- Beer: Smistletoe
- Brewery: Smuttynose
- ABV: 9.4%
- Rating: 4 of 5
- Date: 1/24/15
Over the holidays, I did a beer swap with a buddy of mine. An Enjoy By from Stone for a pretty sweet ceramic bottle of Smuttynose’s new holiday beer Smistletoe, straight from their New Hampshire brewery. I had been sitting on this beer for a few months and decided that it was a great reward for a day of shoveling.
As I poured the beer into my glass, a few things stood out. The first was that the amber color almost looked wine-ish as it came out. Ver cloudy that turned rosey as it settled. The aroma was very fruity. The most assertive note was cherry. These two things mixed together were a welcome surprise from Smutty.
The first sip was very tart cherry. As it transitioned across my tongue, the maltiness balanced out the tartness. As the beer warmed, more flavors came out and it grew a bit sweeter. This sweetness can be attributed to the plumbs. The sweetness is balanced out by the oak. This is a beer that I will look forward to in the coming years.
