On the 8th day of Christmas, Santa Beer gave to me...

...a good reason to stay out of the cold and in the house with a nice cold one - Widmer Bros Brrr Seasonal Ale.

The brew pours a golden honey color, which is lighter than I expected. Would have thought the beer would have been a darker amber/red color. The head was a soft tan and disappeared after about ten minutes. Sweet, malt smell with some alcohol mixed in for good measure. The sweet malt and molasses flavor hits hard at first. Fortunately, not so sweet that you would think someone snuck a sugar packet into your brew, but sweet enough to add some flavor. Smooth flavor, which doesn't stick around for the party too long. The carbonation was pretty light for a medium bodied beer. I preferred this beer over the Pyramid Winter Warmer, which was a bit too thick for my taste. The 7.2% ABV makes this a potentially dangerous beer, as it goes down really quick and smooth. I think this would be a good brew to bring to a festive party where there is a mixed crowd - likely most folks would appreciate this beer.

Appearance - 3.0/5.0 - Honey colored, lighter than I expected, soft tan head
Smell -4.0/5.0 - Malt, sweetness and some alcohol
Taste - 4.0/5.0 - Smooth, malty, sweetness, molasses
Feel - 3.5/5.0 - Medium bodied; goes down smoothly.
Drinkability - 4.0/5.0 - Enjoyed this more than the Pyramid Winter Warmer; higher ABV makes it a dangerous holiday beer

On the 7th day of Christmas, Santa Beer gave to me...

a real nice excuse to be by myself - Odell's Isolation Ale. My personality lends itself to being a social butterfly - give me an excuse to talk to someone and I will blah blah until the cows come home. However, if required to be left to my lonesome, I can see no better beer to be left with than this bad boy.

The Isolation Ale pours a copper brown, with a light off-white head. Lots of malt, nuttiness and caramel in the nose of this one - seems sorta like Christmas fruit cake. You can definitely taste these smells when you have a sip - the medium body of the ale has some sweetness near the tail end. The aftertaste is pretty minimal, but has some good malty-ness. Not terribly carbonated, which didn't fill me up a whole lot (like that...need more room for Christmas treats anyway). With a good 6.0% ABV, this is a very enjoyable beer that won't get you on the "naughty" list if you have more than two or three.

Appearance - 4.0/5.0 - Rich, copper coloring with a light head
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - Nuts, caramel & malt are the primary aromas - strong enough to notice without being overbearing
Taste - 4.5/5.0 - The malt is sturdy and flavorful, with a bit of sweetness at the end of each taste
Feel - 4.5/5.0 - Medium bodied, lighter carbonation, flavor fills the mouth and little aftertaste
Drinkability - 5.0/5.0 - An excellent winter ale