamon bog.

Venerable spongy tan-headed butterscotch-hued Imperial Red Ale celebrates winter solstice with lusciously fruity full-bodied seasonal that remains abundantly well rounded and remarkably consistent. Generous floral-tinged tangerine-orange sweetness caresses tropical pineapple-mango tang and candied apple glaze as countered grapefruit bittering increases. Moreover, creamy maple-sapped caramel-vanilla malting compensates resinous piney wood tones.

Cascading brown bubbles surface atop burgundy hue of novel seasonal not reliant on typical nutmeg-cinnamon dash. Advertised honey influence secondary to toasted pale malt exhortation and dry mocha-maple splurge. Woody spruce-pine bottom picks up prickly citric hop souring. Brewery defunct: 2007.

Thickly chewy caramel malting allows radiant red-fruited punctuality to shine through 8% alcohol heft and floral-hopped bitterness. Though lacking distinct seasonal nutmeg spicing, appealingly overripe apple-grape cameo and toasted barley base broaden depth.

Full-bodied amber-hued winter ale lacks typical holiday seasoning identified with its ilk. Hop-embittered caramel malts reminiscent of richer Fuller’s E.S.B. Unfortunately, dirty grain pungency doesn’t kick in until inconsequential bitter finish subsides.

Ripened raisin prominence and pertinent stewed prune sequel saturate sugary candied malts for heady alcoholic holiday ‘biere de garde’ feast. Richer, creamier than ruby-amber hue suggests, settling into somber cognac appeal.

Sweet-flowered winter ale made in traditional Scottish fashion. Yeasty auburn seasonal layers sharp carbonation above soft mocha creaminess up-front. Maple-sapped barley-roasted caramel malting contrasts holiday spicing while slightest bitterness creeps through prune finish. Sans spice, this would appeal to brown ale fans.

Intriguing rust-clouded beige-headed barleywine-styled winter brew (a.k.a Biere  De Noel) enhanced by peculiar spiced nuttiness and well-hopped dried fruiting. Heavy caramel malting provides firm foundation for smoothed-out whiskey finish.

Originally brewed as a ‘black lager,’ this tends to be dryer, cleaner, and crisper than its antecedent while retaining damp tobacco leaf sweetness and hints of rye, rum, or caffeine. Increasing malt sweetness thickens medium-to-full-bodied finish.