Day 23 of the 5th Annual Advent-ure Calendar

Day 23: Taft’s Brewing Co. Santa’s Bribe Christmas Cookie Ale

We’re fans of Taft’s. They’ve started to pop up at local beer festivals as a vendor, but we don’t think they’re really distributed up here yet in cans or draft. We also visited the brewpub earlier this year in Cincinnati, and everything we had was fantastic, so we were excited to see this on our list. The old school can design is pretty sweet, and we love the twist on the name. But, there’s not really much about the beer online. From the brewery: “Winter warmer ale brewed with cinnamon, ginger & vanilla!” Simple enough!

Reflections

Beard & Broad
Beard: It’s amazing that this tastes exactly as it’s described. There’s a nice toasty backbone to this that is very reminiscent of fresh baked cookies. It also has the perfect balance of cinnamon, ginger and vanilla. I don’t really get a huge amount of any of them, but I can tell they’re there. The cinnamon and ginger are notable up front, but they basically just accentuate the “baked” character of the beer, followed by a nice and light vanilla finish. I remember liking this last year and was very happy to see it again. In a state with amazing holiday beers, this definitely cracks my top five.

Broad: I was excited to try this because the can is super cute and it poured nice and dark. I was hoping for a warm, malty Christmas ale. But I was wrong. There is something I really don’t like about it. Scott says he gets notes of peppermint and that’s kind of the taste I’m getting, even though that’s not a listed ingredient. It’s very sweet to me, Maybe it’s the combo of ginger + cinnamon. It’s not for me and I really wish I could put my finger on it. Beard & I usually agree on the beers but we’re on totally different sides of this one.

Adam & Alex
Adam: Alex described this beer perfectly after her first sip: it’s… fine. I think we’re both over the heavily spiced beers at this point of the month. I wonder if I’d like this earlier in the season. I get a lot of vanilla and ginger and would try it again but I think it’s falling victim to my taste buds being spiced for a full month.

Alex:  Taft’s Santa’s Bribe Christmas Cookie Ale is a little over spiced for me.  I taste mainly ginger and vanilla.  This is not one of my favorites from this year, but that may be because we are at the end of the drinking advent-ure.

Scott & Christa
Scott: The Taft’s Santa’s Bribe Christmas Cookie Ale is a good one!  It’s got hints of peppermint and vanilla in a subtle, but not too subtle profile. There’s a nice spiciness to it that i also enjoy. Always love trying new beers and happy to add this one to the list!

Christa: So excited to have a Taft’s on the rotation and a Christmas cookie ale to boot! This is as expected, very sweet but not overly so. I didn’t get the peppermint Scott noted but I definitely taste the sweetness of vanilla and spice of cinnamon. All in all, very drinkable. I don’t know if it will get Santa down the chimney like some of our standouts but it would probably get me.

Tony & Megan
Tony: First reaction, I feel like this is what Beer #21, Moerlein’s Winter Warmer, was trying to be. A lighter holiday ale with decent flavor. It’s pretty dark in color, but it’s not thick. It’s actually fairly light. I like the hints of vanilla and cinnamon, but it’s a little lacking in depth of flavor. It’s not very robust, but it’s a decent lighter holiday ale. I don’t think it’s going to “wow” anyone, myself included, but I enjoyed it. Solid label and packaging too.

Megan: Another good Christmas spice beer. We’ve certainly had a lot of cinnamon and ginger flavors this year, but I’m not complaining. This is a dark pour and is filled with all of those warm holiday spices but for me this runs in the middle of the pack. I’m not sure if I’ll remember this at the end of our season but maybe that’s because we’re getting towards the end and they’re starting to run together but I’ve been more impressed by others. I would suggest it if you’re looking for a holiday stout though.

Brad & Heather
Brad: I’ve brewed beer in my basement so I’m allowed to use this highly technical beer term for Taft’s Santa’s Bribe…Chuggable. This is a great beer to down quickly as it’s very smooth and has no bitter aftertaste. All the christmas cookie taste is there and I find myself drinking it fast because I really enjoy it. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more of their beers. Also, this can is really cool.

Heather:  Ooo, this one is nice. I like this one a lot. Santa’s Bribe definitely passes the holiday beer test, with a good dose of cinnamon and vanilla. It’s sweet without being obnoxious. We’ll definitely add this to our regular list of Christmas brews. Bravo Taft’s!