The Beer Diaries

Here’s the Winter Beer Guide!

Every late November an interesting thing happens in the realm of craft beer: breweries around the world trot out their winter releases. These beers tend to follow a similar pattern: big, heavy, warming and spicy beers to help us survive the holiday season and protect us from cooler weather. These beers allow brewers to break from their traditional styles and aggressively explore over-the-top flavors that they would be reluctant to present in their regular releases.

This Winter Beer Guide is an ongoing work; as we try more beers we’ll add more to the guide. Our goal is to inform you, the consumer, on what we at The Beer Diaries think are the best holiday releases. We try and focus on beers that are broadly available; it’s impossible for us to try and sample every regional beer, and we know that you’re going to find local favorites that are even better than the ones we present here. You’ll see a heavy weighting to Belgian releases and this is largely because of the breadth of their availability, but we’ll also include beers that have national distribution (Canadian and American).

We’re also piloting a review system and are interested in your feedback. The review levels, in descending order are: WORLD CLASS!!!, GREAT!!, GOOD!, OKAY, and POOR. Another way of explaining the review system is that anything GOOD! and up is a beer you really should try in increasing urgency. OKAY and POOR beers you may either want to be careful with, or simply avoid.

Finally, we’re going to continually append this guide and add new beers. We’re going to wrap it up into a giant feature that we’ll present next year with new updates on our favorites. This is our very first seasonal beer guide, so please, be gentle with us!

Beer: Winter Beard Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout 2012

Brewery: Muskoka Brewery

Origin: Ontario, Canada

Best Before: Late 2014

ABV: 8.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and room temperature

Style: American Double Stout

Rating: GREAT!!

While this beer technically isn’t a holiday release, it’s definitely a Winter beer that’s been released for the holiday season. And with the inclusion of Cranberry, it’s hard to keep it out of this article. It appears to be defined best as an American Double Stout; these beers tend to be big and robust, chocolatey with some residual sweetness. That really defines this beer to a “T”; let’s discuss.

This Double Stout pours an absolutely solid black with just a hint of head just at the edge of the glass. On the nose it’s all chocolate, smoke and coffee; it’s a showcase for powerful dark roasted malts.

With a powerful stout one often expects a powerful bitterness, but this beer is ultra smooth and silky with a delightfully sweet finish. It’s not overly sweet, and has a light fruitiness counterbalanced by an earthy bitterness. There’s lots of chocolate in the finish, but strangely almost no obvious cranberry. It’s powerful and it abides… on your palate.

This was really the surprise of the set for me; it’s strong, silky smooth and exceptionally easy drinking. It will keep you warm on a chilly night, but it’s not boozy or overpowering. If you live in Canada, this is a beer you must try… immediately!

Rated: GREAT!!

Beer: Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company

Origin: Boonville, CA, USA

Best Before:

ABV: 6.9%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GOOD!

An unusual serving for this sort of affair, a 12oz can, but one may forgive such a thing when it comes from this venerable Northern California brewery, set in the picturesque Anderson valley north of the Bay Area, whose employment of the native Bootling dialect is clearly evident on the label.

First off, the can pours a clear, medium red brick amber hue, with two fingers of puffy, somewhat chunky beige head, which leaves some streaky hanging lace around the glass as it evenly subsides. The aroma is redolent of heavy caramel malt, baker’s chocolate, sweet vanilla, indistinct sugary nuts, and a bit of fruity hoppiness. The taste is sweet caramel/toffee malt, brown sugar, more saccharine vanilla, weakened cocoa, a muddled array of savoury holiday spices, though nothing distinct enough to note, and lightly bitter citrusy, earthy hops.

The carbonation is really quite tame, the body a hefty medium weight, flirting with fullness, and dead smooth. It finishes still on the sweet side, the caramel, vanilla, chocolate, and masked spice doing well enough to keep things sane, drinkable, and desirable, as the extra ABV tries to peek in.

An enjoyable, and at the same time confounding winter ale – it tastes good, but it’s quite difficult to tell you exactly why, so sweetness, cake, and low-key spice it is. ‘Tis seasonal, this much I know, as one could easily put back a few more of these in the coming weeks.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Cherry Porter

Brewery: Wild Rose Brewery & Taproom

Origin: Calgary, AB, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 6.5%

Ideal temperature: cellar temperature

Style: Flavoured Porter

Rating: GOOD!

Brewed each fall using fresh Okanagan black cherries, this seasonal is released just in time for winter and the holiday season to kick in. Nothing like a bit of chocolate and cherry to remind one of Christmas treats from when we were kids, as well as associations somewhat more exotic, such as Black Forest cake. Sold in a 1L swing-top bottle, very home-brew friendly, I’m sure.

This beer pours a foggy, muddled dark brown cola hue, almost black, with a moderate tan head, which sticks around for a few minutes, before rendering some nice ebbing shoreline lace around the glass. The smell is fairly tart, kind of vegetal cherries, with medicinal twinges (cherry cough syrup absent the sweetness?), some dry, chalky cocoa, a little roasted malt, and soft lactic sourness – a nod to the old ways of London porter?

The taste carries on with more of the tart cherries, complemented by a burgeoning chocolate malt, some faint coffee roast bitterness, and lumbering milky notes. There’s a wee earthy hop twinge in the finish. This is a smooth enough porter, the mouthfeel a bit too much on the light/thin side, with an adequate amount of carbonation, not too much, which perfectly suits. The extra alcohol that helps push this into seasonal delight territory is very well hidden, other than perhaps as it manifests on the nose. As for drinkability – well, it helps that it’s getting/gotten much colder outside, and I am starting to wonder about where that entire 1L bottle has disappeared to, so there is that, but I’d ask for a bit more cohesion and fullness of flavour, were I small enough to plop down onto Santa’s lap.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale

Brewery: Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)

Origin: England

Best Before: None Apparent

ABV: 6.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and room temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GOOD!

Based in Yorkshire, Samuel Smith was established in 1758, is still independent and creates some very delicious beers. Every Fall, one of the highlights is their Winter Welcome Ale, another Winter Warmer in our ongoing Holiday Seasonal Beer series.

Winter Welcome Ale pours a clear amber ale with a big bubbly head that quickly compresses down to half a finger. It smells like bready malt, gingerbread with a hint of tart fruit in the background.

The first taste displays some earthy hops with some spiciness, and a moderate bready maltiness. In the finish the bitterness is balanced by some light tart fruit, spiciness and caramel malt. Still subtle in the finish it show a moderate body, light carbonation and light alcohol warming.

This is a very tasty, warming, hearty winter beverage. It’s a pleasure to try it every year as it’s consistent and delightful.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Winter Treacle Porter

Brewery: Innis & Gunn

Origin: Scotland

Best Before: Sept 2013

ABV: 7.4%

Ideal temperature: cold

Style: English Porter

Rating: GOOD!

Innis & Gunn, those venerable Scottish oak-aging enthusiasts are at it again with their latest offering, called ‘Winter Treacle Porter’ in shipments to Canada, where it comprises part of the usual I&G giftpack, and is now sold separately, like batteries, I suppose. A 330ml bottle, their first attempt at a porter, to which they’ve added some treacle (molasses, essentially, on this side of the pond).

This beer pours a clear, dark ruby amber hue, with two fingers of foamy, bubbly beige head, which leaves a low fuzzy rise of lace around the glass as it subsides at an even pace. It smells of dark, rummy sugar, banana liqueur, a bit of semi-sweet chocolate, a subtle oaken woodiness, some mildly astringent orchard fruitiness, and a marshmallows candy character. The taste is musty molasses – restrained in their sweetness – dark black fruit, a twinge of besotted wood graininess, nicely evolving Christmas cake notes, some additional soft, warming alcohol, and a touch of earthy hops.

The bubbles are generally quite tame, and just barely supportive, the body a sturdy medium weight, a tad clammy, and generally smooth. It finishes off-dry, the molasses (I suppose that’s actually treacle, but having no cultural experience there, I’m going with what I know) doing well to not overstep its guest role – the fruit, hops, and booze all lending an even helping hand.

Well, I&G usually leaves me with a case of the blahs, usually from the overwrought oak sweetness – here, however, that is leavened a fair bit, and the unusually exotic sugar adjunct adds a bit of seasonal whimsy. Nothing revelatory, but worth a try over the imminent onslaught of baked goods, I’m sure.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Cascadian Black Ale

Brewery: Yukon Brewing Company

Origin: Whitehorse, YK, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 6.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: American Black Ale

Rating: GOOD!

This is the Yukon Brewing Company’s Solstice offering, the 5th in their ADD series for those keeping count, celebrating the longest night of year (especially for them), and the increasing daylight that inevitably comes thereafter. A 341ml bottle, which comes in a cardboard tube strewn with semi-amusing bon mots and associated imagery. Brewed with Millenium, Cascade, and Glacier hops.

This beer pours a very dark reddish amber hue, with one pudgy finger of fizzy, foamy, and ultimately a bit creamy beige head, which leaves a low, undulating rocky seashore of lace around the glass as it duly recedes. It smells of roasted caramel malt, a tad on the nutty side, mildly zingy citrus rind, some decent drupe fruitiness, a bit of wintergreen, and a subtle woody/leafy character. The taste is lightly toasted, bready malt, more dry, earthy nuttiness, subdued acrid citrus pith, and herbal, leafy hops.

The carbonation is even, and just supportive enough, the body a sturdy medium weight, and mostly smooth. It finishes with a final flourish of nutty malt, before a stern drying leafy, fruity, and herbal hoppiness cleans up.

An enjoyable version of the style, with a nicely twisted hop essence, and a solid enough connection between the ‘black’ side of the beer and the brewer’s home turf – the wee bit of extra alcohol a cockles-warming bonus.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Valley Trail Chestnut Ale

Brewery: Whistler Brewing Company

Origin: Whistler, BC, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 5.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Fruit/Vegetable Beer

Rating: GREAT!!

650ml bottle. Maybe one to save for lounging around a Christmas Day fireplace, even though the label marketing suggests this as a fall accompaniment. Uses for this particular eponymous roasted nut span the two different holidays, and it’s available now, so that’s that.

This beer pours a deep, brick-like ruddy amber hue, with two fingers of densely foamy, silken beige head, which renders a few arched swaths of lace around the glass as it gently sinks away. It smells quite pungently of sweet chestnut butter, some further hazelnut cream essences, an initially overlooked pungent caramel/toffee malt, a bit of mildly astringent oakiness, and very subtle spiced fruit, possible of the embedded bready sort, maybe. The taste is more sweet mixed nut bowl goodness, generally chestnut and hazelnut, rolled somewhat over top of a still hearty caramel/Toffifay malt backbone, some subtle woody vanilla, mild earthy spice, and nicely supportive leafy, floral hops.

The carbonation is actually rather sublime, i.e. there, but not at the same time, ya know? Anyway, the body maintains a hefty medium weight through all of this, and is pretty smooth, nothing really possessing the will or the means to tangle with it. It finishes sweet, but not over or cloyingly so, as the breadiness, spice and hops see to that, each in their own understated way.

Wow – this is really tasty, and has fastened zippers and misplaced scarves written all over it. Just as appropriate for winter snow day frolicking, as it was for autumn sojourns – those trails now just have a bit of snow covering all of that pretty foliage.

Rated: GREAT!!

Beer: Faceplant Winter Ale

Brewery: Nelson Brewing Company

Origin: Nelson, BC, CA

Best Before: Feb 18, 2013

ABV: 6.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GOOD!

This is the Nelson Brewing Company’s winter seasonal offering, which comes in six-packs of 355ml cans. The label just screams out for a wintertime dalliance on a local or 6-hour drive ski-hill.

The beer itself pours a crystal clear, dark brassy amber hue, with two fingers of tight foamy beige head, which leaves a low slouching wash of lace around the glass as it duly recedes. It smells of crisp biscuit and sweet caramel malt, a bit of oily nuttiness, and soft earthy, leafy hops. The taste is not a big departure – more nutty, caramel malt, some slightly softened biscuit notes, subtle brown shugga, a twinge of bitter chocolate, and more somewhat tangy leafy hops.

The carbonation is average, with a mild spritzy character here and there, but generally smooth, with the body displaying a hearty medium weight. It finishes fairly off-dry, the nutty, crackery, caramel malt still in charge, with a mild edgy nondescript dryness tugging at the metaphoric pant cuffs.

A decent strong brown ale, with some down home flavours, spread nicely all over the hill, and the 6 points of booze easily integrated, which provides that extra warmth to keep you going until you can get yourself back to the lodge.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Blanche Neige

Brewery: Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel!

Origin: Montréal, QC, CA

Best Before: bottled in February 2012

ABV: 8.3%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Witbier

Rating: GREAT!!

A year-round offering from this venerable Quebecois brewery, but whose wintery gravitas has much more pull at this time of year. Sold in singles and 4-packs across Canada and the U.S.

This 341ml bottle pours a slightly hazy medium golden colour, with one fat finger of dense foamy ecru head, which leaves a few instances of northward-tending peninsular lace around the glass as it duly subsides.

It smells quite strongly of cloves, cinnamon, field honey, white pepper, wheaty malt, and soft, simmering booze – very salve-like, as it’s even evoking memories of holiday-necessitated Noxzema to an extent, and not at all in a bad way, I swear! The taste is a revelatory mind-shift, a huge sidestep to bygone holiday experiences – now it’s all Christmas pie meets summer Saison, with cloves, brown sugar, cinnamon, yeast, pepper and subtle banana esters, over a soft bready caramel malt. Little to no booze warming adds to the already prominent winter charm.

The bubbles are rather sedate, the body a solid medium weight, and agreeably smooth, the burgeoning alcohol edge nipping at things a bit. It finishes with a nice swelling surge of spice, yeast, and leveled grainy malt.

A very agreeably gussied-up saison, so much so that it could very well get pushed into Belgian strong ale territory – eh, so be it. Wonderfully spicy, cagily warm, and eminently drinkable, especially as this hardy winter starts showing us its true nature.

Rated: GREAT!!

Beer: Sherbrooke Chocolate Cherry Ostiarius

Brewery: Alley Kat Brewing Company

Origin: Edmonton, AB, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 6.5%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: American Porter

Rating: GOOD!

This has been a winter holiday seasonal release from Alley Kat for the Sherbrooke liquor store in Edmonton, off and on for the past 5 years – it’s now back in all its splendour for 2012. Made with cherry extract and cocoa. There is a curious textual display, in Latin, on the label: Di! Ecce hora! Uxor mea me necabit!

This beer pours a deep, dark cola hue, almost opaque, with two fingers of thin, frothy beige head. The head dissipates after a few slow, indeterminate minutes, leaving a minimal amount of specked lacing. The aroma, resplendent of baker’s quality cocoa, and a subdued bitter cherry, wafts quite readily from the glass – a very inviting smell. The taste is more on the dry side, with the cocoa and semi-sweet cherry battling it out for flavor dominance. Roasted malt, and a very subtle hop presence round out this well-balanced porter. There is a moderate amount of carbonation, and the elevated alcohol is well-hidden, making this go down quite easily. Not on the heavy side, nor cloying, it would make a lovely accompaniment to the season’s multifarious desserts.

The play on words in the name is amusing, as is the Latin lament to being out drinking with the boys, which would make more sense if one could actually sit in a dark, dank little pub and down a few pints of this; however, it is a Sherbrooke special, so, best to stay at home and begrudgingly share this with the missus, if she’s so inclined.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Solstice D’hiver

Brewery: Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel

Origin: Montréal, QC, CA

Best Before: bottled in October 2011

ABV: 10.2%

Ideal temperature: cellar temperature

Style: American Barleywine

Rating: GOOD!

‘The Winter Solstice”, en francais. The barren, leaf-less spindly tree on the label drives that point home in a manner akin to the climate outside right now. Dieu de Diel has national distribution, in Canada, as well as in the United States.

This beer pours a dark over-steeped tea colour, with two fingers of puffy beige head, which leaves a consistent pattern of droopy looped lace around the glass as it evenly settles. It smells of big sugary caramel/toffee malt, mild dark complex fruit, a twinge of treacle, and a somewhat acrid booziness. The taste is quite strongly stewed butterscotch malt, dark fruit liqueur, and further drying edgy, earthy hops. The carbonation is moderate, and a bit on the high side for the style, the body pretty hefty, smooth, but noticeable for its lack of stickiness. It finishes mostly in kind – a lingering caramel sweetness, smacked right down by booze and bitter hops.

I sure don’t mind the hops and strength in barleywines, but this one is just a tad too astringently boozy for my liking – maybe partly my own fault, as it was bottled only a little over a year ago. It would be interesting to match this against an equally aged release of my local concern’s barleywine – Alley Kat’s 2010 Old Deuteronomy. Time may very well tell. And after reading the product description in French on the side label – looks like I was bang on: alcohol, fruit, and bitter hops – c’est vrai!

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Winterfish

Brewery: Fish Brewing Company

Origin: Olympia, WA, USA

Best Before: bottled in December, 2011

ABV: 7.5%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GREAT!!

An apparently well-hopped dark, roasted malt winter warmer, from the Fish Brewpub in bucolic Olympic, Washington, the state capital, nestled at the southernmost end of Puget Sound. I recommend anyone check it out should they be in the neighborhood.

This beer pours a mildly hazy, medium apricot amber hue, with a few fingers of foamy, soapy off-white head. It smells of sweet caramel malt, stewed raisins, molasses, and citrusy hops. The taste has a strong bready caramel malt body, and the citrus hops are equally prominent, providing a hop-head’s idea of balance. There’s a mild carbonation to go with the decent weight of this beer, which tastes like a junior American barley wine, with deep aspirations. The finish is off-dry, with a mild caramel malt, and some very minor alcohol warming.

A very nicely structured, and strongly flavoured beer, I would very gladly have this again, and for more than solely keeping the winter frost at bay.

Rated: GREAT!!

Beer: Winter Spice Ale

Brewery: Big Rock Brewery

Origin: Calgary, AB, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 6.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GOOD!

This first made any appearance a number of years ago in a gift pack that contained 4 bottles, plus two tall glasses etched with the same, and a package of those same cookies. That’s all ancient history, as now this is found in the Paul’s Angels mixed pack, weirdly named after the apparent favourites of the current brewmaster.

This beer pours a crystal clear orangish-amber colour, with a healthy amount of pillow-like white head, that disappears rather quickly, leaving a small amount of specked lacing around the glass. The smell is redolent of sweet, pastry-suspect spices – chiefly cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon, yet there’s a punchy sweet caramel malt in there too. The flavor starts strong with the nutmeg spice, and maintains it well, as its cousins from Grandma’s gingerbread recipe all show up in due time.

The spices all coalesce near the finish, joined by a slight warming from the wee extra bit of alcohol. The body is a bit on the light side for a winter warmer, and the carbonation is a little too noticeable as well. Still, the combination of spices is bang-on, and this is a nice seasonal offering, and a welcome change from Big Rock. I have to say, I miss the cookies, but oh well, I shall soon be finding many similar things for this to wash down.

Rated: GOOD

Beer: Vertical Winter Ale

Brewery: Tree Brewing

Origin: Kelowna, BC, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 5.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GOOD!

A 330ml bottle, part of the six packs now available in addition to its presence in Tree’s winter combo pack.

This beer pours a clear medium copper hue, with three fingers of foamy, puffy off-white head, which leaves some high-strung cloud ceiling lace around the glass as it lazily settles. It smells of vanilla, biscuity malt, and leafy, zingy hops. The taste is still big on the vanilla, though now more muddled with some caramel breadiness, a bit of dry ashiness, and still sturdy, leafy, earthy hops.

The carbonation is soft, yet tickling, the body a so-so medium weight, and house-brand smooth. It finishes with a turn to the dry side, the leafy hops going somewhat herbal. Kind of missing out on the whole ‘warming’ part of the concept, though.

An interesting take on the style – nice holiday season sweetness, but with a strong nod towards balance (and moderation) – that vanilla is rendered in such a way that I could see putting a few of these back, before single ingredient fatigue creeps in.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Sunturnbrew

Brewery: Nøgne Ø

Origin: Norway

Best Before: Jan 12, 2022

ABV: 11.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: American Barleywine

Rating: OKAY

A 500ml bottle, a beer brewed in Norway to mark the ‘turning of the sun’ on the winter solstice, December 21st. I do like the sage-appearing Inuit/Laplander with the old-school futuristic shades depicted on the label.

This beer pours a murky, dark reddish brown colour, with one finger of dense, tight foamy beige head, which leaves a solid, uninterrupted mesa profile of lace around the glass as it evenly subsides. It smells of somewhat acrid smoked malt, fruity and a tad medicinal at the same time, which is a bit of a surprise to the ol’ olfactory senses, lemme tell ya – not much else is initially perceptible beyond that. The taste is more of the same meaty smoke character, thankfully blended into a heavy caramel/toffee malt, with some singed field berries and bitter leafy hops grinning and bearing it.

The bubbles are probably as dazed as I am, and do their best to show it by staying low and out of the way, the body rendering the first normal experience in terms of a decently hefty medium weight, and an inexplicably discordant overall smoothness. It finishes on the sweet side, the struggling malt carry the day in the face of the medicinal smokiness. All else is seemingly frittered away in the fray.

As I was initially distracted by the folksy solstice brewing info, I didn’t actually read the ingredients before jumping into this. Turns out it wouldn’t have mattered – there’s nothing there that would indicate the head-on collision one should expect here – should it not be a given that one must indicate the sea-side smoking (i.e, the Islay-fication) of your malt-based inputs? Anyway, take a generally agreeable hefty barleywine, toss in on the BBQ with the catch of the day, and see what transpires, I guess. It does settle down about halfway through (yeah, I persevered, for truth and, well, ego, mostly), with the obviously well-obfuscated 22-proof alcohol eventually tending my wounds. A nice gift idea, maybe, for the Scotch aficionado on your list.

Rated: OKAY

Beer: Father John’s Winter Ale

Brewery: Howe Sound Inn & Brewing Company

Origin: Squamish, BC, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 7.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GOOD!

We in select North American markets receive a 1L resealable, homebrew-friendly bottle, with a nicely hearty, pipe-toting 19th century Santa figure adorning the label, along with plenty of descriptive text concerning the brewery’s history and methodologies.

This beer pours a clear, dark golden amber colour, with three fingers of creamy, puffy off-white head, which leaves some decent curtained lace around the glass as it slowly melts away.

It smells sharply of old-school gingerbread – cloves, somewhat metallic cinnamon, ginger, and bready, cookie-like malt. The taste is more given to the malty side of the Force – lightly roasted caramel, some oily nuttiness, earthy, fruity brown sugar, a bit of lingering clove and cinnamon spice, and a decently restrained dose of boozy vanilla warming.

The carbonation is rather mildly innocuous, the body medium-full in weight, and adequately smooth – nothing really cloying here (other than that of my undeserved expectations). It finishes more than a bit off-dry, as the malt and spices seem to acquire sentience in their next step to a higher existence.

An enjoyable enough holiday tipple – the booze staying well within bounds, as do the spices, and we’re simply left with something more than worthy to wile away the rest of these shortened hours of our collective end of year experience.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Brewery: Boston Beer Company

Origin: Boston, MA, USA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 5.6%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Bock

Rating: GOOD!

Samuel Adams’ annual winter lager offering is a bock, brewed with orange peel. Here in Canada, for some continuing reason, we get the Swedish and English label info. Not sure why that is, but it certainly a welcome sight to see these 6-packs at this time of year.

This 355ml bottle pours a clear, medium burnt amber colour, with two fingers of foamy ecru head, which leaves a nice Swiss cheese spectrum of lace around the glass as it recedes.

It smells of mild toasted caramel malt, ginger spice, a bit of orange citrus, and an underlying layer of earthy noble hops. The taste is ginger and clove inflected bready caramel malt, some other black pepper-esque spice, and more nondescript earthy hops. Any carbonation is quite mild, the body a sure medium-light in weight, and yet a tad astringent – the heretofore understated hops and emboldened alcohol equally responsible. It finishes mostly sweet, and with that persistent edgy, simmering spice bitterness.

A decent, moderately spiced lager, evoking memories holiday seasons past, and worthy of some love when you don’t want to drink something all that heavy in your craft beer pursuits in this one.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Lions Winter Ale

Brewery: Granville Island Brewery

Origin: Vancouver, BC, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 5.5%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GOOD!

Granville Island Brewing started out as a microbrewery in the bustling tourist area of Vancouver that bears its name. They have since expanded production into a facility farther east, and became part of the Molson/Coors conglomerate in 2009, which gave them a huge shot in the arm, distribution-wise. Now about this beer – its name refers to a pair of peaks north of Vancouver, and is apparently anticipated all year long, if you believe the marketing-speak.

This 341ml bottle pours a perfectly clear medium cola-tinted amber hue, with a satisfying amount of thinly puffy off-white head, which melts away at due pace, leaving some random specks of lace around the glass.

It smells of spiced, slightly sweet bread – ginger and nutmeg – quite light, all, with a further caramel/toffee maltiness, and a touch of smoky vanilla. The taste is replete with the aforementioned warming spices, a bit of yeastiness, a strong caramel malt backbone, some softly acidic hoppiness, and some earthy, sweetly boozy vanilla.

The carbonation is just about average, the body sporting an adequate medium weight, some sugary creaminess informing its overall smoothness. It finishes on the sweet side, as the spices drop away totally, leaving the caramel malt and vanilla all on their own.

With no appreciable warming from the tweak of extra alcohol, this is a nice, mild winter sipper, less spiced than many of its seasonal brethren, and another agreeable choice for those occasions when a six-pack is the order of the day.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Mild Winter Ale

Brewery: Okanagan Spring Brewery

Origin: Vernon, BC, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 4.8%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: English Brown Ale

Rating: OKAY

A microbrewery that was bought out by the Sleeman/Sapporo in 1996, and continues to produce German-styled favourites in the northern stem of the wine-soaked Okanagan Valley.

This 341ml bottle pours a clear, dark bronzed amber hue, with two fingers of puffy, tightly foamy beige head, which leaves some decent tree branch lace around the glass as it duly recedes.

It smells of biscuity caramel malt, some mild nuttiness, and dusty, earthy hops. The taste is semi-sweet grainy, lightly toasty caramel malt, ethereal oily bar nuts, a faint drupe fruitiness, a bit of dry black licorice, and earthy, weedy hops.

The bubbles are quite tame, the body on the lee side of medium weight, and generally rather smooth. It finishes off-dry, the malt’s heft lessening a fair bit, getting more bready, and the hops holding steady in their relaxed state.

Mild?!!! There is indeed something mild about this, with apologies to Abe Simpson. Well flavoured, and more or less simple in its application – multi-toned malt, just enough hops, and a lower than Canadian Standard ABV. Worthy for an unthinking session, maybe, but far from an ‘instant favourite’, as proclaimed on the label’s marketing-speak, even though I do appreciate the Canadian spelling in that last bit.

Rated: OKAY

Beer: Bad Hare Winter Bock

Brewery: Rhinelander Brewing Company

Origin: Rhinelander, WI, USA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 5.5%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Bock

Rating: POOR

Rhinelander appears to be a marketing company who are promoting their beers as traditional rustic Germanic offerings (in this case a winter bock) from the deep, dark woods of northern Wisconsin, when in reality, they are brewed by every craft beer fan’s greatest monster, the Minhas Craft Brewery. I’ll let you insert the quotes where you deem necessary.

This 650ml bottle pours a clear, dark ruby colour, with two fingers of workaday foamy beige head, which leaves a few random streaks of lace around the glass as it quickly sinks away. Not too shabby, but I am way too oft bitten to be anything less than tightly guarded right now.

It smells of caramel/toffee malt, tinged by a sour breadiness, some stale orchard fruitiness, a hard water minerality, and tame dead leafy hops. The taste is bready caramel malt, quite musty in its bearing, a weakly generic fruitiness, some of that hovering Minhas house astringency, and rotting forest floor leafy hops.

The carbonation is average, a tad frothy, but generally supportive, the body medium-light in weight, and a tad too tacky to be deemed all that smooth. It finishes off-dry, the almost-sour fruity malt still not doing much to make a friend of me.

Baby steps, is perhaps the best thing I can say about this offering – there are real beer notes to be found here, scattered about the lingering, aspirational ethos of the actual brewer. A blend of good and bad, and we all know what happens when you multiply a positive and a negative, right? This is the answer at the back of the book.

Rated: POOR

Beer: Edelweiss Snowfresh

Brewery: Hofbräu Kaltenhausen

Origin: Austria

Best Before: July 2013

ABV: 5.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer

Rating: GOOD!

A weissbier, flavoured with alpine herbs. There is a nice mountain range relief around the top of the low-slung label. Seems appropriate on a night where the major thoroughfares in the city are more reminiscent of groomed ski runs.

This 330ml bottle pours a hazy pale golden straw colour, with two fingers of thinly creamy white head, which leaves a low, sparsely sudsy wall of lace around the glass as it eagerly sinks away. It smells of sweet, earthy, perfumed florals, candied banana, citrus, clove, and subtly subdued yeast. The taste is sweet, lightly sugary wheat malt, an understated citrus fruitiness, overripe apple puree, some mild yeast, and herbal, mildly spicy hops.

The carbonation is tame, but supportive enough, the body a decent medium weight, smooth, and a tad creamy. It finishes off-dry, and pretty clean, the herbal remedy hops riding atop a softly edgy sweetness.

A very nice, agreeably ‘adjusted’ wheat beer, as the alpine herb delta hits the spot just so, conjuring up images of crisp, airy mountain meadows, edged with snow as the spring is nigh, as opposed to the brash, stuck-in winterscape outside my frozen window right now.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Winterbraun

Brewery: Lost Coast Brewery

Origin: Eureka, CA, USA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 8.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GREAT!!

Lost Coast has taken their regular brown ale, and amped it up with more caramel and chocolate malts, as well as a curious employment of imported Saaz hops. The label shows a Picasso-esque looking boarder displaying at least one option for getting outside and letting off some steam.

This 22oz bottle pours a clear, deep, dark ruby brown colour, with bright cherry cola highlights, and two fat fingers of tight foamy beige head, which exhibits some sturdy retention, eventually leaving a drooping curtain of webbed lace around the glass. It smells of lightly toasted, biscuity caramel malt, a bit of lush toffee, nutty cocoa, and prominent grassy, leafy, earthy hops. The taste is sweet medium-dark, but still milky chocolate, roasted caramel malt, dark fleshy fruit, and a plucky spicy, leafy bitterness.

The carbonation is on the low side, the body fairly hefty in weight, quite smooth, and fairly creamy. It finishes still quite sweet, but generally tempered by the biscuits and nuts, not to mention the actively lingering bitter Bohemian hop goodness.

I’ve passed this one over at the local bottleshop for a long time now, mostly due to the goofy label, unfortunately. My bad, as this turns out to be a lovely big brown ale – and more balanced than my ill-informed expectations, and nicely warming. Quite easy to put back the whole bottle, and it’s inspiring in me a desire to escape the urban snowscape for a quick mountain holiday.

Rated: GREAT!!

Beer: Foodball Solstice Saison

Brewery: Mikkeller

Origin: Denmark

Best Before: June 2013

ABV: 6.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Fruit/Vegetable Beer

Rating: GOOD!

A saison-style beer, made with elderberries and elderflowers. ‘Foodball’ is apparently a reference to a soccer event held annually (near the winter solstice, presumably) in Denmark to support programs that fight world hunger.

This 330ml bottle pours a hazy, dark reddish-orange hue, with three fingers of foamy, rocky, dense dirty pink head, which leaves a stellar array of fuzzy, webbed lace around the glass as it slowly abates. It smells of bitter grapefruit pith, pine resin, some earthy dark fruit, a floral perfume essence, some soft yeast notes, and straight-up pale malt. The taste is more grapefruit rind, somewhat acrid yeast, sweet, musty flowers, an acidic black berry fruitiness, pale grainy malt, and some further lemon tartness.

The carbonation is average, kind of dropping off here and there, the body a culled medium weight, and mostly smooth, the fruity acerbity taking down a notch or so. It finishes just barely off-dry, the sweetness of the underlying malt and fruit/flower interplay still at the mercy of that strangely workable combo of bitter Pacific Northwest hops, and restrained yeast.

Lots going on in this one, as the addition of traditional Scandinavian elder* ingredients makes for an interesting sideshow. Bitterly hoppy, in the Mikkeller way, but not so much that the Saison qualities don’t get their moment in the sun, and the guest stars doing well to work their way in. Worth a try, just pick a reason from the above and go with it.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Abominable Winter Ale

Brewery: Hopworks Urban Brewery

Origin: Portland, OR, USA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 7.3%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: American Amber Ale

Rating: GOOD!

The Hopworks brewery’s annual winter offering – they don’t add anything beyond a classic west coast upping of the hops and malt – besides, it doesn’t snow in Portland, does it? Cheers to the Dr. Suess-esque cartoon beast of the woods adorning this rather kitschy label.

This 22oz bottle pours a clear, medium bronzed amber hue, with two fingers of foamy, somewhat creamy beige head, which leaves some sparse rainforest tree-top lace around the glass as it gently seeps away. It smells prominently of pine resins and pithy citrus rinds up front, with a solid bready caramel malt, followed up by a further tepid herbal hoppiness. The taste is fairly bitter right off the bat – pine, earth, and grassy herbs, whose initial edge softens greatly as the slightly late-arriving bready, somewhat sour caramel malt barges in anew. Right along with it, I also get a wee bit of metallic alcohol warming.

The carbonation is on the low side, yet a tad frothy at the same rate, the body medium weight, and generally smooth, but for a slight hop bitterness twinge. It finishes just on the perceptibly off-dry side – the moderately intrusive hops not giving up the game just yet, and the (apparently six kinds of!) malt doing a decent job of general clean-up.

A winter ale, sure, I suppose – though I would proffer that this is more of a hopped-up amber ale, the only spice being ground-up hops. So, given its origins, it could also be simply called a summer ale, or an autumn ale, for all the difference it would make. It still tastes pretty good, however, but don’t expect anything that actually complements all that Christmas baking on which you’ve just gorged, eh?

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Winter Beeracle

Brewery: Dead Frog Brewing

Origin: Aldergrove, BC, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 7.5%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GOOD!

Last year, Dead Frog offered up their Christmas Beeracle release for the holiday season.  Now, they’ve got a new name, new recipe, and new ABV, so it seems fair enough to assume that this is somewhat of a new beer for the waning days of 2012.

This 650ml bottle pours a clear, dark bronzed amber hue, with two fingers of loosely foamy, somewhat creamy dirty white head, which leaves a few up-swells of ocean spray lace around the glass as it quickly settles.  It smells of sweet caramel malt, sugary vanilla, orange creamsicle, citrus vodka, and leafy, floral hops. The taste is more big caramel/toffee malt, a kind of muddled orange juice, vanilla cream, and alcohol smoothie essence, a bit of an indistinct tangy sourness, and some leafy, bitter hops.

The bubbles are fairly laid-back, but supportive enough, the body an adequate medium weight, with a very slight, ethereal astringency, but is otherwise smooth. It finishes off-dry, the vanilla, orange, and alcohol taking a step or three down in sweetness, the malt going sort of bready, and the hops still a bit tweaked in their saucy bitterness.

A tasty enough affair, the ‘winter’ influences here limited to the boozy vanilla citrus notes, which are usually more universal, but I suppose can be applied to the current season’s context well enough. Worthy of a go, as its warming aspects cannot be denied.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: La Moneuse Special Winter Ale

Brewery: Brasserie de Blaugies

Origin: Belgium

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 8.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Saison

Rating: GOOD!

Brasserie de Blaugies claims to be Belgium’s smallest family-owned brewery, one run out of their garage, at that.  The winter ale is based on their regular saison, made ‘extra rich’ for the holiday season – that is all they deemed necessary in terms of off the shelf marketing.

This 750ml bottle pours a hazy, dark orange-brick amber hue, with two fingers of densely foamy, pale beige head, which leaves a rather random portrayal of streaky lace around the glass as it genially fades away.  It smells of earthy yeast, semi-sweet pale malt, some mild convenience store candy sugar, a bit of white wine vinous character, and some understated leafy, grassy hops. The taste is fruity, predominantly plum-like malt, a bit of acerbic yeastiness, dry white wine notes, some middling yeast, a less than certain muddled sweet spiciness, and a twinge of softly lilting alcohol.

The carbonation is a tad frothy, but nothing really overwrought, the body medium-light in weight, and generally quite smooth, with only a slightly pithy overtone. It finishes just barely off-dry, the pale malt, lingering astringent fruitiness, rising earthy, leafy hoppiness, and simmering boozy warmth all contributing to a general sense of well being.

A decent enough saison-type offering, sure, but the ‘Noel’ upgrades are tenuous at best – nothing all that seasonal really presents itself, which isn’t quite a bad thing, per se, but given the stealthy marketing around this offering, I was expecting a fair bit more in terms of spice, sweetness, and shamelessly overt Yuletime goodness. So, good, to be certain, but more on the subtle, relaxed side.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Winter Ale

Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery

Origin: Brooklyn, NY, USA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 6.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GOOD!

The brewery claims this to be a Scottish-style ale, purportedly to account for the lack of spice additions during the brewing process.

This 12oz bottle pours a clear, dark copperish amber hue, with two fingers of fizzy, tightly foamy beige head, which leaves but a few random specks and arches of wasting lace around the glass as it duly recedes.  It smells of caramelized toffee, some crisp gingerbread, a wee bit of besotted fruit, and a mild air of noble earthy hops – rather inviting, to say the least. The taste is sweet, but in somewhat tempered manner, the dark bready malts, brown sugar, and overripe fruitiness barely offset by some roasted nuttiness, mildly herbal hops, and subtle booziness.

The bubbles are a bit tingly, but generally all right, the body a decent medium weight, and slightly afflicted by a flinty edge that muddies up any idea of straight ahead smoothness. It finishes a lot closer to the dry side – earthy, leafy hops stepping up to support the persistent alcohol warming, amongst a more or less steady crystal maltiness.

A tasty enough brew, lots of satisfyingly hearty sweet bits, and none too complicated for warding off the lingering eponymous (for now) seasonal melancholy.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Fraîcheur Du Soir

Brewery: Brasserie Trois Dames

Origin: Switzerland

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 6.8%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Witbier

Rating: GOOD!

The 2011 edition, apparently a ‘blanche double malt’, which I take to mean something like an Imperial White Ale. The attendant winterscape ski imagery, for a wheat beer, is indeed odd, but hardly out of season, right now at least.

This 750ml bottle pours a very cloudy golden white hue, with three fingers of thin foamy white head, which leaves a few leaping arches of lace around the glass as it duly subsides.  It smells of somewhat sweet, grainy wheat malt, a faint orange citrus character, some acerbic yeast, and very subtle savoury, somewhat peppery spice. The taste is more demi-sec wheat malt, a heightened peppy coriander twinge, some dry orange rind, and soft earthy yeast, with nothing beyond a simple, understated warming to indicate the 14 proof ABV.

The bubbles are fairly edgy, and just powerful enough to provide a complex structure, the body on the lee side of medium-light in terms of weight, and rather wholesomely smooth. It finishes off-dry, sure, but with a trend towards dryness, as the proclaimed double malt ebbs, and the spice, yeast, alcohol, and fruit essence ascend.

Forget Imperial this, and Double that – this is just a decent witbier, maybe a wee bit too tame with the fruit and spice adjuncts, but that doesn’t really detract from the easy inherent drinkability. The extra 2 points of booze don’t hurt in the least, especially as they are quite wraith-like, leaving us with a nice, hefty, and clean wheat beer (I don’t get to say that about this style all that much).

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Polaris Julebryg

Brewery: Nanoq Beer

Origin: Greenland

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 6.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: OKAY

The first Greenlandic offering to grace the shelves of, well, I’m not hesitating to say, anywhere outside of Denmark and that frozen Danish colony itself. Beyond discerning that this is brewed with water extracted from Greenlandic ice, I’ve got nothing as far as cultural references go, so onto the drinking, eh?

This 500ml bottle pours a crystal clear, medium rusted amber hue, with one finger of fizzy, foamy pale tan head, which leaves a low berm of gasket lace around the glass as it quickly abates.  It smells of thin caramel malt, though at the same time quite fruity – pear and melon, predominantly, with various spices jockeying for attention – clove, licorice root, and cinnamon stand out the most, among a faint grassy, leafy hoppiness. The taste is light bready, somewhat caramelized malt, more savoury spices in the vein of cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and dried juniper, some apple orchard fruitiness, and very soft piney, leafy hops. No evidence of the extra point of alcohol.

The carbonation blends into the background, the body coming in on the weak and light side of things, though generally quite smooth. It finishes with a dry, almost woody push, like the stems of the fruit that just were, as the malt just doesn’t have the legs.

The European influence is not a surprise in this nascent North of 60 (I’ll actually have to look that up) offering – fruity, spicy, some boreal forest notes; however, it all feels a wee bit too thin, too ethereal, to convince me that I’d want to depend very much on its warming qualities when they’re needed most.

Rated: OKAY

Beer: Leavenworth Navigator Doppelbock

Brewery: Fish Brewing Company

Origin: Olympia, WA, USA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 8.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Doppelbock

Rating: GOOD!

A nice outdoorsy, winter themed presentation, even if the base beer isn’t specifically tailored to the snowy grip currently held on we northern Albertans.

This 650ml bottle pours a dark, clear, shiny redbrick hue, with two fingers of tight, dense foamy tan head, which leaves some bleeding arch lace around the glass as it evenly subsides. Quite purdy, if I do say so myself.  It smells of dark, raisiny fruit, a slight sugary, candied character, lightly toasted caramel malt, a bit of rum butter, and earthy, floral hops. The taste is big toffee/caramel malt, brown sugar, some mild mocha, moderate black fruit, more floral candy notes, a subtle, soft booziness, and indistinct drying hops.

The carbonation is quite sedate, no real perceptible edge here, the body actually a bit on the light side, with medium weight just out of reach, but generally quite smooth, as the big ABV has the decency to not really interfere. It finishes semi-sweet, the malt holding strong in its various guises, amongst a chalky, pithy, earthy upstart dryness.

An enjoyable enough Doppelbock, especially given the value consideration. It does lag somewhat in the heftiness department, but that just makes it all the easier to put back. Oh, right, about that alcohol, so cleverly hidden – so ya got me there.

Rated: GOOD!

 

Beer: Avalanche

Brewery: Fyne Ales Ltd

Origin: Scotland

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 4.5%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: English Pale Ale

Rating: GOOD!

A Scottish ale, produced with an excess of American style hops, and thus put forth in a wintery ‘avalanche’ theme.

This 500ml bottle pours a hazy, very pale straw colour, with two fingers of thin foamy, rocky white head, which leaves a nice well spread, fuzzy web of lace around the glass as everything duly sinks away. It smells of light bready, cracker malt, a touch of grapefruit citrus pith, some mild earthy yeast, and bitter floral hops. The taste is light bready malt, a little bit of crackery edginess, some faint, indistinct tart citrus notes, and persistent, fairly bitter grassy hops.

The carbonation is on the low side, but supportive all the same, the body medium light in weight, and generally quite smooth. It finishes off-dry, the pale malt and bristling hops engaging in a low-fi end game.

More of a mild bitter, with fruity tendencies, and a rather decent one at that. Hoppy enough to keep this new world denizen satisfied, and worthy of the label’s posturing, though I am not quite convinced of the overwhelming deluge that we in the New World associate with the titular term.

Rated: GOOD!

 

Beer: Mr Sno’balls

Brewery: Harviestoun Brewery Ltd.

Origin: Scotland

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 4.5%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: English Pale Ale

Rating: GOOD!

A not entirely welcome reminder of the set in change of seasons ’round here in the Great White North. It also sounds a little too much like something a little girl would name her cat.

This 330ml bottle pours a clear, dark rusty brown hue, with one skinny finger of thin, bubbly, foamy beige head, which leaves a decent hanging arch array of lace around the glass as things fall away.  It smells predominantly of biscuity, bready caramel malt, nutty milk chocolate notes, a twinge of juicy citrus, and earthy, dusty hops. The taste is more biscuity malt, but softened a fair bit further by the bittersweet chocolate, nuts, shy citrus, and leafy, earthy hops.

The carbonation is not quite sedate, with a slight twinge here and there, the body a near medium weight, and agreeably smooth. It finishes off-dry, the biscuity malt still there, with a growing flinty edge that somewhat muddles the latent floral, obfuscated citrus hops.

Not quite sure about this one – it’s definitely more of an English Brown Ale, for reasons self-evident, perhaps the recipe changed for its North American debut. It’s definitely drinkable, even though the proclaimed ‘crisp, clean, citrus’ is reflected minimally, at best, and the low-ebbing flinty edge seems poised to rise up at any given moment.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Winter Ale

Brewery: Paddock Wood Brewing Co.

Origin: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 8.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Dubbel

Rating: GREAT!!

Paddock Wood’s Belgian-style winter ale persists into a third year, now, with a particularly greater availability than in previous years.

This 355ml bottle pours a clear, medium red-brick amber hue, with one finger of thinly foamy, runny beige head, which leaves a low island headland profile of lace around the glass as it hastily recedes.  It smells of sweet, bready, ginger snaps, as if they’ve just come from the oven, and are piping cold – brown sugar-saturated, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon-enhanced all, with a mild drying leafiness trying in vain to overcome the inevitable here. The taste is more sweet bready caramel malt, sugary cloves, all-spice, cinnamon, and star anise, some additional brown sugar, and faintly bitter earthy, weedy hops.

The carbonation is mildly frothy, and generally supportive, the body a sturdy medium-full weight, and smooth, but with a wee alcoholic prick, which is verily encapsulated therein. It finishes still rather sweet, the combined efforts of the cookie-like malt and spice hard to shake, though a hallow yeast and earthy hoppiness does give it ol’ ill-fated college try.

A decent, enjoyable rendering of a style by a Canadian Prairie micro-brewer, of a style and interpretation usually best left to the experts in that country, whose name in Galactic-speak, is one of the crudest vulgarities known to man (and otherwise). Having no shame myself, I say, Belgium!

Rated: GREAT!!

Beer: Winter Dunkel

Brewery: Whistler Brewing Company

Origin: Whistler, BC, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 5.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Dunkelweizen

Rating: GOOD!

A welcome arrival here in Alberta; if the stereotypical orange/chocolate combo is maybe a tad late, the generic winter association sure isn’t. And yes, yes I have ‘tried a Dunkelweizen’, as per the label’s admonitions.

This 650ml bottle pours a clear, dark, yet bright red brick amber hue, with three fingers of puffy, thinly foamy beige head, which leaves a variable hanging wall of patchy, fuzzy lace around the glass as it genially recedes.  It smells of, well it smells pretty much like somewhat watery Terry’s Chocolate Orange, quite evocative of a few very recent office party over-indulgences, i.e., milk chocolate laced with sweet, sugary, candied orange essence, and very little else beyond a generally drying character that I suppose can be attributed to the overmatched workaday hops. The taste is still replete with bittersweet chocolate malts, juicy orange fruit and zest, some seemingly more pedestrian pale and caramel malt, nothing really resembling the proclaimed wheat, a bit of sassy vanilla vodka, and earthy, and surprisingly kind of bitter leafy hops.

The bubbles are present and well wrought, with a nice subtle hum throughout, the body a tremulous, but mostly steady medium weight, and smooth, though with little fanfare. It finishes quite off-dry, the lingering baker’s cocoa and fruity orange notes not blanching just yet, even in the face of an opportunistic earthy, forest floor subdued bitterness.

Well, I likes me the choco-orange combo as much as any holiday imbiber, but the recent offerings purportedly incorporating such have left me wanting, as of late. No longer, it would appear, as Whistler has accomplished a pretty good thing here – the (sub) titular additives play out loud and proud, and don’t really overdo it, allowing a relatively serene balance to be maintained by dint of the understated and under-loved hops. The only issue may be the proclamation of this as a Dunkleweizen, as any of the specific malty fruitiness of that style, if it actually exists, just gets lost in this particular mire.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Spiced Winter Ale

Brewery: Yukon Brewing Company

Origin: Whitehorse, YK, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 6.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GOOD!

Here we have batch number 2 in Yukon’s winter A.D.D. series, where their brewers try to branch out and try different things. Again, they’ve kept with the humorous and informative cardboard tube presentation.

This 341ml bottle pours a clear, dark bronzed amber colour, with two puffy fingers of dense frothy beige head, which sinks away at a very leisurely pace, leaving some random streaks of wave-crest lace around the glass.

It smells of zingy cinnamon, astringent, salty black licorice, wintergreen mint, some earthy nuttiness, and bready, biscuity malt. The taste is more restrained on the spice front – nice soft cinnamon and cardamon, some edgy, metallic anise, more flinty mint (ok, I just like saying that) – over a sedate, pale grainy, somewhat sourdough-like bready malt, all with a twist of bitter citrus rind.

The carbonation is quite mild, the body a fairly average medium weight, a bit on the thin side, and generally smooth. It finishes surprisingly clean – the malt and most of the spice all seemingly dropping back, leaving an ethereal void, punctured here and there by a bit of citrus and earthy warmth.

A decent winter warmer, with an ingredient list that skews from the norm, and a very shy malt sweetness, rendering it all a bit of a showcase for spice. I’d prefer it be a fair deal heavier, but I can appreciate the lighter drinkability of this one all the same.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Black Mammoth Winter Ale

Brewery: Fernie Brewing Company

Origin: Fernie, BC, CA

Best Before: N/A

ABV: 8.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GOOD!

Christmas is over and done for another year, yet we are presented with another winter ale flavoured with orange and chocolate. Even though I’ve had enough of that particular combination to last until the end of 2013, as per usual, keep these winter beers a ‘comin, I say.

This 650ml bottle pours a very dark chestnut brown hue, with slight cola highlights, and three fingers of puffy, foamy beige head, which leaves some drooping cirrus cloud lace around the glass as it evenly seeps away.  It smells of sharp, bitter orange rind, bittersweet cocoa nibs, lightly roasted, somewhat nutty caramel malt, a bit of Grand Marnier fruity booziness, and tame earthy, leafy hops. The taste is thin chocolate syrup, toasted grainy caramel malt, ethereal fleshy orange citrus, an acrid earthy nuttiness, middling, flinty alcohol, and some struggling wet leafy hops.

The bubbles are pretty soma-esque, and little more, the body a sturdy medium-full weight, and mostly smooth, a slightly pithy essence the pea to this here princess. It finishes off-dry, the cocoa really the only lingering mainstage player facing the dregs of the remaindered quasi-bitter hops.

A brash, relatively big winter ale – in a number of ways, even with one of the guest ingredients bailing out way too early. Thankfully its counterpart easily takes up the slack, and combined with the leavening hops and ABV, make for a tasty, heartening winter tipple, especially as these inhuman temperatures seem to be stuck in for a lengthened spell in my northern clime. Or not, as that’s part of the so-called guesswork, eh, Weather Network?

Rated: GOOD!

 

Beer: K:rlek Efterår/Vinter 2012

Brewery: Mikkeller

Origin: Denmark

Best Before: August 23, 2014

ABV: 6.2%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Pale Ale

Rating: GOOD!

A season or two after their summer 2012 offering of a similar name, the “Efterår/Vinter” here translates to ‘fall/winter’, which indicates this as a late-season warmer for fans of Mikkeller’s brand of hopping the hell out of their typical wares.

This 330ml bottle pours a cloudy, dull apricot amber hue, with three fat fingers of aggressively foamy, eventually chunky dirty white head, which leaves some skewed snowflake specked lace around the glass as it evenly and slowly recedes.  It smells of rather peppy, and bitter, orange and overripe grapefruit rind, a piny leafiness, musty caramel malt, with a streak of bread pudding, and a slight vinous mineral character. The taste is fruity citrus hops – orange, grapefruit, lemon – with some guava and kiwi tropical notes, a sturdy bready caramel malt backbone, a further green leafy bitterness, and a sort of pithy, mealy white wine mustiness, sans any alcohol warming from the upped ABV.

The carbonation is definitely on the low, unassuming side, the body medium-full in weight, and mostly smooth, that clamminess from the flavour taking a slight toll here. It finishes off-dry, the fruit and malt still in a minor detente with the lingering hops.

A decently hopped-up pale ale, one which struts its bitter stuff, without inadvertently barging into IPA territory. The balance is well maintained by the understated, rather musty malt offset, and the single serving disappears all too quickly, the 6-plus points of booze having little gustatory impact. An ostensible release for the winter, sure, but this could well be enjoyed at any time of the year.

Rated: GOOD!

Beer: Red Racer Winter Ale

Brewery: Central City Brewing

Origin: Surrey, BC, Canada

Best Before: April 26, 2013

ABV: 7.0%

Ideal temperature: between cold and cellar temperature

Style: Winter Warmer

Rating: GREAT!!

Suburban Vancouver’s Central City Brewing has quickly built a reputation as the IPA-kings of Canada, and have made likewise inroads into the United States, all while packaging their wares in attractive throw-back aluminum cans, adorned with a cartoonish brunette riding the titular red bicyclette.  Here, we have their winter ale, and there’s our girl, in her winter minimal finery, still astride that red hipster ride…

This 355ml can pours a clear, medium brassy amber hue, with two fingers of dense, foamy off-white head, which leaves some random coffee ring stain imprints of frilly lace around the glass as it evenly dissipates.

It smells of grapefruit and orange citrus hops, caramel toffee malt, and an overarching stewed raisin, fruitcake-like essence, which keeps it barely out of straight-up, knockin’ on DIPA territory. Still, I am breathless with anticipation!  The taste is bready, biscuity, crackery – sweet, all – malt, a touch of molasses, a more moderated earthy citrus character, and some piney, musty, somewhat leafy vegetal hops.

The carbonation subscribes to the don’t ask, don’t tell model in going about its business, the body a solid medium weight and generally smooth, no complaints. It finishes clean and very well balanced – the bitter citrus hops still doing well to cut through a lake of complex malt.

Wow, West Coast Winter Warmer represent! Nothing like a bit of sensory misdirection, before arriving at the new real thing. Big IPA up front, pizza crust (yeah, homemade, herbal pizza dough at this point, at least), and then a still stunned, warming gooey maltster emerges. Quirky, kind of sultry, and quite drinkable – well worthy of stocking this six-pack in the fridge all winter long.

Rated: GREAT!!