Mt. Carmel Winter Ale

3.8/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, no bottle dating, but it is from 2011. Pours hazy brick red color with a nice 2 finger dense khaki head with incredible retention that reduces to a thick cap that lasts. Spotty lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of big ginger, cinnamon, caramel, nutmeg, honey, citrus, biscuit, and molasses. Fairly nice aromas with decent strength. Taste of big caramel, cinnamon, brown sugar, allspice, ginger, honey, light fruitiness, and herbal spice. Good amount of spices linger on the finish; with caramel, light fruits, cinnamon, ginger, and honey for a bit. Nice balance of flavor and spices here; turns out to be very smooth and drinkable, without being cloying. Alcohol is very well hidden for 8%, with only a slight warming after the finish. Medium-high carbonation and medium bodied; with a slightly creamy and smooth mouthfeel. Overall this is a very nice winter warmer. Plenty of spice character, yet still has nice malt balance.

Another nice Mt. Carmel offering. A little spice heavy, but still has nice balance.

Mt. Carmel Springtime Ale

4.1/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle, no freshness date. Pours hazy reddish brown color with a fairly dense 2 finger light khaki head with good retention that reduces to a fairly thick lacing cap. Some nice lacing clings to the glass as well. Aromas of caramel, light chocolate, pine, spices, and floral notes. Decent aromas with nice strength as well. Taste of big caramel, chocolate, bread, molasses, nuttiness, spices, and honey. Lingering notes of light bitterness, spices, caramel, and molasses on the finish. Medium carbonation and body, with a very nice creamy and smooth mouthfeel. Extremely drinkable with no alcohol noticed at all, as expected for a brew of 4.5%. Overall definitely an excellent Scottish Ale, with a ton of well balanced flavor.

I had sampled this one at the Blues and Brews event in Akron earlier this month and really liked it, so I decided to pick a bottle up for a proper review. Definitely an excellent ale with a lot of flavor.

Mt. Carmel Nut Brown Ale

4/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours clear reddish brown color with a fairly dense 2 finger off white head with good retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap. Small amount of glass lacing is present as well. Aromas of chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, maple syrup, and roasted nuts. Very nice aromas with good strength as well. Taste of caramel, roasted malt, chocolate, nuttiness, and a bit of maple syrup and breadiness. Fairly strong roasted bitterness on the finish that lingers for a bit with nuttiness, caramel, and roasted flavor. Medium carbonation and medium bodied. A bit of a prickly feel as well, but has nice smoothness and drinkability. Nice balance of flavors as well. No alcohol in the taste or finish noticed. Overall a very nice brown ale, I would get this again, really sessionable stuff.

An all around nice brown ale from Mt. Carmel. Looking forward to trying more from them in the future. They have quite a few offerings available in bottles near me.