I may have the wrong expectations for a winter ale. The problem for me is that the winters that I think are the gold standards are Harpoon Winter Warmer, Great Lakes Christmas Ale and Samuel Adams Winter Lager. The bar is set high and it is covered in nutmeg, cinnamon and sugarplums.

Enter England’s Wychwood Brewing Company and their Bah Humbug Christmas Ale. The graphics on the bottle were fun. The beer started off with a smell like chewing gum! I could not believe my nose. I admit that it may have been skewed a bit by eating red hot Sriracha sauce with my supper. The color was brown-red. It is actually a very nice looking beer in the glass. The taste given the smell was a little bit disappointing. I was expecting something I had not tasted before, but the spices were very subtle, if not unnoticeable. The flavor was pretty good. I would drink it again if you put one in front of me, but it is, unfortunately, not one that I will seek.

Roxy Rolles: Rating: B
Wychwood Bah Humbug: Rating: C+
St Peter’s Winter Ale: Rating: C