Archive for the category “Winter Warmer”

07 Dec 2012

Mikkeller Santa’s Little Helper 2012

MikkellerSanta_bttl11% ABV
Purchased at Taylor’s Market ($14.99/25.4 oz. bottle) and poured into tulip glasses.

This “Belgian ale brewed with spices” pours a prune-y dark brown with a medium-sized, brown sugar head, and an amazing nose of chocolate-covered raisins, caramel apples, and other dark fruits.  On the tongue, chocolate and fruit flavors are balanced against perfectly understated spices on the finish, with a surprisingly light mouthfeel for a sweetness-forward 11-percenter.  Plums, figs, apples, nuts, and caramel all make an appearance, and although the spices are difficult to discern due to their subtlety, I think detected ginger and a touch of cinnamon.  Perfectly balanced with a remarkably crisp finish, Santa’s Little Helper 2012 is easily one of the best brews I have sampled this year.

toasts-5-small   5 Toasts

Mikkeller_Santa

toasts-5-small   5 Toasts

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05 Mar 2012

Winter Welcome Ale (Samuel Smith’s)

6.0% ABV
Purchased at Corti Brothers and poured into tulip glasses

His Notes:

Like all of Samuel Smith’s beers, Winter Welcome was fermented in their trademark stone Yorkshire squares, and the resultant brew has that mossy, distinctly British character.  It pours a golden orange with a tight, white head, looking very summery for what is described on the bottle as a “contemplative” winter ale.  The sweet, apple-syrup aroma and unpleasantly heavy malt flavor, however, are more in line with what is expected from a prototypical English winter brew.  It’s just apples, some pears, and lots of syrupy malt on the nose and palette giving way to mild bitterness and a fairly gross tongue-coating sensation.

  2 Toasts

Her Notes:

  3 Toasts


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19 Jan 2012

Old Fezziwig Ale (Samuel Adams)

5.9% ABV
Purchased at Raley’s ($12.99/12-pack) and poured into pint glasses.

His Notes:

This holiday seasonal, part of the Sam Adams Winter Classics Variety Pack, pours clear brown with a sandy head.  A roasted smell is most prevalent in the weak nose, along with some winter spice, mild licorice, and coffee highlights.  The roasted malt character is also prevalent on the tongue, along with hickory and a touch of bitter chocolate in the aftertaste.  Cinnamon is the most notable spice, but it’s more smoky than spicy on the palette, like a batch of Christmas coffee.  Old Fezziwig is decent but a little bland for my taste, especially compared to the spice rack approach of Anchor’s Christmas Ale, although it should make for a fine cold weather, beef stew beer.

  3 Toasts

Her Notes:

  3 Toasts


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17 Jan 2012

Our Anniversary Ale 2011 (Anchor Brewing)

5.5% ABV
Purchased at Fremont Market ($8.99/6-pack) and poured into pint glasses.

His Notes:

This 39th anniversary vintage of Anchor Brewing’s legendary “Christmas Ale” pours espresso brown with a light brown head.  The nose presents a potpourri of holiday aromas, including roasted nuts, gingerbread, licorice, and various wintry spices.  It is warm and bitter on the tongue with molasses flavors and a gingerbread-like chewiness present, but it finishes clean and quick. What’s left behind on the palette is an amazing mélange of spices, most notably allspice, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and arguably some cardamom and star anise.  The overall effect is savory instead of sweet, a perfect beer for slow-sipping by the fire after a huge holiday meal.

  4 Toasts

Her Notes:

  4.5 Toasts


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