Day 4 of the 3rd Annual Advent-ure Calendar
DAY 4: Masthead Brewing Co. Sleigh All Day
Oh how we love puns! Sleigh All Day is a holiday red IPA brewed with spruce tips. The “spruce tips possess many of the same aromas and flavors as hops, but also have a unique citrusy pine note. We used a blend of spruce tips and hops in this seasonal beer to yield balance between tropical hop goodness and piney dankness.” It definitely does not sound like a traditional holiday ale, and we’re always excited to add a new Cleveland brewery to the list!
REFLECTIONS
Beard & Broad
Beard: I’m a big fan of Christmas beers that buck the trend of spice cabinet bombs, so this is right up my alley. Masthead has really started to put out some great beers over the last few months and this is a perfect example of that. Red IPAs are hard to balance in my opinion but this is perfect. Just enough malty sweetness to balance out the hop bitterness. It has an amazing aroma, is super flavorful, but not overly bitter at all. At 7.2% it also packs quite a punch without seeming like it, making it kind of dangerous but perfect for the chilly holidays.
Broad: My oh my I think I’m in love with this beer! This beer is crisp, piney, malty, everything I want in a fun holiday beer. It’s not too malty or piney, the flavors just blend so smoothly. I could drink this beer all night. I think this will appeal to IPA drinkers and non-IPA drinkers alike. Masthead does not disappoint, ever! Sleigh all day, Masthead!
Adam & Alex
Adam: This is one of the rare holiday beers where the brewer description on the can is dead on. It smells tropically citrus like many good IPAs do but it’s not as bitter as many others. It does have that classic IPA pine flavor but it reminds me more of gin than the harshness a lot of other IPAs have (to my admittedly not very IPA adjusted palate.) I imagine Santa would have one of these on his sleigh on his way in from New York.
Alex: I agree that this smells citrusy but tastes more like pine. I really liked this one as well. It’s a lighter IPA that doesn’t leave you with a super bitter aftertaste. The name sleighs, pardon the pun.
Scott & Christa
Scott: Last year I discovered my new favorite beer was the Masthead Wit beer. Then when my wife brought too large of a purse and we couldn’t see the Browns lose again, we ended up at Masthead Brewery downtown and fell in love with even more of their delicious brews. Up next is the Sleigh All Day and I couldn’t be happier to not only love this beer, but enjoy it in a 16oz can. Its flavor is very smooth and while it doesn’t scream Christmas to me, I could drink this all holiday season without complaints.
Christa: This delight of a red IPA with spruce tips is hands-down my new favorite beer of the holiday season. I love the spices. It does what Yuletide couldn’t with the spruce notes and has an added bonus of citrus and pine. The citrus is obvious but it still feels like a holiday beer to me because you really do get the other woodsy flavors with each taste. I’ve loved everything Masthead has done thus far and am so happy they are here in Cleveland. All their beers sleigh!
Tony & Megan
Tony: Hmmm…..umm….ok so I haven’t experienced a Red IPA or spruce tips before but as it turns out……..ya not my favorite combination haha ☹️. In all fairness, if you like IPAs then the spruce tips can add a fun, piney twist to your normal experience. The name is great, the can looks cool, but the flavors are just too harsh for me…..and spruce tips are now on my naughty list.
Megan: If you like IPAs, this is the beer for you!! Unlike the Citra Noel IPA we had earlier, this is super bitter and acidic. I’m not really getting the spruce tips with the overwhelming hoppy taste. Personally, I’m not a fan of IPAs but I like Masthead and love the punny name.
I hate IPAs, so I’m intrigued by any beer you think will appeal to IPA lovers & haters alike. I’ll have to try this one… & give it to Mike if I don’t like it. Ha.
Oh man that’s a lot of pressure, haha! I think this one is definitely worth a shot it’s just so tasty 🙂