Nimbus Holly Daze

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Sampled at Nimbus; December 2008
The beer arrives with a dark brown, amber tinged color and it is topped by an anemic, pale colored ring of froth that just clings to the sides of my glass. This has a general spiciness to it in the nose, but it quickly morphs into a tart, fruity note of raspberries.

The beer tastes lightly sweet up front with a noticeable fruity character and then a touch of toasty malt , a hint of cocoa and a touch of dark grain astringency in the finish. There is also a touch of hop bitterness in the finish. Raspberry fruit notes add a characteristic not of raspberry spiciness. There is also a spiciness here that seems to be from some actual spices, but it is at a good level such that it is just a boost to the flavor rather than something that would intrude with individually noticeable spice notes. The tartness picks up in this beer as I start to eat my Tri-tip taco, which actually is quite nice. This has some body to it, but it is still quite drinkable. The malt could be a bit more prominent, but there is a light toast note, a sweet grain character and a pale, roast character that are just noticeable.

This is not bad, it is an interesting blend of beers. I like that the fruit and, especially, the spice character is kept as components of the beer, rather than as defining characteristics. This is quite well balanced.