Santa's Private Reserve Ale
22oz bottle into Leffe wine-style glass. Pours with a short tan head over a fairly clear, but deep amber-to-ruby body with a decent amount of carbonation flowing up. Aromas are nice - plenty of NW hops dominate, followed by some holiday spices and a light sweetness... touch of sawdust, too. Pure hop bitterness ... sort of wet-hop like. Spruce character is bitingly bitter. Tastes like I'm drinking a fresh-squeezed flower. Some grassy quality as well. For an American Amber, this one lacks any sweetness, and has no balance. Very dry. Thin/watery - mouthfeel seems like it should be in the 4% range. Drinkability scores low for me, as it's just way too one-dimentional.