My Bitter Birthday--The Mad Elf

I didn't have a tonne of Christmas ales this year, so I was glad when my birthday mixer included a 12oz bottle of The Mad Elf, a holiday beer brewed with honey and cherries. Brewed in Hershey, Pennsylvania, this beer was made by the Tröegs Brewing Co. It contained a daunting 11% alcohol and featured a creepy and possibly drunken elf on the label.

Presumably owing to the cherries used in the brewing process, this beer had a bright reddish hue. It was amply carbonated, though topped by only a thin ivory head. Tart and fruity through the nose, with cherry notes and some yeasty elements. The flavour had cherry notes, but with less emphasis than I was expecting. As well, there was serious sweetness--both from the booze and the honey. Not a lot of bitterness was on display in this beer. It had a thick, almost syrupy mouthfeel.

The Mad Elf was a pretty enjoyable holiday ale. It was too sweet for me, but had lots of cheery warmth. Also, for an ale containing 11% alcohol, its strength was dangerously subtle.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Bah Humbug! Christmas Cheer

Happy Holidays from the Stout Man!

In honour of the season, I decided to review Wychwood Brewing Co.'s Bah Humbug! Christmas Cheer. This spiced ale comes from Witney, Oxfordshire, England. It comes in a 500mL bottle with a label that features a wrinkly ol' Scrooge getting ghosted.  Bah Humbug! contains a standard 5% alcohol and is spiced with a pinch of cinnamon.

Bah Humbug! Christmas Cheer pours a slightly cloudy copper colour about the hue of a well traveled penny. It has an off-white head. Bah Humbug features a warm, malt-driven nose that has a slight metallic clink to it. There is a malt to bitter flavour with just a hint of cinnamon heat. This brew had quite a bit more bitterness than I expected and not nearly as much sweetness.

This winter ale is plenty interesting. I might not drink it year round, but I'll be looking out for it next Christmas.

Note: This beer was a gift from the lovely and mischievous A.D. during one of her infrequent but always enjoyable visits.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Lions Winter Ale

Earlier this week, I reviewed an autumn lager, so it only seems fitting that I follow that with a winter Ale. Lions Winter Ale is brewed by Vancouver, British Columbia's Granville Island Brewing Co.  It contains 5.5% alcohol and is sold in 473mL cans.

Lions is a clear, reddish brown ale, capped with an off-white head. It has a sweet, malty nose with some white chocolate notes. A roasted malt flavour is accompanied by some cacao notes. The can talks about a "vanilla-like finish", but I got white chocolate. There is atterness.lso just a hint of hoppy bitterness.

This is an impressively smooth bodied ale. It's nice stuff, though for me it is a touch too sweet to enjoy more than one in a single go. I think that this seasonal brew would be a great accompanyment to a chocolatey dessert.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Great Lakes Brewery Winter Ale

This charming seasonal brew comes from Toronto's Great Lakes Brewery. It's sold in jumbo 650mL bottles and it has a kickin' 6.2% alcohol content. I had this big beauty in my fridge for quite a while. It was a birthday gift from a wonderful friend. The odd thing about gift beer, for me at least, is that I always hold on to it, waiting for the right time to savour it. For this ale, the right time was a crisp, sunny Friday afternoon in early March in my backyard with a cigar and a mystery novel.

Winter Ale pours a hazy, ruddy gold colour. It has a thick and very persistent head and slight carbonation. A considerable aroma of ginger greets the nose. Just as the blurb on the bottle lead me to expect, the flavour is resplendent with Christmastime notes of cinnamon. As well, some clove is detectable. The aftertaste is where the ginger lives, giving the brew a pleasant cookie vibe. The heightened alcohol content isn't immediately evident from the taste, though it is apparent in the toasty afterglow.

This is a nice winter warmer. Perhaps a touch sweeter than I'd like and a bit more bitterness might be nice, but the ginger and cinnamon essence are excellent touches that make this beer stand out. I'll definitely be watching for this one next winter and you should too.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Garrison Brewery-Winter Warmer

The Winter Warmer is one tasty seasonal brew from the Garrison. It comes in a 500mL bottle crowned with red foil and clocks in at a toasty 6.5%.  The Warmer pours a cloudy, brownish red, with a thick, creamy head and barely any carbonation. It leaves luscious rings of lace behind with every sip, just as a nice pint should.

It has the Christmastime aroma of cloves. The flavour is predominantly sweet and malty. There are notes of cloves, as well as raisins or figs. A dose of bitterness kicks its way in through the back door.

This is a damn fine example of a winter beer. It's got lots of sweetness, but well-balanced. It's very warming and pairs nicely with a cigar. For all of you living in Garrison country, I'm afraid it'll be a long wait until next winter.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Snow Day Winter Ale

The New Belgium Brewing Co. of Fort Collins Colorado is awesome.  Apparently, the brewery is both wind powered and employee owned.  Pretty rad!  Their Winter Ale is a very dark brown--almost black--with reddish highlights and a modest amount of wispy off-white head.  It comes in 355mL bottles that are sealed with adorable winter-themed caps and contains a virile 6.2% alcohol.

Winter Ale has a strong, malt-heavy aroma that smells very rich.  There is a nice warm flavour that moves from bitter to sweet.  There are lots of roasted flavours--nuts and grains.  Then the bitter comes back for an encore in the aftertaste.  The alcohol taste is effectively masked, but there's no denying that this brew has some warmth to it.

The New Belgium Winter Ale is well worth your time.  It's warm, robust, and quite delightful.  Get yourself a pint and beat the winter blues.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Red Hook-Winter Hook #27

Seattle, Washington's Red Hook Ale makes a tasty little winter ale that goes by the name Winter Hook. This brew is sold in cool little bottles that feature an intrepid little dude ski jumping over a mountain and are emblazoned with the slogan "Winter Hook #27--Has Absolutely No Interest in Sitting on Santa's Lap."

Winter Hook pours a rich, reddish-amber colour.  It is topped with a thin layer of off-white head. It is lightly carbonated, but leaves lots of lacy residue on the glass. Winter Hook has a malty, sweet aroma of toasty caramel. Likewise, the taste is quite malty--best described as toasty and warm. The aftertaste is a surprisingly well-balanced blend of bitter and malt (surprising because in my experience, most winter ales are heavy on the malt at the expense of hops).

W.H. is not nearly as high-gravity of many of its other winter ale brethren. It sorta falls on the light side of the strong ale category at 6% alcohol. This makes it excellently drinkable.  It's a nice brew, definitely worth sampling.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.