Lancaster Brewing Company - Winter Warmer Ale
Welcome to my first installment of Winter Warmer Wednesday! To give you some background on winter warmers check out this link, if you need it. It's pretty thorough, so make sure you focus well for a few minutes of that read before you come back here and I dumb things down again. Don't worry, I'll wait...
Now that you're educated, let's talk about how I don't like cloves, allspice, nutmeg. Oh, you already knew? Well, good. Thank you for paying attention to my blog yesterday. According to what you just read, the style is open to interpretation, however, most winter warmers that I've had before tend to use the clove, allspice, and/or nutmeg spices predominantly. Sometimes they're balanced, while other times the spices are too overwhelming in either aroma, taste, or both. Unfortunately for me, it's usually both.
This beer comes from Lancaster Brewing Company and weighs in at a hefty 8.9% ABV. A little above the norm for this style, but who's counting? With this beer, LBC is donating money back to the Wolf Sanctuary of PA for every bottle, case, and shirt sold. I always find it cool when brewers and brewing companies give back to local communities and support those that need it. Kudos to you LBC!
Hooray! No cloves, nutmeg, or allspice! Well, I don't get them anyways...call it a win!
This beer pours a deep red-brown color with a creamy, off-white head. A thin bead of head remained throughout the glass the entire time. The aroma is a very fruity one filled with raisin, slight caramel, and distinct Belgian hints. Not sure if Belgian Candi Sugar was used, but I could be convinced (hey, I brew my own, I know a Belgian when I smell one)
The taste of this beer is no surprise after noting the aroma. The taste is exactly as I thought it would be, with raisin, caramel, and Belgian notes. The hop presence is very minimal, but the beer isn't too sweet for the ingredients that are used. There is a very big and bold malt presence that hits you right way and makes you want to take another sip. Be careful and remember, 8.9%. A well-balanced brew that is malty and sweet at the same time!
The finishing notes give me a virtually non-existent hop bite along with some slight licorice (star anise?) taste. The best part though, by far, is the boozy, warming that coats the throat the entire way down. Definitely a winter warmer for sure!
This beer comes from Lancaster Brewing Company and weighs in at a hefty 8.9% ABV. A little above the norm for this style, but who's counting? With this beer, LBC is donating money back to the Wolf Sanctuary of PA for every bottle, case, and shirt sold. I always find it cool when brewers and brewing companies give back to local communities and support those that need it. Kudos to you LBC!
Hooray! No cloves, nutmeg, or allspice! Well, I don't get them anyways...call it a win!
This beer pours a deep red-brown color with a creamy, off-white head. A thin bead of head remained throughout the glass the entire time. The aroma is a very fruity one filled with raisin, slight caramel, and distinct Belgian hints. Not sure if Belgian Candi Sugar was used, but I could be convinced (hey, I brew my own, I know a Belgian when I smell one)
The taste of this beer is no surprise after noting the aroma. The taste is exactly as I thought it would be, with raisin, caramel, and Belgian notes. The hop presence is very minimal, but the beer isn't too sweet for the ingredients that are used. There is a very big and bold malt presence that hits you right way and makes you want to take another sip. Be careful and remember, 8.9%. A well-balanced brew that is malty and sweet at the same time!
The finishing notes give me a virtually non-existent hop bite along with some slight licorice (star anise?) taste. The best part though, by far, is the boozy, warming that coats the throat the entire way down. Definitely a winter warmer for sure!
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| A solid 3.5 paws out of 5 tonight for this winter warmer! |
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