Beer Club 12/10/11 Winter Seasonals

Yes, I’m finally getting around to posting a recap of the last beer club. This one might be on the shorter side, because we consumed the largest amount of beer for a beer club yet. It was also the smallest crowd that we’ve had for a beer club. So we drank a lot. I grabbed a bunch of random Winter seasonals. Some are my favorites, and some I just thought would be interesting.

We started with the Winter Bock from Silver City. This one was actually a big hit. It’s an easy-drinking beer, with a hint of sweetness, which went over very well.

The 10 Degrees Below is one of my favorite seasonals from this state. It’s a weizenbock, which makes it an interesting, and delicious, twist for the season.

Moving back to Silver City, we have the Old Scrooge. This is actually considered an English Barleywine. I have to say that the beer seems like it doesn’t know what it wants to be. It’s more like a cross between a winter warmer and a barleywine. I don’t think this one was a winner for anyone.

Moving on to a winter warmer from Oregon, the Laurelwood Vinter Varmer went over pretty well. It’s an alright beer, but doesn’t blow me away, especially with all the other great examples out there.

Then one of my favorites, the Deschutes Jubelale. I love this beer, but it didn’t seem to be a huge hit that night. It’s my favorite winter warmer, and it’s just a delicious beer. This year’s batch is actually quite a bit different, but every bit as excellent as last year’s.

And now for something a little different. This hopped up New Belgium Snow Day actually went over pretty well. Even though it’s a hoppy mother of a beer, the bitterness was on the lower side, which made it fairly drinkable for the rest of the club. I was expecting people to hate this, but they didn’t.

And here’s another one of my favorite Winter beers. This barleywine was a bit too much for everyone, except the one person who is a big fan of barleywines. I love this beer, and I’ve got one stashed away for next Christmas.

To end the night, we had the imperial stout from Port Brewing called Santa’s Little Helper. The beer was surprisingly light for an imperial stout, but it still had a bite. I wish we would have had this one before the HotD barleywine, because it wasn’t a very roasty beer and the hops from the barleywine really destroyed the palate.

We’ll see you next month!

Diamond Knot Ho! Ho!

We’ve got a local winter warmer today. Diamond Knot, unfortunately, has a terrible website. I have to open a PDF just to see the beers they brew…and with the smallest amount of information. I’ve enjoyed this beer on tap, but it’s been awhile.

Stats
Winter Warmer. 8.5% ABV. Washington. Winter Seasonal.

Nice dark caramel color. Very little head on this one.

It’s got a nice winter warmer nose with some brown sugar sweetness and caramel. Nice baked apple and some dark fruits. Very malty nose. Nice cherry aroma as well.

Fantastic full bodied mouthfeel. I really like the thickness of it.

It’s not as sweet and bright as the nose would suggest. It’s got a hop bite with some dark fruits and pine. The hop bitterness comes through, but with a decent balance. Long finish of brown sugar and pine.

I’m liking this NW style winter warmer. Definitely one to check out from this state. 88 points.

Oakshire Ill-Tempered Gnome

One of the many winter warmers I’ll be having this time of year. This one from Oakshire in Eugene. This is the first beer that I’ve had from these guys, so we’ll see how it goes.

Stats:
Winter Warmer. 6.8% ABV. 65 IBUs. Oregon. Winter Seasonal.

Nice dark caramel color. Not much head on this malty brew.

The nose is a bit closed. I’m getting a bit of sweet malts that bring caramel, a hint of chocolate, and some brown sugar.

Mouthfeel is decent. It’s light to medium body. I would like to see it a bit more full bodied.

Some nice brown sugar meets dark fruits. Lots of caramel and just a hint of chocolate. There’s a little bit of an earthy-ness to it. Just a tad bit of hop bitterness.

It’s an alright brew. Not too bad, but very underwhelming, especially with the bazillion other winter warmers on the market. 84 points.

Fremont Abominable Ale

As you know if you read my blog, I think Fremont has been absolutely killing it. The quality of their beer and the consistency of high quality beers have shown to me that they are one of the best breweries in this state. Here’s another shot to prove me right. This Winter beer is brewed with Pale, Crystal, Munich, Chocolate, and Carafa malts with roast barley and Centennial, Willamette, and Goldings hops.

Stats:
Winter Warmer. 7.0% ABV. Washington. Available November-February.

Nice dark chocolate brown color. Not too much head on this one.

A sweet malty nose. It’s got a lot of chocolate and vanilla. Think a decadent dessert here.

Mouthfeel is very nice. It’s a medium to full body giving it a nice tooth.

Sweet and roasty malts. It’s got that sweet chocolate and vanilla, moving to a darker chocolate in the midpalate. It’s got a nice amount of roast that brings a slight smokeyness and a just the right amount of bitterness to balance it out.

This is a really delicious beer and again, Fremont is just killing it. Where did these guys come from? Wow. 89 points.

Snoqualmie Avalanche

Here’s a local winter warmer from Snoqualmie. This beer features Chinook and Cascade hops, but the website doesn’t list the malts. You’ll be seeing a lot of winter warmers in the next couple of months, so let’s how this one compares.

Stats:
Winter Warmer. 6.8% ABV. 48 IBUs. Washington. Winter Seasonal.

Dark copper in color. Nice head and lacing.

Nice grainy, malty nose. A little bit of dark fruits, but it’s just got this nice grainy sweetness that invites you to drink it.

Nice, full body. Just what I want in a winter beer.

It’s all about the malt here, and it has a nice grainy and bready flavor that give way, slightly, to some brown sugar and plums. It’s balanced with enough hop bitterness, but doesn’t bring much hop flavor.

Decent brew, if a bit boring, but worth a purchase. 88 points

Laurelwood Vinter Varmer

Apparently, this isn’t a very well known beer. It’s not listed on the breweries website, and it was listed under Laurelwood Pizza Co. (closed) on BA. All I know is that it’s a winter warmer from Laurelwood, so let’s see how it stands up to the billions of other winter warmers.

Stats:
Winter Warmer. 6.8% ABV. Oregon. Winter Seasonal.

Rich mahogany color, nice little off white head.

The nose is a bit closed, but I’m getting some sweetness which brings a nice molasses and brown sugar component with some plums and grapes.

Mouthfeel is really nice and thick.

Plums and dark fruits come through a bit with brown sugar. It’s got just a hair of hop bitterness to balance out the sweetness of the malts. Nice vanilla and baked apple flavors remain on the palate.

Pretty decent brew. There’s so many winter warmers out there, but if you are looking to try a new one, give this a shot. 87 points.

Widmer Brrrbon

This beer is actually Widmer’s winter warmer Brrr that’s been aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels. It features 2-row pale, Carapils, Caramel 10-L, Caramel 80-L, and Dark Chocolate malts with Alchemy, Simcoe, and Cascade hops. This isn’t a cheap one, but it has some great packaging. I’ve heard good things about it, so let’s see what I think.

Stats:
Winter Warmer. 9.4% ABV. 40 IBUs. Oregon. Released September 2010.

Fairly light color, almost amber. Not much head here.

The nose is pretty much the smell of bourbon. The whiskey dominates here, I hope the palate isn’t the same way.

Mouthfeel is good, medium to full bodied.

The bourbon is actually much more tame on the palate. You get the winter warmer flavors with bourbon and vanilla coming through.

Not too bad, and it’s exactly what you would think Brrr would taste if it touched a bourbon barrel, but certainly not worth the price. I’m actually surprised by the balance on the palate, so I’ll give them some kudos for that. 88 points.

Bridgeport Nightcap

Well, Bridgeport doesn’t seem to list this beer on their website for some reason. If I recall, it’s a third aged in bourbon barrels, but other than that I have no idea what’s in this beer. Actually, I had had this beer before and thought it was pretty good, but I didn’t get to review it at the time. Luckily, my grocer got another shipment in.

Stats:
Winter Warmer. 7.2% ABV. 40 IBUs. Oregon.

Dark ruby color, not a ton of head.

The nose is very malty with dark fruits and caramel coming through with some oak and vanilla aromas. Bourbon doesn’t seem to come out in the aroma. It also has the meaty, smokey component to it as well.

Good mouthfeel. A tad on the lighter side of medium bodied.

Reminds me quite a bit of Jubelale. Again, lots of dark fruits and caramel coming through. You also get that oaky, vanilla play from the bourbon barrel. Not getting the bourbon on the palate either. The backend is slightly shallow and dies a little too quickly.

Not a bad beer. I’d try this one if you can find it. Although, I do have to admit that it’s seems like a worse version of Jubelale. 87 points.

Howe Sound Father John’s Winter Ale

Just wanna say merry Christmas, and also apologize for the lack of updates recently. It was dead week and finals recently, and since I’ve been on break I’ve been doing lots of computer repairs. Reviews should be coming out more regularly from now on. Thanks for sticking with me!

This brewery has the coolest bottles ever, 1 liters with a swing-top cap. This is their Winter seasonal featuring 4 malts, Nugget and Hallertau hops and spices. Let’s see if the beer is any good.

Stats:
Winter Warmer. 7.0% ABV. 17 IBUs. Canada.

Light brown color and not much head stays around.

Lots of spices and malts on the nose. Very spice heavy with vanilla, cinnamon, cardamon, and nutmeg. The malts also come through with a little bit of sweetness.

Beer is a little light bodied and too much carbonation.

Flavor is similar to the nose. Just a ton of spices, lots of brown sugar flavors with the malts and just a little hint of hop bitterness, but not getting any hop flavor.

It’s a decent beer, but other ways to go for a winter beer. Reminds me a lot of Fireside Chat. 85 points.

Redhook Winterhook ’10

This is Redhook’s winter beer, Winterhook. This beer has been around in one form or another since 1985! This beer features Caramel, Pils, Chocolate, Vienna and NW 2-Row malts with Cascade, Willamette, Northern Brewer, and Centennial hops. Let’s see if this can compete with all the other great winter warmers.

Stats:
Winter Warmer. 5.9% ABV. Washington. 42 IBUs. Available October-December.

A lighter colored winter warmer but actually keeps a pretty nice head.

The nose is definitely malt forward, but it does have some hops coming through. It’s slightly sweet, with lots of caramel, spice, vanilla, grapes, and blueberries.

Mouthfeel is a little light, but the carbonation and light mouthfeel give it a pleasant drinkability.

Same as the nose, lots of malts with all that caramel, spice, and fruit coming through. It’s actually balanced pretty well with the hops. The only problem here is that the flavor is pretty light, especially when it’s cold.

This isn’t terrible, and is one of the more drinkable and sessionable winter beers that I’ve had. Unfortunately, Redhook didn’t put enough flavor in here for me to go out of my way for it. 84 points.