Beer Flash: The Bruery - "9 Ladies Dancing" ale

Here's a quick mention of a beer I sampled recently. It's called "9 Ladies Dancing" by California brewery The Bruery. I'm a huge fan of their other creations, like the "Autumn Maple" and the fantastic "Or Xata" so when I originally saw this in Whole Foods, $16.99 for a 750mL format, I was tempted. I passed it up but when I saw D'Vines had it on draft,  I figured I might try it. When I went to fill up, the keg kicked partway through the fill so all I got was 11 ounces - perfect to try.

"9 Ladies Dancing", is advertised as a "tiramisu ale." It's an 11.30% ABV American strong ale made with chocolate, vanilla, and a handful of other holiday spices. It pours reddish-brown, an interesting color as I was expecting something darker for some reason. There's a faint aroma of confection, like chocolate and spices.

Taste-wise, there's a sweet, syrupy flavor up front, almost like that cherry topping you put on frozen yogurt. Midway through the ale comes through, giving a nice chocolate flavor with some malted notes. There's a thin, slightly sweet aftertaste.

Eh, I'm not blown away. I appreciate the taste, and certainly The Bruery does put a lot of time and effort into their creations, but I am perhaps not as excited as I was seeing it on paper. By the way, their homepage has a list of other "retired" beers, and it seems they did in fact do the other "12 Days of Christmas" in previous years. I'm curious to see what those were. Still, glad to have tried this beer even if it wasn't particularly striking.