Day 5 of the 4th Annual Advent-ure Calendar
Day 5: Masthead Brewing Co. Sleigh All Day Holiday IPA
Sleigh All Day is a Holiday IPA from Masthead Brewing Company. They’re relatively new to the scene as they’re only a few years old, but they’ve already racked up numerous awards for their beers, most notably for their Midwest Red IPA. This Holiday IPA utilizes a special holiday ingredient in the recipe. As the brewery notes, “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.”
Reflections
Beard & Broad
Beard: This is probably my second favorite hoppy holiday ale from Ohio, next to Columbus’s Citra Noel. This has a touch more malt character than the former, but it’s still damned delicious. The spruce tips really bring a piney freshness to this beer. As I’ve said before, love me a Christmas beer that doesn’t include spices but still makes me think of Christmas. This guy perfectly fits that bill and I actually wish it was available year round. Great name too.
Broad: I was so excited for this one. This is another one of my favorite Christmas beers. I compare it to Citra Noel because they’re both IPAs but honestly, I don’t know if I could pick a favorite. This beer is warm yet hoppy and the spruce tips just give it all sorts of life! I don’t know if I would classify this as a Christmas beer, I could drink this in other seasons for sure. I’m not the biggest IPA fan but these Christmas IPAs really do it for me.
Adam & Alex
Adam: This is a tough beer for me to review because I truly want to love it but I can’t ever decide how I feel. I waffle with every sip. I get the tropical hops (trhopical?) and I get the piney spruce notes at the end and even some sort of sweet maltiness that’s a little mapley. But at the end of the day this is a lesser version of Citra Noel. (Ducks for cover as I know this is a group favorite).
Alex: I really do enjoy Masthead’s Sleigh all Day, in taste, and in name, but it doesn’t hit the same spot for me as Citra Noel. It is hoppy, and I can definitely taste the advertised spruce. I would drink this again without question but if given the choice between the two of them… I’d pick the Citra Noel!! #grinch
Scott & Christa
Scott: Sleigh All Day is quickly becoming one of my favorite new winter beers. I can smell the spruce, which normally might sound unpleasant in a beer, but the taste is so smooth and mild that I love the flavor/aroma combination. There’s not a lot of carbonation but that means you’ll never know if the beer goes flat…but I know I’m drinking this one quickly so that won’t be a problem.
Christa: I love Sleigh All Day. Fun to say, fun to drink. It’s light, the perfect mix of bitter and sweet, and SO smooth. I think this is the beer I’d bring to a party I’d have to be at for a while. It’s alcohol content isn’t as intense as some of the others so I could afford to drink a couple before I started telling the people I didn’t want to talk to that I didn’t want to talk to them.
Tony & Megan
Tony: Our first dose of spruce tips for the season! Described as an IPA with spruce tips, this beer is a light amber color with clear hops both in the nose and in the flavor. IPA’s are not my go-to, but I understand the attraction. I appreciate the depth of flavor it brings. For this one, maybe the hops are a little too strong because I get the hops flavor but not much else. I don’t have a good sense of spruce tip flavor so it may be there. Maybe a little citrus type flavor like the Citra Noel also. I like Masthead beers, this one is ok, but I don’t get many other spice flavors so it doesn’t scream “holiday beer” to me.
Megan: A pretty solid IPA. I’m not an IPA fan but I could get down with a can of this. I’m not getting the spruce tips though, just tastes like a regular IPA, but maybe my tastebuds are not sophisticated enough to pick up on the spruce tips. Also, can we talk about the description on the can for a sec? Do we want to advertise this as “piney dankness”? Seems like an odd descriptor for something you’re about to drink but hey it’s good, check it out.
