10 Lords A Leaping Dark Imperial Wit Ale Brewed with Spices
Review Date 12/31/2025 By John Staradumsky
“What would you like for Christmas?” my wife asked me one chilly December morning. Right off the top of my head, I couldn’t think of anything, other than the perennial Taco Mac gift cards. She pressed me for more ideas than that. I am a very lucky man in life, and have so much, so my wants are few. Still, I recalled something…
“How about The Bruery’s 12 Days of Christmas collection?” I suggested. Over the years, I had had all but four of these special beers and had not seen them sold in Georgia since Covid hit. The collection featured one of each release brewed for 2025, in 375 ML split bottles, packed in a special gift box. My wife, finding the idea very agreeable, purchased this for one of my gifts. She is a very special lady indeed, you see.
It got better, because shipping being around $40, but free if you spent $200 or more, she had me pick out a few more beers to meet that criteria, and boom! We were on our way. That made this the first time I had ordered beer delivery directly from The Bruery, which leads us to the next part of my story.
We waited for the beer to arrive. The Bruery sent a receipt at point of order stating that the beer would ship UPS, and that we could track it in the Shop app. Except, they never sent tracking, and we did not see any notification in the aforementioned app. After a little over a week of nothing happening, my wife sent the Bruery an email inquiring about the order. Two days alter, she received this response:
Thanks for reaching out to us. Due to a delay with our bottle vendor, all December releases are currently unavailable for fulfillment. Once these beers are available, we will begin fulfilling all delayed orders (thank you in advance for your patience) and included bottles that are currently listed as "Temporarily Unavailable" in virtual cellars will be updated. While we don't have a concrete date, we anticipate that these items will be available before the end of the month. Thanks again for your patience and understanding - we look forward to getting some amazing beers to you as soon as possible.
This was disappointing, to say the least. It did not look at all like the order would arrive in time for Christmas (she received this news on December 16th), though that was not the disheartening bit. What was concerning was that The Bruery never bothered to inform us of this. Delivery going to be late? Not a big deal. I have plenty of beer, I can wait until after Christmas. Maybe they were afraid that people would cancel orders, but I would not have been one of them. I really WANTED these beers.
But here’s the thing. TELL ME!!!! The missing communication was the key here; I have no problem waiting but tell me I will need to be patient. Had we not reached out to find out what was going on with delivery, we likely would still have been in the dark up until the beer finally arrived. And arrive it finally did, which could have been another problem, but luckily wasn’t.
On December 23rd, a box showed up on my porch. We didn’t even know it was there, which is unusual, because normally my dog Heidi goes crazy when a package is being delivered. But there the mystery box was, and I brought it in as it was addressed to my Beloved Barbara™. She read the sender information and cried out “It’s for you! From The Bruery!”
And indeed, it was. This was the box of 4 assorted beers (Black Tuesday, The Walnutter, Gingerbread Cookie, Red White & Brew) that made up my order. We had received tracking, but it went from being processed in Los Angeles to delivered. I checked the tracking for the 12 Beers of Christmas box, coming separately, and they still showed in Los Angeles, but magically the next morning, Christmas Eve, they showed out for delivery from Roswell, Georgia. They did deliver that day, just in time for Christmas!
Which is why I am here and able to tell you about 10 Lords A Leaping, a beer described by the Bruery as a Dark imperial wit ale brewed with dried apples and spices. First, though, here are links to the other beers in this series I have tried:
I have enjoyed Two Turtle Doves and took notes but have yet to flesh them out into a review. I pledge to do that soon, and I think I will open my bottle of the 2025 to compare when I do. Here’s what The Bruery says about 10 Lords a Leaping on the label:
On the tenth day of Bruesmas, we gathered inspiration from the 10 traditional spices of holiday drinks: dried apples, coriander, orange peel, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, mace, anise, and clove. This bold blend complements the natural spice of this dark imperial wit ale.
And on their website:
Wassail is known for warmth and spices. Our rendition goes leaps and bounds beyond a traditional winter warmer, drawing inspiration from the dark, spiced ales from Belgium and our love for experimental brewing in SoCal. This dark imperial wit ale features spices to complement the spiced notes imparted from the yeast and prance upon the rich, dark fruited character of the specialty malts.
The Bruery 10 Lords A Leaping has an alcohol content of 10.8% by volume and I paid (well, my wife paid) $10.42 for the 12.7 ounce bottle. There is no freshness dating other than that this is the 2025 release. The Bruery has said these beers are suitable for aging, which I have done with many of the releases to good effect.
The Bruery 10 Lords A Leaping Dark Imperial Wit Ale pours to a jet-black color with a moderate head of creamy foam and a nose of spicy clove, ginger and dark fruit. Taking a sip the beer is medium to full in body with big notes of spicy clove, coriander, and ginger. Dark fruity figs, plums, and raisins dance over the tongue, along with brighter fruity hints of green apple and bitter orange peel. The cinnamon and nutmeg become more apparent in the dry spicy finish, along with roasted malts.
All in all, The Bruery did deliver, albeit with a few hiccups along the way. As I sip this spectacular holiday treat, however, I am convinced that the pluses far outweigh the minuses. I would love to drink this beer again, and will almost certainly be buying another 12 Days of Christmas direct from The Bruery in the future.
Glad I tried it?
T
Would I rebuy it??
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled, Canned
(D)=Draft
