4 Calling Birds (The Bruery)

With my seasonal cold on it's way out and Christmas drawing near, I figured it would be a good time to bust out this seasonal, spiced, strong dark ale. It did not disappoint.

I wish I had gotten two bottles though. This is the 2011 release of a 12 Days of Christmas vertical that goes out until 2019. Who can wait that long?! It was good enough to dip into now and not feel too bad about not holding it for 8 years.

I drank this at the cellar temperature. The warmer temperature brings out all the complexity in something this spiced and thick. This was a perfect start to a quiet Christmas weekend.


General Thoughts
Look and Smell: This black brew had a cinnamon-colored head made up of large bubbles. It settled to a thick ring that hung around for a while. I could smell the ginger spice, anise, vanilla, and booziness through any remaining stuffiness I had from my cold. That removed any fear that I would not get to enjoy this to its fullest.

Taste: It was spiced without being powdery. The anise came through with a vanilla roast. The thickness coated the tongue and lingered, but not it a sticky stale way. It had a bitter chocolate. This brew is Christmas. It's cookies, pies, and mulled wine.

From The Bruery site:
Spiced Strong Dark Ale. The Twelve Days of Christmas series continues! We took inspiration from the traditional winter warmer for our fourth verse, integrating gingerbread spices into a robust dark ale. Notes of licorice & banana bread mingle with dark fruit, molasses and bitter chocolate for a perfect cold weather sipper!