Stoudt's Holiday Reserve
765 ml bottle; simply capped, no cork or cage. "Winter 2001-2002". This is a rye beer but I think the style changes from year to year. It pours a hazy russet body topped by a frothy off-white head that drops but keeps a very creamy collar and whispy surface covering. It leaves some nice lace as well. The aroma is mainly of sweet caramel malt but there's also a very light chocolatiness, even lighter fruitiness and some subtle earthiness. Very nice, but not real pronounced. The body is medium with a very fine carbonation from bottle conditioning that leaves it quite creamy in the mouth. Exceptional. The smoothness accentuates the lightly sweet & rich maltiness of the beer. The rye is mild but lends a very light spiciness (and a lingering mild "zing" on the tip of the tongue), although it's not readily apparent until the caramel and lightly chocolatey maltiness has passed; and helps to usher in a dry finish as the hops are limited. And still, some light hop flavor does come out in the lingering aftertaste. Really an astounding beer that I think is perfect for the holiday season as it has alot of character, but is lightly sweet and readily accessible to many tasters. Quite unique. I had this at the brewery last year when it was released and I don't think that it's improved with age, although it hasn't deteriorated either. If you're holding onto a bottle I'd enjoy it sooner than later.