Holiday beer tour of the Fred Meyer beer section: Thanksgiving edition

In honor of Katie's surprise day off for Thanksgiving, we decided to ramp up our tastings a bit.  Here are the beers we tried on Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving day:

Alaskan

Winter Ale brewed with spruce tips

6.4% ABV

Scotty: appreciated the holiday spruce flavor but did not really like the creamy finish.  Wouldn't necessarily order it again, but thought it was decent.  6.5/10

Katie: felt the opposite way about the aftertaste; the spruce-brewed flavor was refreshing, and the creamy aftertaste lent a comforting note.  8/10

Average score: 7.25

Pyramid Brewery

Snow Cap Winter Warmer

7.0% ABV

Scotty: Would order it again.  Really liked the holiday flavor of this beer.  Solid holiday beer but nothing too special and did not leave a strong flavor impression.  Still, enjoyed it more than the Alaskan. 7/10

Katie: Thought it was a nice beer, but it didn't stand out from the pack for me.  Couldn't remember too much about the flavor the next day (not because we were drinking!) 6/10

Average score: 6.5

Rogue

Santa's Private Reserve Ale

6% ABV/65 IBU

Scotty: can smell the spruce, can taste it a bit but not as strongly as the Alaskan giving it a better balance with the other flavors. Malty finish but maybe a little too much.  7/10

Katie: nice balance of spruce and hops with a caramelized coffee malty flavor.  A little bitter at the end for me.  7/10

Average score: 7/10

We will be steadily working through the remainder of the beers so check back in for more, and happy Thanksgiving!