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: 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: Troegs Mad Elf Ale

The beer I came across last night came from one of the better craft breweries in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Troegs Brewing Company. Mad Elf Ale doesn't make its annual appearance on the beer market until about mid-October. The word on the street is that this beer is infamous for its high alcohol content and winter-warming ability. I was really disappointed.

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 11 percent

Appearance: Mad Elf is a deep shade of red. If any winter/Christmas seasonal looks like it belongs in front of you around this time of the year, it's this one. The head is very thin and white. It doesn't have a good retention at all.

Smell: I was expecting the typical scent of cinnamon, spices and the dominant fruit that was used in the brewing process, but i didn't get that. This beer smelled like a wooden barrel to me, which is something I expect from certain types of bourbon. Nothing Christmas-like made its way up my nostrils.

Taste: Alcohol, alcohol and more alcohol. I don't think I've ever come across a beer with such an overbearing alcohol content. The lack of carbonation doesn't help either.

Overall Rating: 

This really wasn't my cup of tea, uh rather glass of beer. Maybe if the alcohol taste was toned down or dubbed over and there was more of a carbonation feel to it I'd warm up to it. I've come to love many beers from Troegs and I've heard a lot of talk about the Mad Elf. Maybe I just had high expectations before I went into drinking this.