Day 19: of the 3rd Annual Advent-ure Calendar
Day 19: Southern Tier Brewing Co. 2XMAS Spiced Double Ale
It’s not surprising that we have two beers from Southern Tier on the list this year, it seems like they always have so many different ones out! From the website: 2XMAS ale combines traditional brewing ingredients with figs, orange peels, cardamom, cinnamon, clove and ginger root. It’s a holiday addition to the 2X line and another reason to toast to the season, but unlike Glögg, we recommend serving this one chilled.”
REFLECTIONS
Beard & Broad
Beard: I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this! Like I’ve said in the past, I think Southern Tier generally overdoes it with sweet and spiced adjuncts in their beers, but this strikes a really nice balance. The aroma is definitely spice heavy, I get a nice jolt of cinnamon and ginger up front, but just when I thought those flavors were going to overpower the whole thing it finishes with a nice citrus zest and hop bitterness. I think we’ve had this before, but I don’t recall liking it this much. Well done holiday beer!
Broad: I’m still sick but I really wanted to try this one. I’m a huge fan. I can describe it in one word: Christmasy. It smells and tastes like Christmas, in a way. It’s full of ginger, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. I can even taste a hint of citrus which I love in Christmas ales. I would like to try this when I’m back to 100%. I will definitely add it to my rotation next year.
Adam & Alex
Adam: This beer is stupendous. It smells like ginger and tastes like oranges and the best fig newton ever. I was very sad when it ended. I would happily drink this all night long until I was happily holiday drunk.
Alex: This was delicious, and definitely falls into the holiday beer category. I can taste cinnamon and ginger, but it’s not overwhelming. There is also a hint of citrus. I would definitely drink this again.
Scott & Christa
Scott: The 2Xmas ale from Southern Tier is a winner. If anyone says something negative about this beer they’re lying to you and that’s unforgivable. In all seriousness, this is a Christmas beer with loads of spices that I find well balanced and quite delicious. It’s a strong beer at 8% so it’s not for the lightweights out there (aka my wife), but I’m happy to add this to my Christmas beer rotation.
Christa: This beer boasts a powerhouse of spices; highlights include: orange peels, fig paste, and holiday favorite, cinnamon. I was honestly expecting more from this one. It’s a blend of spices and two varieties of hops so I was expecting a kick in the face of flavor. It’s not that. It’s a love tap. It’s mostly a hoppy, cinnamon warmer. Good but not great. It feels like this beer is trying to go into many directions at once and would have been more successful had it gone with less spice.
Tony & Megan
Tony: Ok so theres a lot going on with this one. Lots of spices, lots of flavors, and its interesting but also a bit all over the place. The can says theres orange peels, ginger root, cadamon, cinnamon, fig paste, and cloves. Again, a LOT going on. I get some of the orange, some cinnamon, and maybe cloves. It’s definitely “Christmasy” with all the spices but just a little too much goin on for me.
Megan: You can really smell the orange and spices with this. You get that crispness but it’s not too light. It’s interesting that this beer also features hints of fig paste. I don’t know if I taste fig coming through but this is an interesting one. It’s on the spicy side but has a good balance. I dare say, I like it.