Rating: 5/5

Merry Christmas by Five Stones of Cibolo Texas is a 7.9% Holiday Amber Ale handcrafted with Cinnamon, Vanilla Beans, Nutmeg and Allspice.

Label:
I remember my childhood when the phrase Merry Christmas was used without hesitation. Somehow over time, “Merry Christmas” has disappeared from many greetings you hear and see this time of year. We at 5 Stones want to say “Merry Christmas” to you and yours this season and sincerely hope you spend it with those closest to you and not miss the true meaning of Christmas. We suggest you share “Merry Christmas” with family and friends during a festive get together or just a silent winter night. Merry Christmas and cheers!
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A great thanks to Aaron at www.beermetaldude.com for passing this Christmas goodie on to me and great thanks as well to the good people at 5 Stones for making this awesome beer. We don’t normally get your beers out here in California but to do a special Christmas review, even if it did just pass about a month ago, it is still an honor to try something thing like this. While I have tried many Christmas ales in the past with similar ingredients, the addition of the vanilla beans will most likely take this to the level of where the best Christmas beers should be. Well, let me break it down as best as I can.

Aromas:
Fragrances like flowers almost, vanilla, dark fruits, raisins, cinnamon, oats, nutmeg, candy sugar, chocolate notes, caramel, ginger bread, fruit cake, mild coffee, earthy hop hints, sugar plums, molasses and anise.

Flavors:
Rich sugar plums, dark cherries. raisins, mild coffee, molasses, vanilla, caramel, fruit cake, dark chocolate, oatmeal cookie, maple notes, nutmeg, pecan pie, ginger bread, floral notes, cinnamon, rye, toffee, mint, coriander spice, anise, licorice hints, raisin bread pudding and grapes.

Aftertaste:
A good amount of the anise, nutmeg, dark fruits, vanilla, cinnamon, caramel, ginger and earthy notes linger. No alcohol in the taste, a sipping beer with moderate mouthfeel.

Overall:
Awesome stuff, definitely reminding me of the Monkish Anomaly but if it was Christmas flavored and had lots of vanilla. The vanilla definitely makes an interesting impact on a beer when normally it is not seen in other Christmas offerings. Fucking awesome beer and definitely a great Christmas offering. Hope to see this beer again, maybe later this year but definitely keep growing. I hope the Texas shipping liquor laws changes so we can see more of you guys here. Cheers!  

Anime Corner:
Elwyn from Shinning Tears was chosen for this beer pairing to go with the elf on the label. A perfect Christmas art piece to go with a perfect Christmas beer. A lot of the colors are very obvious but that’s the beauty of it. Can you find any other awesome things from this beer?