Christmas Ale Ginger Snap Ice Cream Debuts at Mitchell's

Customers are forgoing a taste test and buying up pints of the newest flavor at . The highly-anticipated Christmas Ale Ginger Snap flavor debuted Tuesday, made with real Christmas Ale from Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Westlake store manager Andrew Hightower said there was a line when the store opened at 11 a.m., and that customers have been asking for advance orders. But he said the store is prepared for a rush.

"We already know how much people love that beer," Hightower said. "We had one guy just walk in the door and go straight to it."

Great Lakes Brewing Co. sends Mitchell's the beer left over from bottling, and Mitchell's adds spices like ginger and cinammon, along with chunks of their homemade ginger snap cookies, into the mix.

"We just enhance the flavors that are already there. It's like drinking beer— even the aftertaste," he said, noting that the alcohol content in the frozen treat is so low that no license is required, and it's safe for all ages. "We've captured the essence of Christmas Ale, just not the spirit."

Westlake store employee Rachel Krimm said she really likes the new flavor too.

"It's hard to describe if you've never had the beer, but it tastes just like Christmas Ale," she said.

"I can really taste the cinnamon and some other things, but it really does taste like a beer milkshake," said said Sam Wheeler trying a scoop for the first time. "Well not a milkshake, but it's like chewable Christmas Ale. It's amazing."

Wheeler said she eagerly awaits the beer's return each year and now she has one more thing to look forward to for the holidays.

The five Mitchell's locations are preparing for a steady stream of customers now that the highly-anticipated flavor is out.

"We've got plenty of backups," Krimm said. "We don't want to run out."

But this isn't the first collaboration between Great Lakes Brewing Co. and Mitchell's. Their Edmund Fitzgerald Porter Chocolate Chunk is available at the brewpub all year round.

The ice cream is available in scoops, pints and quarts at Mitchell's and in pints and as a dessert at the Great Lakes Brewing Co. brewpub through Jan. 1, the same time Christmas Ale comes off the shelves until next year.

But don't worry, the ice cream will be back at the same time next year.