Bison Brewing‘s Gingerbread Ale is one of those I’ve seen and been intrigued by, but had never picked up until recently. It sounds good but you never know for sure until you crack open a bottle.

Brewed with ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon, Bison calls it a "holiday porter" though the review sites flag it as a spiced ale… I’m willing to compromise and call it a "Spiced Porter." It’s 6.8% alcohol, not too high but not light either… comfortable.

Appearance: Viscousy-looking pour, color is molasses brown with ruby red tinges.

Smell: Gingerbread for sure; molasses, dark coffee, some sort of dark fruit jelly or preserves, raw dough, sweet and a bit syrupy, some ginger spicing. It really does smell like fresh gingerbread.

Taste: Astringency from the roasted grains; some caramelized sugars, a toffee-ish presence, a touch of molasses, some rummy-cake notes. A dry porter that’s a tad on the light side, with some almost peppery-spice notes.

Mouthfeel: Dry, smooth with a nice presence on the tongue but a thin (watery) streak running through it, rendering it just shy of medium-bodied.

Overall: A decent porter with an amazing nose; possibly one of the best-smelling holiday beers I’ve encountered.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a letter grade of B-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.29 out of 5 and is in their 68th percentile.