Beer Review: East End Snow Melt

Serving Type: Draft/Growler

ABV: Seven percent

Appearance: East End Snow Melt pours a deep shade of brown, but has plenty of red highlights elsewhere throughout the body. The glass I poured was crowned with an almost two inch head. It was a light beige color, faded away just a tad and left a ton of sticky lacing. The head was strong enough that an above-average layer stayed atop the brew for the majority of the drink. If you have any hair on your upper-lip be prepared to wipe some foam off!

Smell: Some might feel warmer just by getting a sniff of this brew. It's very roasty in the aroma. There was a few other dark flavors that seemed to come off as toffee and chocolate. I also picked up a slight pine scent from the hops in this.

Taste: I got a great amount of roasted malt on my tongue. Everything else in this beer complimented that initial flavor. The dark flavors were an excellent pairing with the malt. The chocolate and toffee seemed to be there. I also picked up some hints of sweet caramel. There was a somewhat strong finish in the bitter department from the hops, but not enough to make me shy away from it. The seven percent ABV was noticeable on the tongue. It nipped at me a bit and was enough to provide a warming sensation on the way down. After all, this is called Snow Melt.

Overall Rating: 

If you really enjoy winter beers this is a great local brew to get your hands on during the colder months. The Spring Equinox is coming up next week. so, I thought now was a fitting time to review this one. I was happy that this beer didn't taste like it was saturated with spices. Such is the case in most winter brews. The ABV was a bit more noticeable than I usually like, but that's just my palette. Something like that would keep me from having multiple of these in the same evening. On the other hand, this brewery has a hefeweizen that I can have many of in a single night.

Beer Review: Anderson Valley Winter Solstice

Serving Type: Draft/Growler

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?

Beer Review: Penn Nut Roll Ale

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 5.5 percent

Appearance: Penn Brewery's Nut Roll Ale has a body that's golden brown in color. The head of the beer was white and somewhat thin. This serving was out of a growler. So, the second glass I had featured a more prominent head, but still with weak retention. There was also plenty of carbonation. The odd thing was the bubbles didn't rise towards the crown of the glass. They grouped on the side of it.

Smell: If you ever go to a family function around this time of the year and come across a nut roll you'll know exactly what I mean. It had an aroma of sweetness, yet it was roasty and nutty. There was a lot of sugar, cinnamon and toffee, but there was also a hint of caramel malt and nuts to spice things up.

Taste: A few things that I didn't pick up in the aroma were the presence of nutmeg and vanilla. Well, they came across fairly well on the tongue. These two were needed to bring this beer together. The cinnamon added some extra zing on the finish and added that winter warmer essence you look forward too in these seasonal beers. It was really close to actually tasting like a nut roll.

Overall Rating: 

I'm not so sure you can classify this brew as a winter ale, as its tastes and aromas are more in resemblance of a brown ale. Yet, it still is a good drink for the holidays. Especially for those of us that enjoy this dessert with our families. This is definitely one of those beers that falls under my "Pie Theory." Which reminds me. I really need to write a post explaining that a bit more.

Monday Rant: Don't Be Stubborn

This week's edition of the Monday Rant segment is pretty much a dissection of myself and my own thoughts and feelings towards beer. Especially those beers most of us appreciate when we start to get out our sweaters and sweat pants for the cold winter months.

I've been overly loud when it comes to voicing my appreciation for the winter warmers and by that I mean I've voiced my disdain for them. Maybe it's just because I've had too many warmers that have been too spiced-up and overly strong for my palette. Over the years, I've noticed that quite a few of them seem eerily similar to each other in aroma and taste. It's rare that I find one that stands out. Don't get me wrong. There are good winter ales out there to be consumed. I just don't notice a lot of them.

To make a long story short, I came across one of those rare stand-outs this past weekend. I acquired a growler full of Penn Brewery's Nut Roll Ale and my world was rocked.

The name of the beer was almost enough to sway me into trying it. I love nut roll and enjoy having a few slices of one every year around Christmas. It's pretty much a staple on the tables of my family's holiday socials and in many other households around Pittsburgh. If you're not up-to-speed on the nut roll thing, then you can learn all about it by reading some of its Wikipedia entry.

This beer had a wonderful aroma of cinnamon and a smooth nutty taste that lingered as it warmed. I can't forget about its slight honey essence, too. Such a fantastic drink. Such an amazing start to the winter warmer season for me. I'm actually excited to come a cross a few new ones as more continue to hit the shelves of our local distributors.

There's only one request I have. There needs to be a winter ale named/themed after one of the great Christmas classics that appear on television (If there isn't one already). If there is, I want to get my hands on it.
  

Monday Rant: Bring on the Winter Warmers

I love both the summer and fall seasons when it comes to craft beer. I love having a zesty ale with strong hints of citrus, as well as a nice crisp pilsner you can only find during these same months. When the leaves begin to change color, I love enjoying buttery pumpkin ales and Marzenbiers with good caramel notes and a decent hop-kick.

We are now entering the most unexciting time of the year, at least in my eyes. Even though it still seems a little early (I'm sure many of us are getting used to our favorite seasonal beers being on the shelves earlier than usual) the winter warmers are starting to come out of the woodwork.

I've seen numerous Untappd check-ins including Full Pint Brewing's Festivus and Southern Tier's Old Man Winter. That tell's me that the warmer season is officially here.

Admittedly, the warmers aren't my favorites when it comes to beer. Many of them are very similar, to me. Loaded with spices. Some say that this season lends more opportunities to be creative for brewers. You're welcome to your own points, but I just can't differentiate when drinking many of these beers.

I will promise one thing for this season, though. I will be more willing to try winter warmers this year. I do enjoy Full Pint's Festivus and I love how it's named (I'm a huge Seinfeld fan). There is one winter beer that I'm looking forward too, though. Bell's Winter White Ale. One winter beer that's got a nice touch of spice, but is just different from many in the style.

Beer Review: Corsendonk Christmas Ale

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 8.5 percent

Appearance: Corsendonk Christmas Ale pours a very dark and reddish brown. It's certainly what you expect when you read or hear Christmas or Winter Ale. The head is creamy, white and pretty thick. It also has a strong retention as it remains on top of the brew for most of the drink.

Smell: This beer smells like it's full of various spices and fruits. I got a lot of cinnamon and citrus.

Taste: The taste is somewhat surprising given this beer's dark appearance. It's very sweet and easy on the palate. It balances the strong spices off perfectly. Makes for an easy and relaxing drink.

Overall Rating:   

This beer is right up there with the Bell's White Winter Ale I reviewed a few weeks ago. This is also the first dark winter seasonal I've actually enjoyed.