Lineup
of winter seasonals
Once again, the changing of the
“seasons” in the endless heat of Houston is demarcated by the
arrival of a new batch of seasonal beers. As I’ve written before,
this has become one of my primary ways to mark the changing of the
seasons. There is, of course, some degree of melancholy wrapped up in
that statement. I miss the shifting landscapes of northern New York,
the distinct smells and sights and temperature changesi
of the seasons. That being said, marking seasons with beers is not
completely without merit. Because, you know, beer.
Christmas
lights...after the beer sampling.
For me, winter is not usually the
highlight of the seasonal beer cycle. When I lived in colder climes,
winter was a time for stouts and porters, dark thick beers for
sustenance against the frozen world around me. However, the
specifically branded seasonals tend to rotate around highly spiced
Christmas ales, stuffed with all manner of Christmas-y
estoterica…nutmeg, spruce tips, essence of elf, you name it. These
haven’t appealed to me in the past because I like to keep my beer
and potpourri separate. But since I’ve started to make a habit of
reviewing
the seasonal seasonals, and hadn’t really covered winter yet, I
was going to have to take one for the team….
Morituri
te salutamus.
Over the course of the last month or so
I have, in selfless service to you, the readers, loaded up a couple
six packs of winter seasonals and slogged my way through the lot of
them. In honor of the falling temperatures, I have assigned each a
temperature based on relative coolness. Keeping in mind this is being
written whistfully from a 78 degree December day in Houston, cooler =
better.
Alaska Winter Ale – 105
with 100% Humidity. The
“flavored with Spruce Tips” was intriguing. After tasting it, I
am less intrigued. By which I mean, I have lost faith in humanity.
This unfortunate blasphemy against thousands of years of brewing
tradition tastes like a freak accident involving a pine air freshener
and a bowl of stale froot loops. The sickly sweet malt and fake pine
aftertaste was enough to drive a man to drink another beer.
Breckenridge Christmas
Ale – 75 and Balmy. This is
why I'm not excited about winter seasonals. Somewhere under the
melange of spice is a beer. Not offensive, just kind of there.
Deschuttes Jubelale – 62
with a nip in the air. I want
to like Deschuettes more than I do. All of their offerings are ok,
but just ultimately forgettable. Their Jubeale continues the trend.
Points lost for stupid name.
St.
Arnold Christmas Ale – 55, not enough for a jacket, but too cold
for short sleves. St. Arnolds
is one of our more successful local breweries. Some of their stuff is
top notch, some of it is so so. This ale splits the difference and
settles comfortably into mediocrity.
Samuel Adams Winter
Lager – 48, a crisp autumn day. This
Sam Adams is different from the Boston Lager in that one is called
Winter Lager, and the other is called Boston Lager. That's about it.
It's supposedly spiced with the usual mix of hoo hah, but it's so
subtle, you mostly just get lager. Which is ok, because Sam makes a
good lager, but it's missing the “winter”.
Newcastle Winter Ale – 36,
hey I can see my breath! While
Newcastle's offerings have been hot or miss lately, the Winter Ale is
a decent entry. It manages to even taste somewhat crisp like cold
air. Not quite solid winter fare, but pretty decent.
Silly Yak Brewery Cinnamon
Bits Christmas Ale – 32, hey, a snowflake! This
is an extremely local brewery...small batch homebrew made by a
colleague at work. It is not subtle. But if you're going to do
spiced, might as well go all in. Just try not to think about the name
too much.
Anchor Brewing Our Special
Ale – 25, baby it's cold outside. Anchor
is usually a solid bet, and their Our Special Ale is always decent.
This year is a nicely balanced ale with a subtle piney hops taste.
Extra points for a great label.
Wasatch Winterfest - 0,
No we can't turn the heat up, put on another sweater. Wasatch
is a great little Utah brewery. I was a bit surprised to find their
stuff in the supermarket. Wasatch usually tends to be somewhat
irrevent (my first experience was on a trip to Utah where I sampled
their Polygamy Porter, whose tag line is “why have just one?”.)
This is a really nice ale, with a nice blend of hops with an odd, but
enjoyable coolness to it. Good stuff for an evening in front of a
roaring fire or, you know, drinking.
New
Belgium Snow Day – 20 Below, we've gone hypothermic. Fittingly
enough, New Belgium's previous, less tasty, winter seasonal was 20
Below. This time, though, they hit the mark. New Belgium is a
perennial favorite, and this is no exception.
Cheers!
Notes
i
Other than Hot and Muggy, Hotter and Muggier, Plumber’s Buttcrack
in Mississippi in August, and winter weekend.
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