December 21 - Bell's - Winter White Ale

December 21 - Bells Brewing Company - Winter White Ale

Happy first day of Winter!  What's not to love?  The days are shorter, not to mention colder.  Who doesn't love that?

Someone with Seasonal Affective Disorder, that's who!

To "celebrate" this Winter Solstice, I had the perfect beer in the fridge tonight for blogging.  Enter Bell's Winter White Ale.  The bottle label looks pretty seasonal, the name is pretty seasonal, but the style of beer isn't.  Hmm...strange quandary indeed.  

A wheat beer in December?  Bumble is excited!

The pour was a hazy, gold color with a thick white head at the top.  The aroma was very much wheat beer like...you know, because it's a wheat beer in winter.  Orange and wheat dominate here with some small hints of spicy clove and banana.

The taste of this "winter" beer is very sweet.  Not overbearing, but the end reminded me of an Orange Julius.  There are some other traditional wheat beer notes, including orange peel, coriander, banana, and that spicy clove I got initially.  The clove isn't overbearing though, thank God.

All in all, this beer is a traditional wheat beer for sure.  I'm still confused as to how this is only a seasonal beer for the Bell's company.  Oberon is a seasonal beer that really falls close to the same line, comparatively speaking, with this beer.  Oberon is a little hazier and has more of a yeast profile than this one, but again, pretty much the same style for me.

For what it's worth, the beer was worth the try, but it's nothing special.  There are plenty of other wheat beers out there that are just as good if not better, not to mention the price point is lower and the beer is available year-round.  Since a wheat beer can be a flagship beer for other companies, I'll give Bell's an out there.  They make so many other styles that are better, they must be appealing to that guy we've mentioned before who heads to the local craft brewery and wants "the closest thing to Miller Lite."  He'd probably really get a kick out of this beer.

A 3 out of 5 tonight with a gingerbread house addition in the background...ordinary