ABV: 6.9 percent
Appearance: Anderson Valley Winter Solstice looks more like a red ale than it does a winter ale. the majority of winter ales are somewhat dark and mainly brown. This beer is on the darker side, but is more of a dark ruby red. There is plenty of carbonation as evident by the bubbles constantly flowing towards the top of the glass. The head is very fluffy and is an ivory color. The head has decent retention. It' loses some of it's activeness as you drink it, but the inside of your glass will be caked with lacing. Thick lacing. Among the thickest I've ever seen.
Smell: Overall, this brew's aroma is dominated by strong touches of caramel and bready malts. I found it quite difficult to pick up any spices. I'm not the world's biggest fan of winter beers with tons of spice, but it doesn't get any better when I don't get any at all.
Taste: This section of the review is also full of the bready malt and the caramel. The caramel had a nice creaminess to it on the front of the tongue. A bonus was a small taste of vanilla. There was also a flavor of some form of dark fruit in the after taste. I didn't pick any of that up in the aroma. This beer had a very good texture as well. The beer's thick head and the carbonation helped to provide that
Overall Rating:
This is a well-crafted winter beer. Love the presence of caramel and vanilla. This is a very attractive brew with one hell of a crown. Very good brew, but I'm still more of a Summer Solstice kind of guy. A pinch of cinnamon, anyone?
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